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IN THE NEWS:
2007 Archive
Friday,
December 21, 2007
Operation Our Town receiving
$230,000
By Mark Leberfinger:
mleberfinger@altoonamirror.com
Operation Our Town will receive a boost
today from the federal government. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-9th
District, will hold a news conference this morning outside the Blair
County Courthouse to announce a $230,000 grant to aid the
business-led, nonprofit group's efforts to eradicate the county's
drug problem through enforcement, prevention and treatment.
‘‘It's a great Christmas gift for our
community,'' co-founder Michael Fiore said. ‘‘It's too early to tell
how we will use this money, but it will help us enhance our
operations."
Shuster had made a $250,000 request for
Operation Our Town in a Commerce, Justice and Science bill. The
now-$230,000 grant is part of the $555 billion bill approved
Wednesday that includes funding for 14 Cabinet departments and for
continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
‘‘This is definitely good for Blair
County,'' Shuster spokesman Jeff Urbanchuk said.
Since Operation Our Town started in
March, the group has given money to help law enforcement agencies
pay for officers' drug investigation overtime, to buy special
equipment for the Blair County Drug Task Force, to aid social
service agencies with their community outreach and to help pay for a
new drug prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office.
Mirror Staff Writer Mark Leberfinger is
at 946-7462.
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December 2007
Grant buys tyrone a police
dog
By Greg Bock
TYRONE - A police dog is coming to Tyrone
Borough, thanks to a $15,000 Operation Our Town grant.
"We hope to have the process started after the first of the year,"
Tyrone Borough Police Chief Joe Beachem said.
Operation Our Town is a community-based organization formed to aid
area law enforcement in battling illicit drugs.
"As our grants come in, we approve them on an as-needed basis," said
Shawna Hoover, Operation Our Town coordinator.
She said the money comes directly from corporate and individual
donations.
The group is setting up a more formal grant process starting in
2008.
For a small department like Tyrone, the grant means the difference
between implementing a K-9 program or going without one.
"It's a big chunk for a small department to take on," Beachem said.
He said the grant will cover acquisition and training of the
drug-sniffing dog, while ongoing expenses will come out of the
department's $415,000 budget.
Borough Council member Bill Fink said he supported the initiative
but harbored concerns about the back-end costs, whether it be
recertification or increased man hours.
"They have to be continuously put through their paces," Fink said of
the time necessary to keep a police dog in top condition.
Beachem estimated the cost to the borough as $6,000, a "very, very
small" part of the police department's overall budget.
The expected increased costs are for insurance and federally
prescribed compensation for the at-home care of the dog by its
officer handler.
"It's not a huge impact on the budget," Beachem said.
The department is likely to obtain a German shepherd or a Belgian
Malinois, Beachem said, although no decision on the breed or who
will handle the dog has been made.
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is
at 946-7446.
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Tuesday,
November 20, 2007
ALTOONA AREA
SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESENTS SERVICE TO EDUCATION AWARDS TO TWO
OPERATION OUR TOWN LEADERS
The Altoona Area School District
presented Service to Education Awards during the November
meeting of the school board as part of the annual American
Education Week observance.
The awards are presented annually to
people and organizations who have positively impacted the school
district’s education program. Two of this year’s honorees are
Operation Our Town (OOT) leaders:
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Randy Feathers, regional
director of the Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control
of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and an OOT Round
Table leader.
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Michael Fiore, executive vice
president of L.S. Fiore Inc. and a member of the OOT board of
directors.
A total of 74 Service to Education
Awards have now been presented since 1984.
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
LONESTAR CONCERT AT BLAIR COUNTY BALLPARK SEPT.
23, 2007
$1 from each Ticket Sold Benefits Operation Our Town Project
Friday, May 4, 2007
Operation Our Town
representatives met on May 4, 2007, with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter,
who came to Altoona to discuss
the innovative program's approach to fighting drug use and related
violent crime in the community.
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Friday, March 16, 2007
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ENDORSES
OPERATION OUR TOWN
OPERATION OUR TOWN ALSO
ANNOUNCES GRANT FOR DRUG PROSECUTOR AND PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITED WAY
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom
Corbett visited Altoona today to offer his endorsement of Operation
Our Town, the business-led partnership with the
community to fight illegal drugs and related violent crime.
The attorney general praised the organization as an example of how
communities can be proactive in the fight to protect their
neighborhoods for their children
and grandchildren.
He also commended Operation Our Town’s strategy of concentrating on
targeted law enforcement and proven treatment and prevention
programs to stem the
drug trade.
Operation Our Town also made two announcements today:
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The organization made its first grant
award, of $275,000, which will be used to help fund local law
enforcement’s efforts against drug trafficking.
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The United Way of Blair County has
become an Operation Our Town partner and will conduct a three-year
special fund-raising campaign specifically for its
benefit.
The $275,000 grant will be used mainly
to fund a new position of drug prosecutor in the Blair County
District Attorney’s office for the next three years. The goal
is to expedite the legal process in drug-related cases. Additional
grant money will be used for special equipment and other
drug-fighting strategies.
Randy Feathers of the state attorney general’s office and Blair
County District Attorney Richard Consiglio expressed their gratitude
for the grant money and their
enthusiasm for what it can accomplish.
“We fight a tough battle every day and we need all the resources we
can get,” Mr. Feathers said. “With Operation Our Town’s support we
will be able to increase
the security of our men and women in the field and conduct more
operations aimed at weeding out drug dealers and users.”
“The addition of a prosecutor dedicated to putting drug offenders
behind bars will greatly enhance the county’s efforts,” attorney
Consiglio said. “The faster these
cases are handled, the safer our streets will be.”
The United Way partnership demonstrates its support of Operation Our
Town’s effort to improve the community, which fits nicely with
United Way’s mission to
improve lives by uniting people to care for one another.
“The United Way has been listening to our donors and the message is
clear: There is a serious need in Blair County to eliminate illegal
drug use and the violent
crime it causes,” said Kristen Cantrell, a United Way board member.
“This issue has an effect on everyone and everything in the
community, including our
economy, our children, our families and our seniors.”
The special community campaign in support of Operation Our Town will
be done separately from United Way’s usual campaign and will be
focused on individual
giving by community members. The United Way will match
dollar-for-dollar all money raised through April 20, up to a maximum
of $50,000.
These funds are noncampaign funds, and the United Way will continue
to support community impact funding for its four focus areas with
dollars raised in its
traditional campaign. The four focus areas are: job-related issues,
emergency needs, nurturing children and youth, and strengthening
families.
“The United Way is invested in making our community better,” Ms.
Cantrell said. “We applaud Operation Our Town for working to help
take back our
neighborhoods.”
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Friday, March
9, 2007 Altoona Mirror
 PARTNERSHIP
WILL BATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD VIOLENCE
By Walt Frank,
wfrank@altoonamirror.com
Several Blair County businesses are banding together to provide
resources in the fight to take
back neighborhoods from drugs and
violent crime.
The businesses have created “Operation Our Town,” a partnership that
will supply significant resources for driving out the illegal drug
trade and violence it produces.
“We’ve all seen what’s happening in our neighborhoods because of the
rise in illegal drug use,” said Michael Fiore, executive vice
president of Leonard S. Fiore Inc., a member of the partnership’s
board. “As everyone knows, drugs breed crime, often violent crime,
and the cycle of drugs and crime can destroy a community.”
“We are angry and fed up with what is going on in our community,”
said board member Ron McConnell, chief operating officer of Altoona
Regional Health System.
Operation Our Town, a nonprofit organization, has received
three-year commitments of at least $10,000 per year from more than
25 businesses, said board member Phil Devorris, president and chief
executive officer of The Blair Companies.
“Hundreds of other businesses are expected to join. We want to make
this a very difficult place to do drugs,” Devorris said. “We have a
place small enough where people can really make a difference. We
need to have people on the streets looking out for each other.”
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March
8, 2007
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Watch TV10
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Contact:
info@OperationOurTown.org
BUSINESS LEADERS
ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP
TO DRIVE OUT DRUGS AND CRIME FROM REGION
Several Blair County businesses have formed an extraordinary
organization that will provide significant new resources in the
fight to take back our neighborhoods from drugs and violent crime.
The businesses have created Operation Our Town, a business and
community partnership that will supply significant resources for
driving out the illegal drug trade and the violence it produces.
“We’ve all seen what’s happening in our neighborhoods because of
the rise in illegal drug use,” said an Operation Our Town supporter.
“As everyone knows, drugs breed crime — often violent crime — and
the cycle of drugs and crime can destroy a community.”
“As concerned citizens we’ve organized to fight back,” said another
Operation Our Town supporter. “Our coalition includes local
businesses, community groups and individuals — all committing
resources to maintain the reputation of our towns as great places to
raise a family and live without fear.”
Operation Our Town is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation which will
accept donations from businesses, civic organizations and
individuals and use the funding specifically to deal with the
biggest issue threatening our neighborhoods today: drugs and related
violent crime.
Operation Our Town has three-year commitments of at least $10,000 a
year from more than 25 businesses. Operation Our Town will fund
efforts in our community proven to reduce both the supply and
demand for illegal drugs. Those efforts include:
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Targeted law enforcement and prosecution
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Proven
treatment programs focused on reducing recidivism (repeat
offenses)
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Proven
education aimed at prevention of drug use
Some of the first businesses to commit people and money to the
project include Sheetz Inc., Leonard S. Fiore Inc., Blair Companies,
Altoona Regional Health System, Grappone Law Offices, M&T Bank, Wolf
Furniture, The Hite Company, Reliance Bank, D.C. Goodman, NPC, New
Pig, Ward Trucking, New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Lawruk Realty,
New Enterprise Stone
& Lime, Harry Sickler & Associates, Courtesy Motors, and Dean
Patterson Chevrolet.
More are pledging their commitment every day.
Operation Our Town is supported and advised by a Steering Committee
consisting of local experts in law enforcement, prosecution,
education, housing, rehabilitation and other fields.
Randy Feathers, regional director of the Pennsylvania Attorney
General’s Drug Task Force, adds that, “Operation Our Town brings
funding and focus to our war on drugs. With this enhanced community
support, we will be well-positioned to escalate our fight against
drugs and violent crime.”
“Many people have spent much of the past year putting together
Operation Our Town because they believe in its mission and in the
people of this area,” said an Operation Our Town supporter. “We
invite everyone — all local businesses, community groups and
individuals — to join us in this important fight.”
“To put it mildly, we’ve had enough,” a supporter added. “This is
where we grew up; it’s where we call home; it’s where our children
are growing up. Together, we can make a difference.”
Anyone wishing to contribute money or other resources can visit the
Operation Our Town web site at
www.operationourtown.com/contribute.htm.
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