By Jasmine Willis
DANSVILLE — The community came to honor local Law Enforcement Day in historic downtown.
Dansville Police Department set up a basketball hoop to throw the ball with the local youth in the village.
Livingston County Mount Patrol came out to show off two of their patrol horses Dallas and Justice.
Livingston County Deputy Andrew Chanler said he has been on the force for over 30 years. He gave some insight into what it takes to be in the Mounted Unit.
“We come out every year. It is nice to expose people to what we do in law enforcement. We do an extensive training process to see if the horse can handle what is needed on patrol,” he said. “We can tell early on what the horse can do. We continue training on any obstacles we come across. We train once a month as a unit. There are five of us on a unit. These are our personal horses, and we keep them with all the other horses on our farm.”
Chanler said it is up to the deputy to keep his horse in shape for duty.
“They are considered an official police animal. We treat them like a real partnership. We get used to how they react to certain things on patrol. They get used to us as well. We need to be able to handle any situation. These horses are smart, and they know when we are having a hard time. We know when they are having a hard time too,” he said.
Before you take a horse out on patrol you need to know they can handle the street. The horse needs to go through the paces. Once there was a horse that didn’t like going over manholes on the street, but they had to overcome those fears, Deputy Chanler said.
Livingston County Sherriff’s Office is hiring correctional officers and 911 dispatchers if anyone is interested, they can stop in for an application.
NYS Police are hiring with full benefits and retirement opportunities. The application deadline is April 10. They only hire out every couple of years. Requirements are you must be a U.S. Citizen, be at least 20 years old, and have a high school diploma or G.E.D. The starting salary is $58,443 and after one year goes up $82,677. If you are interested visit www.joinstatepolice.ny.gov
The Livingston County Swat Team brought out the big swat truck to show off what they do during big drug busts or other major situations.
Chief Deputy Aaron Galvin said they get called out on any kind of swat call.
“This vehicle is meant to keep us all safe. That is its main purpose. A couple of years ago we had to be deployed during a flood. We can drive this out in about four feet of water. We use it during high search warrants, drug busts, or any kind of situation when we know we are going to need extra protection. Everything we wear when we are on call is meant for our protection as well,” he said. “We have 16 of us on the Swat Team. We have to go through extensive training once a month. We need to be up to date on everything to keep us all safe out there.”
Galvin has been on the force for over 20 years. He has a lot of pride in what he does to keep the streets safe.
“We like to show off the truck to let people see it is nothing to be afraid of. It is not a weapon. It is designed to keep us safe. We let people go inside of it and check out what it feels like to be in the Swat truck. We have a ram to help us get through doors if need be. We have an extra shield to protect us if we need it,” he said.
“We are doing everything we can to celebrate 100 years of service above self. We are gonne going to have a dinner in May. We don’t have any other organization in town that is this old,” Nancy Nice, Dansville Rotary member said.
“We are going to try and make it out to all these events this year. We want everyone to know we are still part of the community.”
Nice said she would like to have more people get involved in the historic organization.
“We need to expand. We have a couple new members, but we are always looking for more. We meet every Tuesday at noon at Big Sky Restaurant.”
On April 5 the Rotarians gathered to honor Jon Shay with a plaque at N. Dansville Town Hall. Shay embodied the motto of the club unlike anyone else who came before him. He will have a plaque dedicated in his memory of everything he did to be a leader for the community and youth.
“I think we have gotten better with age. I hope we have another 100 years to come in this community,” Nice said. “We have truly shown 100 years of service above self.”