03-02-2010, 07:07 PM
Four great officers leaving the force. : )
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2078218,5_1_WA02_HORSES_S1-100302.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 02.article</a><!-- m -->
Waukegan police horses take federal hitch
Council OKs donation to National Park Service
March 2, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
Justice is coming to Washington, D.C. Along with Freedom and Bob.
City officials confirmed Monday that those three members of the Waukegan Police Department's equestrian unit will be departing for the nation's capital later this week, or as soon as plans to donate them to the National Park Service are finalized.
Once all the paperwork clears and the horses head east, they will be trained for a high-profile assignment: patrolling the National Mall.
"They're going to be walking around the monuments, doing their duty," said 8th Ward Ald. Rick Larsen, chairman of the Public Safety Committee. "It's actually a really nice story."
It's a story that began last fall when Mayor Robert Sabonjian and Police Chief Artis Yancey announced that the equestrian unit, founded in December 2004, would be discontinued due to the city's ongoing budget woes.
After a public effort to raise operating funds was scuttled in the fall, it was announced that the horses would be donated to a public agency or private owner. Police Cmdr. Wayne Walles said Monday that there was no shortage of interested parties.
"Seventy-five is a conservative estimate -- everything from people who wanted a horse in their back yard to law enforcement," said Walles, adding that inquiries came from as far off as New York, North Carolina and Utah.
In the end, said Walles, the decision came down to keeping the horses in the roles they had become used to over the past five years.
"We wanted to make sure they were going somewhere where they would be of service, and would be maintained that way," Walles said. "With the National Park Service, (horses) are one of their primary means of patrolling the National Mall, because they can't use motorized traffic in there."
The City Council approved the donation via unanimous vote Monday night, with aldermen Greg Moisio (3rd Ward) and A.J. "Tony" Figueroa (4th) both saying they were casting their vote "with a heavy heart."
Sixth Ward Ald. Larry TenPas, saying that he visited the horses regularly at their River Road stable, said he took comfort that "we're making sure the horses are put to a good use."
According to Walles, the fourth horse in the Waukegan patrol, Bill, will be returned to Bill Seng, the River Road businessman who both donated Bill and has stabled the equestrian unit. While the city will keep a multi-purpose trailer purchased for the horses, all other equipment will be auctioned off.
Details were still being worked on Monday for the horses' departure. Walles said once such things as veterinarian exams are completed, the National Park Service will take possession of the horses and cover all costs of transporting them to Washington.
Walles added that the trio is scheduled to go through a 90-day training session before being put into the field by the Park Service. Justice, Freedom and Bob
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2078218,5_1_WA02_HORSES_S1-100302.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 02.article</a><!-- m -->
Waukegan police horses take federal hitch
Council OKs donation to National Park Service
March 2, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
Justice is coming to Washington, D.C. Along with Freedom and Bob.
City officials confirmed Monday that those three members of the Waukegan Police Department's equestrian unit will be departing for the nation's capital later this week, or as soon as plans to donate them to the National Park Service are finalized.
Once all the paperwork clears and the horses head east, they will be trained for a high-profile assignment: patrolling the National Mall.
"They're going to be walking around the monuments, doing their duty," said 8th Ward Ald. Rick Larsen, chairman of the Public Safety Committee. "It's actually a really nice story."
It's a story that began last fall when Mayor Robert Sabonjian and Police Chief Artis Yancey announced that the equestrian unit, founded in December 2004, would be discontinued due to the city's ongoing budget woes.
After a public effort to raise operating funds was scuttled in the fall, it was announced that the horses would be donated to a public agency or private owner. Police Cmdr. Wayne Walles said Monday that there was no shortage of interested parties.
"Seventy-five is a conservative estimate -- everything from people who wanted a horse in their back yard to law enforcement," said Walles, adding that inquiries came from as far off as New York, North Carolina and Utah.
In the end, said Walles, the decision came down to keeping the horses in the roles they had become used to over the past five years.
"We wanted to make sure they were going somewhere where they would be of service, and would be maintained that way," Walles said. "With the National Park Service, (horses) are one of their primary means of patrolling the National Mall, because they can't use motorized traffic in there."
The City Council approved the donation via unanimous vote Monday night, with aldermen Greg Moisio (3rd Ward) and A.J. "Tony" Figueroa (4th) both saying they were casting their vote "with a heavy heart."
Sixth Ward Ald. Larry TenPas, saying that he visited the horses regularly at their River Road stable, said he took comfort that "we're making sure the horses are put to a good use."
According to Walles, the fourth horse in the Waukegan patrol, Bill, will be returned to Bill Seng, the River Road businessman who both donated Bill and has stabled the equestrian unit. While the city will keep a multi-purpose trailer purchased for the horses, all other equipment will be auctioned off.
Details were still being worked on Monday for the horses' departure. Walles said once such things as veterinarian exams are completed, the National Park Service will take possession of the horses and cover all costs of transporting them to Washington.
Walles added that the trio is scheduled to go through a 90-day training session before being put into the field by the Park Service. Justice, Freedom and Bob