Chili fuels HV patrol

CHILI FUNDRAISER:
The Happy Valley Citizens Volunteer Patrol held a chili fundraiser Nov. 7.

About 120 people attended the chili feed on Nov. 7 for the Happy Valley Citizens Volunteer Patrol chili fund raiser. Over $1,280 was raised thanks in part to food donations form local grocery stores.

The patrol's yearly budget requires $9,000 per year for gas, vehicle maintenance and uniforms. The patrol utilizes 20 volunteers.

"We're strictly the eyes and ears of the sheriff's dept.," Jones said.

The patrol is on duty seven days each week at varying times. Volunteers of the citizens patrol drive around Happy Valley looking for suspicious activity. They perform vacation house checks and visit home-bound residents to see whether they need any assistance.

"My wife and I go out on patrol together," Jones said. "We have a lot of husband and wife teams. There's the Holbrooks, Jones', Baileys, Collins' and the Burnetts.

Jones said the patrol has helped many people in Happy Valley. Jones related a few instances. Once they found a man who had fallen coming out of his house and injured his head on the ground. Jones added that the patrol had found a woman who was lost wandering the streets. She had strayed from assisted living home.

"We used to have a lot of dumping, it's very rare now," Jones said. "When we go on patrol, if we see something dumped we call it in."

They also work for the school, doing traffic control for marathons.

The citizens patrol is seeking qualified individuals to volunteer with the patrol. For more information, contact Ermel Jones at 357-3829.