CONGRATULATIONS to Lead HPD Reserve Officer Arlen Skaflestad, who was recently promoted to Corporal.

BILL MILLS RETURNS TO HPD: Billy is originally from Hoonah and eturned to Hoonan PD on DEC 1st after serving as an officer in Craig for 3 years. Prior to that, he was with HPD for 16 years. Bill holds an advanced law enforcement certificate and is an FTO, breath test supervisor, Instructor, firearms trainer, EMT-1, Firefighter-1 and has extensive investigative experience. Welcome home Bill!

Congratulations also to Bill, for being appointed Detective.

KYLE HASKINS JOINS HPD RESERVE: Kyle is from Dutch Harbor and is the Hoonah-area DPS civilian technician. He has completed several training courses through the State Troopers and served as a deputized civilian during the Aug 28th standoff. Kyle will work under Reserve leader, Corporal Arlen Skaflestad. He is a welcome addition to HPD.

DAVID "DJ" LINDSTROM completed the Alaska Trooper Academy in Sitka, a grueling 14-week training residential police academy course. He was commended for superior performance by the Academy staff. DJ is a proud asset to the Hoonah Police Department.

MANY THANKS to the AK State Troopers; the governments and Police Departments, Chiefs and Officers of the cities of: Sitka, Yakutat, Wrangel, Seward and Haines; all of whom have so generously, eagerly and kindly provided HPD with caring, excellent and professional assisting officers to cover our town during the recent trying weeks, until we hired new officers. We are blessed to have had such fine officers here.

CONGRATULATIONS TO HPD DISPATCHER JOSH HUSKEY who has been named Hoonah School's new wrestling coach! We are proud to be a part of our school and community. Best wishes to the youg men and women of the Hoonah Braves as they start a new season!

CONGRATULATIONS TO HPD DISPATCHER JORDAN MILLS who will be a school community coordinator for evenings in open gym.

AGAIN, HPD IS VERY PROUD of the legacy of community service that our personnel have in our school, started by SGT Wallace and Officer Tokuoka, a legacy that continues to live on today.

SPEED LIMIT CHANGES:

DIRT PORTION OF GARTENIA HWY: The speed limit on Gartenia Highway on the dirt USFS portion past the airport will be posted at 25MPH. The Hoonah city limits run from the intersection of the USFS road to Freshwater Bay and False Bay back to town.

LUMBAGO DRIVE: The posted limit on Lumbago Drive will be 10 MPH in both directions.

US FOREST PATROLS: HPD makes unannounced, periodic patrols of Tongas National Forest on contract for the US Forest Service. Officers will be a visible patrol to assist motorists and recreational visitors and to also enforce state and federal law as needed. The posted speed on the USFS roads is based on AK state law "reasonable and prudent under conditions" which shold not exceed 25 MPH due to the nature of the unpaved, narrow roads in the area. Please drive safely. ALL Alaska traffic laws including mandates for seatbelt, child restraining, speed limits, safe equipment, DUI prohibition, license requirements, registration and reckless driving provisions apply. Please have safe fun on the federal lands!

Due to complaints of speeding and reckless driving on these roads, HPD will target this area for speed enforcement. Please drive safely.

PARKING AT ICY STRAIT POINT TURN-AROUND: Parking except for passenger buses other than for brief stops is prohibited in this area. Please do not park there or a citation may be issued asnd vehicles may be towed.

BEARS: Bears are out and about. Never approach, feed, or interact with a bear. A 600+ LB AK brown bear is a beautiful but potentially deadly predator. Aside from molesting wildlife being illegal, it is incredibly dangerous to people's lives and will habituate a bear to humans, making them subject to being shot. Please do not leave food or garbage unattended. Put trash in a closed recepticle and wait until trash collection morning to place it out. Report nuisance bears to police.
BOATING: Summer fun on the water is a great part of Alaskan life. Please remember: no wake in the Hoonah Harbor. Always use USCG-approved PFD's, one per person and never drink while boating. AK Troopers patrol local waterways and enforce all game, conservation, fishing and boating safety laws. NOAA special agents and the US Coast Guard also randomly patrol local waters. Please boat safely!

HPD SCHOOL VISITS: Chief Millan, Officer Lindstrom and Sr. Officer Wallace visited Mrs. Bidiman's class to discuss community safety and the roles of police. Chief Millan also visited Mrs. Fullerr's class to discuss safety and police work and to Mr. Erickson's high school class to discuss young people and the law.

SPEED ENFORCEMENT: Due to complaints of speeding near the playground on Harbor Way and on Gartenia Highway, police are using RADAR to enforce speed limits in the construction zones and near children. Speeding, seatbelt violations, child restraint violations, defective safety equipment and reckless or alcohol-related driving will result in an arrest or citation.

BEARS: Hoonah welcome its famous brown bears back from hibernation. Please do not approach, feed or have any contact with bears. Alaska's giant brown bears are generally docile but like any large carnivore, they can be deadly in rare cases. Do not leave food in open; secure trash in approved bear-resistant containers, keep children and pets away from bears and if approached by a bear DON'T RUN (bears can run faster)! Stand tall, wave arms and make noise. If attacked, cover your head with your arms and ball up. Bears often will not continue to attack if they don't feel theretened. Avoid mother bears with cubs, males with sows and any feeding bear alone. Report aggressive bears to the police dept by calling 911. It is unlawful to harass bears or wildlife.

WATER SAFETY: Always wear a USCG-approved safety flotation device when on the water. AK Troopers enforce the boating safety laws and areaas in and near Hoonah are patrolled by teh US Coast Guard and US Forest Service in addition to the AK Troopers. Report unsafe boating by calling 911.

NATIONAL FOREST PATROLS: Hoonah Police, in a cooperative agreement with the US Forest Service Law Enforcement Division-Juneau Sector will now begin summer patrols of the National Forests near Hoonah at various unannounced times on the Chichagof Island road system, enforcing state and federal laws, assisting visitors and extending a law enforcement presence in Tongas National Forest.

OFFICER LINDSTROM COMMENDED: Chief Millan recently commended Officer Lindstrom for superior service beyond the expected levels of performance for a new, pre-academy probationary officer, for DJ's work in making a major arrest.

Sr. OFFICER WALLACE COMMENDED: Chief Millan recently commended Officer Wallace for his dilligent work in DUI enforcement and in keeping Hoonah's streets safe.

OFFICER TONY WALLACE COMPLETES BREATH TEST TRAIN-THE-TRAINER COURSE: Tony completed the Datamaster Supervisor training, allowing him to retrain officers or initially certify them on the Datamaster breath alcohol testing for DUI offenses.

OFFICER DJ LINDSTROM COMPLETES NEW OFFICER TRAINING: DJ recently completed firearms training, OC pepper spray, TASER and legal issues training. He will be on patrol until he leaves for AK Law Enforcement Training (ALET) at the DPS Academy in Sitka Aug 1st.

HPD OFFICERS COMPLETE ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING: HPD officers were trained by Chief Millan on active shooter response: Officer Lindstrom, Officer Wallace and Reserve Officer Tokuoka completed active shooter response training. Assisted by Hoonah School staff and student roleplayers, AK Trooper Savland and Hoonah EMS and Fire volunteers, a drill was held at Hoonah School in FEB to train inter-agency personnel and Hoonah SEARHC medical personnel on tactics to protect the local school.

NEW UNIFORMS: HPD officers are now in standard police uniforms, after switching from tactical attire to more traditional uniforms.

POLICE STATION RENOVATION: Hoonah PD is undergoing renovation to include improvement of handicap access, additional fire exit, weather sheltering overhangs, a new dog pound, new locks and doors, improved windows and other basic changes. Phase 2 will include additional renovations to ensure more efficient and safe facilities.

SCHOOL INTERACTION: Officers Wallace and Lindstrom are continuing interaction with local youths at open gym, while Chief Millan has been making classroom visits to the elementary and high school class students.

TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT: Due to citizen complaints received of speeding, HPD officers are patroling for traffic violations on Gartenia Highway out onto the dirt portion. Motorists are reminded not to drink and drive, to obey the speed limits and to use seatbelts and child restraints at all times. Violators are subject to a being cited or arrested.

BEARS: With warm weather here, bears will again be a part of daily Hoonah life. Remember to keep trash in bear-resistant recepticles, never to feed or get near bears and to report any seemingly aggressive or unduly habituated bear by calling Hoonah PD at 954-3655 or 911.

OFFICIAL VISITORS TO HOONAH PD: Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams, from the 1st judicial district in Juneau, visited Hoonah PD on Friday, April 23rd. She put on legal training, along with AK Juvenile Justice Probation Officer Armenio O'campos. On Monday,April 26th, A team of deputy US Marshalls and US Forest Service law enforcement officers visited Hoonah by boat. Welcome to all of HPD's out-of-town friends and guests.

SCHOOL-BASED COMMUNITY POLICING: Hoonah PD is now conducting an ongoing community policing in schools program at Hoonah School. Police vehicles and officers may be at the school at any time, to visit with and socialize with students or to speak to classes; to interact with staff and parents and to be visible. We are working continuously with parents, students, educators, school employees and school administration to maintain and improve school safety.

COAST GUARD CUTTER HOLIDAY VISIT: Santa Claus was helped in Christmas gift delivery this year, by the US Coast Guard Cutter Liberty and its crew of 18 men and women, who volunteered to help Santa get presents to the rural southeast Alaska coast. The cutter visited and tied up in Hoonah on Sunday, DEC 13th. Coast Guard men and women brought presents for kids in Hoonah, along with other gifts from Santa for people in our community. Local residents were allowed to tour the ship. The police department assisted in this operation. The Hoonah Police Department thanks the US Coast Guard for this great event. We ask our "Coasties" who bravely defend our Nation to visit Hoonah again sometime soon.

HPD Awards: Officers Tokuoka and Wallace were recognized by Chief Millan at the OCT 09 regular city council meeting for valor in the line of duty. Both officers were assaulted by a suspect who was in hiding last summer while the officers were investigating a disturbance call. The officers used calm restraint and minimal force to safely effect the arrest with no major problems. These two men are a credit to law enforcement and to the City of Hoonah.

Officer Wallace was named departmental evidence officer and breath test maintenance technician in October.

Both officers attended and successfully completed annual firearms training in October, including day and night combat course for handgun and rifle and shotgun course.

The Chief recognized the HPD dispatch staff for superior service at the October personnel meeting.

Roll call training has been implemented at HPD and community policing with the local school will be expanded in coming months, along with expanded cooperative ties with the US Forest Service law enforcement service and the Alaska Troopers.

HPD Officers will be first responders at all fire and EMS calls, to assist emergency personnel and to keep emergency scenes safe.