By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
The Chief’s Update portion of the October Cobourg Police Service Board meeting had big news about recent arrests under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Following execution of a warrant for a Chipping Park Boulevard address, police found two loaded handguns, ammunition, $10,455 in Canadian currency and drugs worth an estimated street value of $71,235 – 475 grams of cocaine and 250 grams of methamphetamines.
Three Cobourg men have been arrested, Chief Paul VandeGraaf reported, and the investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, a report on the September Cram-A-Cruiser event revealed $2,958 raised in donations and gift cards, as well as 1,336 lb. of food collected. A subsequent event at Wal-Mart brought in $3,500 and 2,100 lb. of food. As well, a pre-Thanksgiving event co-ordinated with Port Hope constables and students brought in 4,000 lb. of food.
VandeGraaf applauds these efforts to ensure that “everyone has food security on a special weekend but, more importantly, every day.”
Another great event has made its return – the Car Seat Clinic, which offers parents the opportunity to ensure their children’s car seats are correctly installed. Members of the Cobourg and Port Hope police auxiliary and Peterborough Police Service have taken the Ministry of Transportation training, and these clinics fill up almost as soon as they are announced.
Community engagement efforts for September found constables present at such events as a Muslim community barbecue, the Walk A Mile event for Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre, and the Ride For Rebound fundraiser that saw participants bike across the county “in record time.”
A contingent of police officers arrived Sept. 26 on the 20th-anniversary National Peace Officers Memorial Run, honouring officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. They stopped on their way to Ottawa to gather at the Chris Garrett Memorial Park, welcomed by the Cobourg Pipes and Drums.
“As they ran through Kingston, they stopped at Chris Garrett’s mother’s house, as they always do,” the chief added.
Last month’s Pitch To The Chief competition featured six pitches, with the big winner turning out to be Eye 3 – a roadside oral-fluid testing device that gives quantitative results in minutes.
Another Town Hall is planned, VandeGraaf said. Mark you calendar for Nov. 7, when the 6:30 p.m. session begins at the Cobourg Lions Centre.
Board member Sean Graham extended congratulations on the drug investigation.
“Those are the people the residents of Cobourg want off the street,” Graham said.
“Any day a large quantity of dangerous drugs that are killing people are off the street, that’s a really good day.”
