By Bill Bates
NEWS Correspondent
The Mount Ephraim Police Department recently placed into service a new D.A.R.E. vehicle that was formerly a patrol vehicle for the borough
The vehicle is a 2001 Ford that has over 91,000 miles. The vehicle was transformed out of the patrol fleet in 2007 and was placed as an unmarked vehicle for the department. Recently, the vehicle has been transformed into the new D.A.R.E. vehicle for the town.
Recently the MEPD took over Drug Abuse Resistance Education in the borough after the Camden County Sheriff\’s Department had been performing this function for about 10 years. Currently Mount Ephraim Police Officer Scott Pezzano is the D.A.R.E. Officer for the Mount Ephraim School District, but Officer Danielle Dunay is expected to take over within the next year.
Since the Mount Ephraim Police took over the D.A.R.E. program about a year ago, Police Chief Edward Dobleman said that he has wanted to do something for the kids to give back.
Chief Dobleman came across this company from New York that does vehicle graphics, but had only wrapped a D.A.R.E. vehicle with graphics just once before speaking with him. Chief Dobleman was able to get the company to agree to wrap the vehicle as a D.A.R.E. car. The Police Chief spoke with Mayor Reader and Commissioners Gaglianone and Chambers and they agreed with him that since this was Mount Ephraim\’s first year of providing their own D.A.R.E. program with the kids that they do something for them in return.
A date was then set up with the owners of VSP Graphics in West Seneca, New York, and the company made their way from New York to New Jersey for this special project. The vehicle was then wrapped by the company at the boro garage and was completed in about a day.
The vehicle looks black in color to most, but when the sun hits it at the right angle you are able to tell that it is actually a dark green. The D.A.R.E. vehicle is complete with the Mount Ephraim Police Department Patch logo, which is being uniformed on all of the new vehicles that are added to the MEPD fleet. The D.A.R.E. vehicle is also complete with the D.A.R.E. logo and a few other D.A.R.E. trademarks. This vehicle is still able to be used for patrol functions as it has all of the equipment needed to stay in service.
Police Chief Dobleman said, \”The kids love it when they see the new D.A.R.E. vehicle on patrol. It turns their heads and gives them a sense of pride, which was the Department\’s intention.\”
The Mount Ephraim Police Department invites residents to view the website: mountephraimpd.com.
It was created to allow greater access to information about the Mount Ephraim Police Department, as well as the many services they offer as a law enforcement agency.
The page has links to NJ\’s 12 Most Wanted Criminals, NJ Missing Persons, and also has useful information that can be obtained via the Internet versus visiting the police station.
Residents may contact any of the officers via email as an email list is provided. The Mount Ephraim Police Department welcomes and encourages interaction and will be ready to assist with any resident\’s needs.
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