P.O. Box 142 — Sykesville, MD 21784

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Reprint from Gazette

September 10, 2004

NEW POLICE SUB-STATION TO BE DISCUSSED AT FACC MEETING

Please join us on Thursday, September 16th at 7:30 p.m. at the Freedom Christian Church in Carrolltowne Center when we welcome Sheriff Ken Tregoning, Capt. Scott Yinger of the Maryland State Police, and Carroll County Chief of Staff, Steve Powell. The meeting will focus on the status of crime prevention initiatives in our community and more specifically, a recent FACC proposal to create a new or expanded police sub-station in the Freedom district.

Eldersburg is currently served by three full-time Sheriff's deputies that patrol South Carroll and has 13 total officers assigned to the southern district of the county, all of which are proposed to be deployed from the new sub-station. Additionally, the Maryland State Police currently utilize an unstaffed office in Freedom behind the Eldersburg public library by appointment only.

The Freedom district is the most densely populated area of the county outside of Westminster City and both crime and traffic accidents are on the rise. After Westminster, Eldersburg is also the busiest area for police calls in Carroll County. A staffed sub-station in the Freedom district would greatly improve response time and provide better police coverage for our growing area.

Possible locations for the substation being discussed include available retail/commercial space in Eldersburg or joint utilization of the MD State Police office behind the library. Longer term solutions may include a renovated municipal complex at the current South Carroll Senior Center on Bartholow Road. It is expected that start-up costs to implement a new sub-station would be quite minimal and may perhaps be offset by the efficiencies produced by its creation.

Police and public officials have privately acknowledged the need for better coordination of their policing efforts in South Carroll. In recognition of these needs, the county is determined to provide a more effective distribution of the current sheriff's patrol in our district, as soon as practicable. A new sub-station may also allow for greater public access to the police for reporting suspicious activity, discussing the coordination of community sponsored crime awareness programs or perhaps other beneficial crime prevention activities. We hope the community will be interested in discussing the important topic of crime prevention with our guests.

FACC meetings are open to the public. For more information please visit FACC on the web at www.freedomareacitizens.org.