By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
It's like the Dowagiac Police Department won the lottery.
As reported Jan. 25, city police received $1,000 in recognition from AAA and OHSP, the state Office of Highway Safety Planning, for their creative approaches to traffic enforcement.
Dowagiac, along with Ludington and Manistee, were selected for $1,000 grants from among about 60 departments statewide with 10 to 15 officers.
Dowagiac had 15 officers.
At the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP) conference in Grand Rapids the following week, those three communities were entered into a drawing, which Dowagiac luckily won for another $4,000 - $5,000 total to continue its winning ways in promoting traffic safety.
At 7 a.m. Friday Police Chief Tom Atkinson and Lt. Steve Harrison gathered around a conference table at City Hall with Officers Steve Grinnewald, Dan Wiggins and Jerrid Bradford to design a summer program, since funds must be expended by the end of the 2004-2005 fiscal year Sept. 30.
Allowable expenses include equipment such as speed trailers, cameras, stop sticks, fatal vision goggles to simulate drunk driving, party patrols and overtime.
Grinnewald is primarily responsible for writing the application which brought home cold, hard cash along with a plaque.
He said there literally was a drawing for the $4,000. Each finalist drew a marble.
That Friday morning Grinnewald found himself presenting Dowagiac's program to about 200 people on the final day of the conference.
Police demonstrated the seatbelt "Convincer" at Fun Fest and participated in all four Click it or Ticket-type promotions.