October 22, 1975 (8 pages)

October 22, 1975 Wed., The Nevada County Nugget 5 GV police stress training Grass Valley police chief Vince Seck says he doesn’t want to burden the city’s taxpayers With continued requests for more men so he is using the best training methods available to increase efficiency with the personnel he now has. — 7 The chief himself is setting the example as he recently completed an ll-week training course at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va. where he received college credit through the University of Virginia. State law requires his officers to attend a minimum number of POST (Police Officer Standard of Training) . courses but Seck encourages his men to go beyond the state requirement. “Most of my officers are also taking college classes on their own time at their own expense,” the chief explained. In addition the city rewards those who complete additional POST courses with “merit raises’. Some 250 other law enforcement personnel attended the academy with Seck, ‘from every state in addition to Canada, Puerto Rico, Iran and other foreign jurisdictions,” he said. Grass Valley’s chief took a variety of courses including 1. effective communication, giving speeches and writing well; 2. criminal law, “minutes of the last meeting” or an overall view: of past judicial decisions; 3. instructional technology, course teaching by objectives; 4. management, technique and theory; 5. Socio and phychological aspects of community behavior, why people act the way they do; 6. forensic science, what criminal labs can and can not do for a police department and others. Seck also took part in physical training courses where the men started slowly and worked up to a 30 minute endurance test at the end of the course. “Two men had to be hospitalized’’, he cited. Four hours a week were given to firearms training with the basic weapons used being the .38 revolver, 12 gauge shotgun and the .308 rifle. Officers King and McPeters of the Grass Valley department are currently taking the POST basic training academy in Butte county while the other officers return to a POST session at least once every four years for a refresher course. POST offers some 40 different areas for specialization. Seck said his” department doesn’t lean toward specialization but he encourages his men to take aS many courses as possible “to keep up with the newest — methods in law enforcement.” The local department does have one specialized officer though, Keith Gruenberg concentrates his efforts on traffic safety, with: his time compensated for by a grant. : Seck said the FBI academy was extremely helpful to him and he plans on making use of what he has learned in the Grass Valley department: “J was surprised there were so many patrolmen and first line supervision people, not just police chiefs at the academy,’’ he stressed. He believes this is beneficial because the patrolmen become better able to understand the problems of management and vice versa. “I know what-their job is like because I did it for years but many of them aren’t totally aware of my role in management so I guess I’ll spend some time keening them informed,” he added. According to the chief the purpose of the increased training is to provide a better type of service. “It isn’t all crime fighting, but rather a 24-hour a day service that we are striving for,” he emphasized. “Our officers -need training in being able to talk with people because . there are times when they have to be father, mother, preacher, doctor and whatever else comes up.” . The FBI academy wasn’t all work and no play for Seck as he did some traveling on his first ever trip to the East Coast. He took three side trips into Washington, D.C. and also visited Appomattox, site of civil war battles. He noted that traffic officers in the east use every method imaginable to enforce speeding laws such as having one officer pulled over in an unmarked sedan with a flat tire radioing to other patrolmen atop an overpass license numbers of speeders as indicated on his radar screen. “Here in California the CHP have their hands tied but there is any number of ways that could be used to improve enforcement,” he concluded. Sterra College may . get swimming pool If all goes well Sierra College may be on the way to having a swimming pool complex. Trustees of discussed the swimming pool when approving the list of construction priorities at their regular board meeting Tuesday. Each year the college district is required to submit to the Chan-. cellor’s Office of. the California Community Colleges a list of the project Educational Master Plan the district Sierra president Dr. Gerald Angrove said the plan is projected and that the priorities‘are subject to change. “‘Without the projected plan we couldn’t go ahead with construction, but because it is listed does not mean we have to go ahead,” he pointed out. Plans for the swimming complex are several. years old and trustees agreed that by waiting the cost is going to go higher. The two proposed pools ‘and three meter “board will cost an estimated ; ¥ i a ween we! : oy 4 $¢ Ue & 4 Faces 4 A a a Chief Vince Seck shows the diploma he received after completing an 11-week FBI Academy course of study at Quantico, Va. GVPD has also been recently cited by POST (Police Office Standard of Training) for the numerous opportunities — made available to local officers. (Union Photo) Security Pacific gets new sign An appeal by Security Pacific National Bank of a denial for a freestanding sign by the planning commission has been approved by the city council. In giving their approval several councilmen Tuesday said they hate to overrule their planning commission but on the question of signs, the ordinances are unclear. The vote was 4-1 with Ed Scofield opThe planners had refused the sign because it failed to meet the criteria of the ordinance which states that in order to have a freestanding sign a business must be highway or freeway related. They decided a bank is neither. Councilman Frank Knuckey said he has sat on the planning commission and he knows what it is like but he had to go against their decision because the ordinance is unclear. He noted that a liquor deli was granted -a freestanding sign and in his mind a bank is as much highway related as that business. Also a sleep shop on East Main Street which has a freestanding sign although Legal Advisor Brad Ellsworth said that sign was considered as a continued existing use of a sign already in place. Jack Clark of the bank presented Security Pacific’s case saying the bank has an identity problem in Grass ‘Valley since taking over Mother Lode Bank. This was proven by the mayor and others who continued to call the bank Pacific Security. ‘He said the bank removed a wanted to'replace it ‘with a’ smaller freestanding. sign on the vacant lot formally housing Hedman’s Furniture. Councilman Scofield said he was opposed because the council should back up their appointed commissions (the planners) who have gone into great detail to study the matter. “We don’t want a situation such as ‘our neighboring city where every sign rejected by the planners comes before the city council in the form of an appeal.” ‘Legal Advisor Brad Ellsworth said the city’s sign ordinances will have to be studied in detail because there have been a iot of problems with them in recent months. Knuckey cited as an example a druggist sign on Mill Street that has been in place some 20 years since the business closed. He ‘said if the city isn’t going to allow certain types of signs then an abatement program should be initiated. City Engineer Tom Leland indicated one is underway. “The letters are going out tomorrow,” he told Knuckey only to have the councilman snap back with, ‘“‘after 20 years.”” Clark had said he only wants the opportunity to advertise -the location of his bannk as others do such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Gold Country. “These banks apparently had their freestanding signs come in prior to the new ordinance but in my mind there should be an abatement clause . which would require them to come down within a certain . time period,’’ he said. 262 Squth, Auburn, Street .at .-. oS aetna piters y ra Feg-ne

October 22, 1975 Wed., The Nevada County Nugget 5 GV police stress training Grass Valley police chief Vince Seck says he doesn’t want to burden the city’s taxpayers With continued requests for more men so he is using the best training methods available to increase efficiency with the personnel he now has. — 7 The chief himself is setting the example as he recently completed an ll-week training course at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va. where he received college credit through the University of Virginia. State law requires his officers to attend a minimum number of POST (Police Officer Standard of Training) . courses but Seck encourages his men to go beyond the state requirement. “Most of my officers are also taking college classes on their own time at their own expense,” the chief explained. In addition the city rewards those who complete additional POST courses with “merit raises’. Some 250 other law enforcement personnel attended the academy with Seck, ‘from every state in addition to Canada, Puerto Rico, Iran and other foreign jurisdictions,” he said. Grass Valley’s chief took a variety of courses including 1. effective communication, giving speeches and writing well; 2. criminal law, “minutes of the last meeting” or an overall view: of past judicial decisions; 3. instructional technology, course teaching by objectives; 4. management, technique and theory; 5. Socio and phychological aspects of community behavior, why people act the way they do; 6. forensic science, what criminal labs can and can not do for a police department and others. Seck also took part in physical training courses where the men started slowly and worked up to a 30 minute endurance test at the end of the course. “Two men had to be hospitalized’’, he cited. Four hours a week were given to firearms training with the basic weapons used being the .38 revolver, 12 gauge shotgun and the .308 rifle. Officers King and McPeters of the Grass Valley department are currently taking the POST basic training academy in Butte county while the other officers return to a POST session at least once every four years for a refresher course. POST offers some 40 different areas for specialization. Seck said his” department doesn’t lean toward specialization but he encourages his men to take aS many courses as possible “to keep up with the newest — methods in law enforcement.” The local department does have one specialized officer though, Keith Gruenberg concentrates his efforts on traffic safety, with: his time compensated for by a grant. : Seck said the FBI academy was extremely helpful to him and he plans on making use of what he has learned in the Grass Valley department: “J was surprised there were so many patrolmen and first line supervision people, not just police chiefs at the academy,’’ he stressed. He believes this is beneficial because the patrolmen become better able to understand the problems of management and vice versa. “I know what-their job is like because I did it for years but many of them aren’t totally aware of my role in management so I guess I’ll spend some time keening them informed,” he added. According to the chief the purpose of the increased training is to provide a better type of service. “It isn’t all crime fighting, but rather a 24-hour a day service that we are striving for,” he emphasized. “Our officers -need training in being able to talk with people because . there are times when they have to be father, mother, preacher, doctor and whatever else comes up.” . The FBI academy wasn’t all work and no play for Seck as he did some traveling on his first ever trip to the East Coast. He took three side trips into Washington, D.C. and also visited Appomattox, site of civil war battles. He noted that traffic officers in the east use every method imaginable to enforce speeding laws such as having one officer pulled over in an unmarked sedan with a flat tire radioing to other patrolmen atop an overpass license numbers of speeders as indicated on his radar screen. “Here in California the CHP have their hands tied but there is any number of ways that could be used to improve enforcement,” he concluded. Sterra College may . get swimming pool If all goes well Sierra College may be on the way to having a swimming pool complex. Trustees of discussed the swimming pool when approving the list of construction priorities at their regular board meeting Tuesday. Each year the college district is required to submit to the Chan-. cellor’s Office of. the California

Community Colleges a list of the project Educational Master Plan the district Sierra president Dr. Gerald Angrove said the plan is projected and that the priorities‘are subject to change. “‘Without the projected plan we couldn’t go ahead with construction, but because it is listed does not mean we have to go ahead,” he pointed out. Plans for the swimming complex are several. years old and trustees agreed that by waiting the cost is going to go higher. The two proposed pools ‘and three meter “board will cost an estimated ; ¥ i a ween we! : oy 4 $¢ Ue & 4 Faces 4 A a a Chief Vince Seck shows the diploma he received after completing an 11-week FBI Academy course of study at Quantico, Va. GVPD has also been recently cited by POST (Police Office Standard of Training) for the numerous opportunities — made available to local officers. (Union Photo) Security Pacific gets new sign An appeal by Security Pacific National Bank of a denial for a freestanding sign by the planning commission has been approved by the city council. In giving their approval several councilmen Tuesday said they hate to overrule their planning commission but on the question of signs, the ordinances are unclear. The vote was 4-1 with Ed Scofield opThe planners had refused the sign because it failed to meet the criteria of the ordinance which states that in order to have a freestanding sign a business must be highway or freeway related. They decided a bank is neither. Councilman Frank Knuckey said he has sat on the planning commission and he knows what it is like but he had to go against their decision because the ordinance is unclear. He noted that a liquor deli was granted -a freestanding sign and in his mind a bank is as much highway related as that business. Also a sleep shop on East Main Street which has a freestanding sign although Legal Advisor Brad Ellsworth said that sign was considered as a continued existing use of a sign already in place. Jack Clark of the bank presented Security Pacific’s case saying the bank has an identity problem in Grass ‘Valley since taking over Mother Lode Bank. This was proven by the mayor and others who continued to call the bank Pacific Security. ‘He said the bank removed a wanted to'replace it ‘with a’ smaller freestanding. sign on the vacant lot formally housing Hedman’s Furniture. Councilman Scofield said he was opposed because the council should back up their appointed commissions (the planners) who have gone into great detail to study the matter. “We don’t want a situation such as ‘our neighboring city where every sign rejected by the planners comes before the city council in the form of an appeal.” ‘Legal Advisor Brad Ellsworth said the city’s sign ordinances will have to be studied in detail because there have been a iot of problems with them in recent months. Knuckey cited as an example a druggist sign on Mill Street that has been in place some 20 years since the business closed. He ‘said if the city isn’t going to allow certain types of signs then an abatement program should be initiated. City Engineer Tom Leland indicated one is underway. “The letters are going out tomorrow,” he told Knuckey only to have the councilman snap back with, ‘“‘after 20 years.”” Clark had said he only wants the opportunity to advertise -the location of his bannk as others do such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Gold Country. “These banks apparently had their freestanding signs come in prior to the new ordinance but in my mind there should be an abatement clause . which would require them to come down within a certain . time period,’’ he said. 262 Squth, Auburn, Street .at .-. oS aetna piters y ra Feg-ne