California Police Chief- Fall 2013 | Page 35

Marysville Police expand C.O.P.P.S. program all while remodeling a Little League park By: Lieutenant Chris S. Sachs, Marysville Police Department It all started with a determination to complete a community project, turned into a vision, and with hard work and hundreds of hours of dedication, the Earle Yorton Little League Park and the adjacent T-ball field, The Field of Dreams were remodeled. Marysville Police Operations Lt. Christian Sachs has worked for the City of Marysville for the past 15 years and wanted to give back to the community and complete a project for the youth in the community to enjoy. Sachs met with Chief Easton in late January 2016 and pitched his vision of volunteering to remodel the Little League Park. Sachs had a list of tasks that needed to be completed which consisted of; new grass, new in-field dirt, new sprinklers, paint, lighting, bleacher repair, the list went on and on from there. After meeting with Chief Easton, Sachs and Easton decided to adopt the Little League Park into the Marysville Police Departments Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Program ( C.O.P.P.S).. Opening night was scheduled for March 18, 2016 and this remodel needed to be completed by then. As you can imagine, a remodel this large was no small task, and with a short turnaround no less. But, Sachs diligently met with several businesses, service organizations, and volunteer groups and got an immediate positive response. Sponsors were excited about the opportunity to be a part of such a great project and the volunteers starting pouring in. During the six-week period from vision to opening night, Sachs and his family spent over 150 hours volunteering their time at the park, this did not include the several hundred additional hours that other volunteers had spent. Sachs was able to raise over $70,000 in donations that ranged from funding, materials, and labor to complete the remodel. As a result of the dedication, vision, and desire we were able to lay over 24,000 square feet of new sod, new crushed red rock cinder for the in-field, new sprinkler system, replace all the wood in the bleachers/ stadi- um, new lighting, the entire facility painted, dug outs re-roofed, covers placed on batting cages, bull pen work, PA System, and fencing slats in the surrounding fences. The work didn’t stop there. The Field of Dreams is a T-ball park behind the Earle Yorton Little League field that is too often forgotten. Sachs helped to obtain donations and organized the work for that field as well. The work consisted of constructing a new backstop, laying concrete in the dug-outs, placing covers on the dugouts, fencing slats, and applying new cinder to the in-field baselines. When opening night came on March 18, 2016, hundreds of kids stormed the field in their uniforms. Some were seeing it for the first time and others seeing the progress as we completed it. The satisfaction that it brought the faces of our youth, the community partnering with the police department, and a place they can take pride in, is priceless. ■ SPRING 2016 | California Police Chief 35