This content was published: August 29, 2006. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Portland Police, City donate cruiser to PCC
Photos and story by James Hill
PORTLAND, Ore. – On Monday, Aug. 21, Mayor Tom Potter and City Commissioner Eric Sten donated a police cruiser to help students in Portland Community College’s Emergency Services Department sharpen their skills.
Potter presented Cascade Campus President Algie Gatewood with the keys to a training cruiser in front of the Public Services Education Building on the Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth Street. The cruiser will be used in simulation training for students in the Criminal Justice, Fire Protection Technology, Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Telecommunicator/911 programs.
"We’re fortunate to be able to partner with a college that is so accessible and affordable to our students," said Potter. "Due to this partnership we can recruit, mentor and track young people who wish to serve their community as firefighters, police officers, 9-1-1 dispatchers, and soon, emergency preparedness managers."
The Mayor said in the past there has been difficulty recruiting personnel for these jobs in Portland and across the nation.
"With innovative programs such as this we can begin to make a change," Potter said.
This donation is another example of PCC working with the city. The partnership already provides internships and training observation for PCC students; continuing education units for city emergency services staff; recruitment of trained emergency services students; and continuous dialog with the city’s workforce.
Guests included Yvonne Deckard, Director of Human Resources for the City of Portland; Harold Williams, PCC Board Member; Greg Keller, Chief Training Officer with the City of Portland Fire and Rescue; and Tracy Cleys, Interim Operations Manager with the Portland Office of Emergency Management. PCC is one of a few colleges where all emergency services programs are housed and cooperatively train together.
For more information about this partnership, please call Kal Robertson, Director of PCC’s Emergency Services Department, at 503-978-5531.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »