{"id":59670,"date":"2014-12-18T14:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T19:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=59670"},"modified":"2014-12-17T20:51:27","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T01:51:27","slug":"canines-and-their-handlers-graduate-from-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=59670","title":{"rendered":"Canines and Their Handlers Graduate from Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"P-21-2014<\/a><\/p>\n

The New York State Police held a graduation ceremony Thursday, November 20 for its 2014 Canine Handler Basic School. The ceremony was held at the New York State Police Academy in Albany.<\/p>\n

The 14 graduates include members from the New York State Police, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Madison County Sheriff\u2019s Office and Saugerties Police Department.<\/p>\n

Trooper Jeffrey S. Kissock, Canine Ray – Troop D<\/p>\n

The canines and their handlers underwent 20 weeks of training at the New York State Police Canine Training Facility located in Cooperstown, New York. During the training, students and their partners received instruction in basic obedience, agility, handler protection, building searches, explosive or narcotic detection, tracking for fugitives and lost or missing persons, basic veterinary care and land navigation and grid searches.<\/p>\n

The current strength of the State Police Canine Unit is 81 teams, including those who graduated today. During the first 10 months of 2014 the members of the Division Canine Unit responded to 3,150 calls for service. This class of handlers and their canines will go on patrol starting the week of November 24.<\/p>\n

All canines that are part of the Division Canine Unit are donated through the generosity of breeders, private individuals, and humane societies.\u00a0 All canines are put through extensive testing and evaluation prior to assignment in the Canine Basic Handler\u2019s School.\u00a0 State Police canines are named after members killed in the line of duty.<\/p>\n

Included among the graduates were Trooper Jeffrey S. Kissock, SP Elbridge, Canine Ray – Troop D (Raymond A. Plunkett) and Deputy Kevin S. Feola, Canine Marty – Madison County Sheriff\u2019s Office (no namesake).<\/p>\n

More Troopers to Monitor Roads this Holiday Season<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New York State Police will have additional troopers on the roads this holiday season in an effort to crackdown on drunk driving.<\/p>\n

The New York State Police will again participate in the national \u201cDrive Sober or Get Pulled Over\u201d campaign, from Friday, December 12, 2014 through Thursday, January 1, 2015. Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints along with more troopers on major highways during the campaign. Unmarked State Police patrol vehicles will also be on the roads.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Joseph A. D\u2019Amico said, \u201cSafety comes first for the New York State Police for our troopers and the drivers and passengers we serve on New York State\u2019s roadways. We want everyone to have a happy holiday – but we also want you to have a safe one. Impaired drivers cause needless deaths and injuries. Have a plan and you could save a life \u2013 maybe even your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the DWI checkpoints and patrols, Troopers will be watching for distracted or impaired drivers, vehicle occupants who are not properly buckled up and drivers violating the \u201cMove Over Law,\u201d which requires motorists to exercise extreme caution when passing emergency vehicles that are stopped in or on the side of the road.<\/p>\n

During last year\u2019s campaign, State Police issued more than 38,000 tickets. More than 630 people were charged with DWIs, more than 11,000 drivers were ticketed for speeding and 1,500 drivers were caught for distracted driving.<\/p>\n

The facts are grim: During the 2012 holiday period, 1,698 people nationwide were killed on the road, with almost a third of the fatalities related to drunk-driving. On Christmas Day that year, 26 people were killed by drunk drivers.<\/p>\n

To keep our roads safer this holiday season, the New York State Police and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offer these tips:<\/p>\n