TELETHON BRINGS IN NEARLY $19K

Saturday's Crimestoppers/DARE telethon raked in $18,660 for the
programs, said Detective Mark Warden of Marshall Police Department.

"It went really well," Warden said of the 17th annual fundraiser.
"We had a good turnout inhouse" at Marshall High School auditorium
"and we also had a lot of calls."

Warden said local merchants and individuals contributed more than 200
items for the bidding, which was broadcast live on Charter
Communications Channel 19.

"We had everything from furniture to a 42-inch LCD television to gift
certificates for food," he added. The group also auctioned off a
four-wheeler, a guitar, a dishwasher and a designer purse.

"We had a total of $33,000 in donated items and cash," Warden said,
noting the breakdown was $29,000 for items, with the balance in
monetary donations.

"A few people made cash donations here today and that's not
included," Warden said. "The economy may be suffering, but Marshall
is doing well and is taking care of its own.

"We'd like to thank everybody for supporting the telethon," he added.
"It is our only fundraising event and 100 percent of what we made
here today will go into financing the programs for the next year.

"We aren't going to have any problems buying what we need to teach
the DARE program."

Warden serves as the police department's DARE officer, taking the
Drug Abuse Resistance Education curriculum into the fifth and sixth
grades.

DARE "provides decision-making skills that can be utilized in all
aspects of our children's lives," the police department said in a
press release.

During the 17 years since its local inception, DARE has reached more
that 18,000 students, statistics show.

Crimestoppers is operated by a board of high school students, which
reviews information received through anonymous tips and makes
decisions as to the amount of the monetary reward to be given for the
information received.

Crimestoppers allows individuals to disclose any information they may
have to law enforcement officers without revealing their identity - a
process which has solved many crimes on and off campus, the press
release said.