OC POLICE HOPE TO SEND ADAMANT ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE WITH BLACK VAN

Lt. Mike Canaan and Chief Bob Wenner show off the Oil City Police
Department's revved-up DARE van.

The Oil City Police Department is using a souped-up 1981 GMC van to try and
get a message across - drugs can kill.

The daunting black DARE van, adorned with blood red skulls and crossbones,
exploding oil derricks and metallic silver trim, gets quite a few looks
from community members.

"We want it to be a positive message to the kids and a visual reminder to
those that may want to try and bring drugs into the community," police
chief Bob Wenner said.

The four-wheel drive vehicle will be used from "raids to parades," he said.

"It is sending an anti-drug message and can be ready to rock down a crack
house at any moment," the chief said.

In addition to its colorful outside, the van also sports several amenities
inside to help police get their message across.

The back of the van is equipped with two bench seats that run down the
sides of the vehicle and are behind a strong plexi-glass division so either
police or criminals can be transported.

Wenner said the van holds 10 to 12 policemen with all their gear.

The cockpit boasts a high-tech command center so police can use the vehicle
as a dispatch post during a drug bust or in an emergency like last summer's
storm.

The vehicle also has tons of storage so police can keep drug pamphlets and
information on hand or store evidence after a bust.

Lt. Mike Canaan said the community really came together to make the project
a reality.

"They saw the potential good to this and wanted to give back to the
community," he said.

The idea of a DARE vehicle, or a vehicle used to encourage youths to stay
away from drugs, came from Color-Tek employee Chelsea Frohlich more than
two years ago.

She said that when she posed the idea to police she was thinking of making
the vehicle a Shelby or a Mustang.

However, when the Oil City Fire Department offered to donate its old yellow
rescue van to the cause about a year ago, Frohlich's idea began to become a
reality.

With the help of generous community members like John Deemer and his
employees at John Deemer Contracting and Mike Klapec and his Color-Tek
crew, the old yellow van was slowly transformed into an eye-catching police
vehicle.

Students at Venango Technology Center performed a great deal of the body
work so the van could be returned to its original glory.

The colorful graphics on the outside of the van were designed by Justin
Young of Color-Tek after police told them about the message that they
wanted to get across.

Wenner said many other local businesses and individuals that learned of the
project immediately wanted to help and contributed money and materials.

"This was just a coming together of the police department, businesses and
private individuals," Wenner said. "This is about people that are concerned
about their community."

Klapec said organizations like Oil City's Junior Baseball League and the
Blue and White Booster Club donated money to the project so they could do
their part to combat the local drug problem.

"No neigh(h)borhood and no family is exempt from this growing drug problem
in Oil City, and if we do nothing it will only get worse," Klapec said.

The van was unveiled last month at the Oil Heritage Festival parade and
even won second place in its division.

Frohlich said the vehicle got quite a bit of attention at the parade,
especially from teenagers.

While the new flagship of the police fleet still needs a few final touches,
Wenner said it is ready for whatever the department may need.