Encino Energy donates $11,000 to Cadiz Police Department | News, Sports, Jobs

TL Photo/GAGE VOTA Encino Energy and the Cadiz Police Department pose with the check that Encino donated to fund the department’s K-9 unit. Pictured from left are Lt. Ron Carter, Director of Environmental Health Safety for Encino Energy Scott Fairhurst, Patrol Officer Lionel Woods and Police Chief Ryan McCann.

CADIZ — Encino Energy donated $11,000 to the Cadiz Police Department on Thursday afternoon.

The donation will be used to purchase a new dog for the K-9 unit to provide officers additional backup as well as aid in keeping the Cadiz community safe. The dog will be purchased from Storm Dog Tactical of Sunbury, Ohio.

“Working with them has been fantastic, and they do so well for the community. “It’s a partnership that we extremely value, and it’s one we look forward to continuing,”

Encino Community Relations representative Zach Kent said of the relationship Encino has with the Cadiz Police Department.

This new K-9 unit purchase comes after creation of the K-9 unit in 2022. The unit was created after a donation of a combined $22,500 from Encino Energy and MPLX.

“Our K-9 program has taken off. Since the reestablishment of a K-9 to the department, we have been able to enhance our ability to deter criminal activity and continue to keep the communities in Harrison County safe. “Thanks to Encino’s continued effort towards the K-9 unit, we are able to expand our resources and further help these communities,” police Lt. Ron Carter said.

The new dog will be placed with Patrol Officer Lionel Woods, who has been a police officer since 2014. Woods recently joined the Cadiz Police Department in August 2023.

“I’m honored that you guys donated to the cause, and I’m honored that I was chose to be the handler,” Woods added.

Woods said the legalization of recreational marijuana in Ohio eliminates many of the probable causes to search vehicles because most drugs don’t have a smell that humans can sense. The K-9 unit isn’t imprinted on marijuana, so if they are alerted to a smell on a vehicle the officers will know that the vehicle will have illegal drugs inside of the vehicle.

The Cadiz Police Department plans on having the new dog trained and in action by the end of 2024.

“We’re hoping by winter he’s up and on the road. My guy won’t train dogs during the summer because of the intense heat. You’re not sitting around, we’re working all day. “We were doing like 16 hour days of training,” Carter said.

“If everything goes well, hopefully in the next couple years we’ll get another one. It’s definitely not out of the question. The problem is finding somebody to handle it because it takes a lot. Ron takes a lot of his own personal time and Lionel is going to have to take a lot of his personal time as well,” Chief Ryan McCann said.

Carter interviewed with, “A prime example is two Saturdays ago, we had an officer call me out three times. “I was off, so I had three callouts, and each time the dog hit on the cars and found drugs.”

Carter said the decision for Woods to be the new dog handler came because he performs patrols on his own.

“That was the push for him because he’s out there by himself. He had to call me numerous times to help… with the dogs. Chief McCann and I don’t want any officer going into a building by themselves,” Carter said.

Woods added that he is a military veteran with infantry close quarters clearing rooms.

With the addition of the new dog, the Cadiz Police Department will have two dogs in its K-9 unit. McCann said the plan is to have Woods and Carter work separate shifts so when one finishes work the other will be starting, so there will always be a dog on shift.