K-9 team provides added safety and forges community relationships.
Sun Prairie, WI – Didion joined area businesses, organizations, and community members in making a new K-9 program a reality in the Village of Fall River. Thanks to those efforts, the department’s first-ever K-9, named Rico, joined the force in August of last year.
Didion donated $2,500 to help reach the $50,000 needed to cover the startup cost, including purchasing a police dog, the necessary initial training for the dog and handler, acquiring and installing special equipment in a squad car, and maintaining certifications and care for the dog.
“As a local business that employs many community members, we believe it is essential to support public safety,” said Riley Didion, President of Didion. “We applaud the work of area law enforcement and believe in the many benefits a K-9 program provides to the department and our communities.”
Fall River Police Sergeant Robin Messer and K-9 Rico, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois, have completed the extensive training to become a canine-officer team and have been hard at work since August. K-9 programs help fight against illegal narcotics and track missing persons. The dogs also play a vital role in building positive relationships throughout the community.
“The addition of a K-9 is not generally included in police budgets, so donations, like Didion’s, are imperative to the program’s implementation and operation,” said Sgt. Messer. “We thank Didion for their donation and are grateful for the support we received from the entire community.”
Donations are still being accepted to maintain the K9 program to cover ongoing expenses like continued training and the dog’s veterinarian bills. Visit the Fall River Police department’s website to learn more about the program and to contribute.
About Didion Inc.
Didion Inc., headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, is home to a highly advanced dry corn mill and ethanol/alcohol facility in Cambria, Wisconsin. Didion has dedicated itself to producing quality food and alcohol-based products for nearly 50 years. Didion uses a proprietary milling process to choose only the highest quality corn kernels for food processing designs customized products that can meet specific customer needs. The rest of the corn kernel is used to produce alcohol-based products, such as hand sanitizer. Didion produces many corn products, such as flours, grits, meals, pregelatinized ingredients, whole grain, and famine-relief aid. Didion also makes over 350 million corn- and soy-based meals each year for the USAID program through the USDA. These meals help to fight global hunger in four dozen developing nations. To learn more about Didion Inc., visit didioninc.com.