SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office community service crews will help battle a noxious weed invasion at the County’s Crystal Peak Park next week by pulling Poison Hemlock and other weeds that are trying to establish a foothold in this popular riverside park.
Crystal Peak Park is located off Old Highway 40 in Verdi. Crews are scheduled to be at the park on Monday, August 29 and Tuesday, August 30, 2011. The crews begin work at approximately 8:30 a.m. and work until about 1:00 p.m. each day.
Funding for the crews equipment and supervision is provided by a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Nevada’s Truckee River Fund.
“Next week’s weed pull is part of an important ongoing effort to protect this public park from a variety of invasive weeds ranging from tall white top to Poison Hemlock that tend to propagate along the river,” Washoe County Regional Parks and Open Space South Region Superintendent Eric Crump said.
“The Truckee River Fund has provided much of the funding necessary for this effort. Their support, and our ongoing partnership with the Sheriff’s community work program play an important role in the Parks Department’s effort to keep our parks open, safe and clean,” Crump said.
The Sheriff’s Community Work Program requires sentenced defendants to perform a specific number of hours or days of community service. Participants are typically low risk offenders with no violent felony charges, no current violent misdemeanor charges, no record of escape and no open charges.
Since 2008, the Truckee River Fund has awarded the Sheriff’s Office over $90,000 in grants to fund projects that address local quality of life and public safety issues. These grants support the hiring of a work crew supervisor and the purchase of equipment needed for a number of river bank projects such as weeding invasive plant species, removing debris left along the river from homeless camps, and helping to protect trees from beaver damage.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office celebrates 150 years of proud service and community partnership in 2011. Sheriff Michael Haley is the 24th person elected to serve as the Sheriff of Washoe County. His office continues to be the only full service public safety agency operating within northern Nevada and is responsible for operating the consolidated detention facility, regional crime lab, Northern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center, Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, court security, service of civil process and traditional street patrols.
