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Kenneth Fries, sheriff of Allen County, has a great idea, which was announced this month. It’s called Project: Safe Bet. He wants to build a state-of-the-art outdoor training course to provide law enforcement officers and first responders in the area with a place to practice the skills necessary to provide top-quality service to the community and to keep themselves safe while doing so.
Just as important, this facility would be available to the community, with training programs for private individuals, schools, medical facilities and businesses, to ensure the safety of everyone traveling our roadways.
While a 2-mile road course and skid path, designed to simulate all driving and weather conditions, would be the training course’s centerpiece, other features include a firearms range, SWAT facility, a water rescue training pond, plus a mixed environment area for scenario-based training for fire, medical, hazardous materials and law enforcement personnel.
This proposed regional training course would be an incredible complement to the new Public Safety Academy just opened. The road course will be designed to accommodate courses for emergency vehicle operations, fleet operator safety, bus drivers and, for private individuals, courses for teens, special needs drivers and seniors.
Having two teenage boys in my household, I’m delighted to hear that someone is thinking about training our young drivers to respond to hazardous conditions and circumstances while still in a safe and controlled environment – and before they have to encounter them on the road, when everything is at stake.
As the owner of a Fort Wayne business, I look forward to recommending such a facility to my employees, not only for use by their children, but also for winter driving training for those new employees arriving here from more temperate climates. As Sheriff Fries said, “The first time a driver needs to correct from a skid on snow or ice should not be when other traffic is present.”
About 200 acres of land for Project: Safe Bet has already been purchased on Paulding Road east of Fort Wayne. No taxpayer money has been used, and Sheriff Fries’ commitment is that no tax dollars will be spent in the future on this proposed $20 million project. Instead, the non-profit Greater Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers organization will accept tax-deductible donations from private individuals, corporations and foundations for the project.
Sweetwater Sound is proud to be the first Fort Wayne business to step up and support Project: Safe Bet. I hope everyone will make a contribution, large or small, to help make it a reality. The safety of our streets, the safety of our families, will only be improved because of it.
