Program Results

Accomplishments in 2011

Operation Our Town total money raised from 2007-2011:
 • Over $2.3 million
    • Over $1.4 million raised from businesses, organizations, & individuals
    • Over $800,000 raised from federal grants

Operation Our Town total money distributed from 2007-2011:
• Over $1.9 million in grants distributed to law enforcement, treatment,
  and prevention programs in Blair County

Operation Our Town awarded over $225,000 in grants to law enforcement to help special operations:
• warrant squad
• interdiction squad
• saturation patrols
• search warrants
• tactical details
• stakeout details
• drug raids
• Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigations
• drug prosecutor
• Blair County Drug Task Force
• Blair County Sheriff’s Department
• Association of Blair County Law Enforcement

Law Enforcement Special Operations:

Search warrants executed: 26

Blair County drug raids: 2

Blair County drug arrests:
2007 – 607
2008 – 562
2009 – 549
2010 – 512
2011 – 493

Saturation patrols: 2
Occurred in Altoona, Hollidaysburg, Tyrone Borough, Duncansville, Allegheny Township, Blair Township, and Frankstown Township.

Operation Our Town initiated a Most Wanted List May 23, 2007:
• 29 captured to-date

Equipment purchased:
Gun shot trauma kits, Motorola radios, software, batteries & chargers, ballistic vests, and other various equipment.

Push Out the Pusher Calls answered at 911 Center:
Push Out The Pusher hotline: (814-693-3020 or 866-693-3020)

Drug deaths
25 drug overdoses in 2011.

Drug/Criminal Prosecutions
Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio hired Attorney Peter Weeks as the drug prosecutor in July 2007, with the help of a five-year grant from Operation Our Town.

Criminal Prosecutions:
  • 159 cases assigned
  • 8 jury trials

Forfeitures:
  • Over $179,223 in forfeitures from cash, automobiles, and personal
     property.

Volunteer Service
  • 206 Operation Our Town volunteers participated in 41 Outreach events
  • 685 total volunteer hours



 

2011 Grant Recipients

A total of over $146,000 in grants were awarded by Operation Our Town during the 2011 grant cycles for the following proven prevention and treatment programs:

Altoona Area Christian Coalition: Hope for the Future - Youth Day
Will occur on Saturday, April 28th from 9:30am-2:30pm at Bishop Guilfoyle High School for students in grades 6-9 living in Altoona and will feature activities focused on diversity and bullying.

Altoona Area School District: Project SOAR (Study, Overcome, Achieve, Reward)
Pilot project in its 3rd full year of operation, which has retained 19 of the 20 original students who will receive financial assistance to pursue a post secondary education, given that they meet program guidelines and participate fully in the program.

Altoona Area School District: Red Ribbon Week & Anabolic Steroid Education Program
Includes an assembly for the Altoona and Hollidaysburg School Districts from the Taylor Hooton Foundation, and pledge supplies and bracelets to be distributed during Red Ribbon Week 2011 (Oct. 24-29).

Bellwood-Antis Middle School: Outdoor Classroom/Community Garden
Will include an agricultural crops plot, amphitheatre, berry producing shrubs, native plants and flowers, bird feeders and blinds, compost pile, garden plots, pond, outdoor cooking area and tables, and renewable energy sources.

Blair Co. Juvenile Probation: Juvenile Drug Court
The Juvenile Drug Court Judge and a team comprised of representatives from treatment, juvenile justice, social services, schools, probation, counseling agencies, the prosecution, and the defense determine how best to address the substance abuse and related problems of the juvenile offender and his/her family.

Calvary United Methodist Church: FEED (Food, Encouragement, Exhortation, Discipleship)
A once a week meal open to all ages with a message and additional instruction to aid the individual to meet his or her full potential, including improving attitudes toward education, integrity, moral values, and self-sufficiency.

Central Blair County Recreation & Park Commission: Summer Rocks Playground Program
Eight week summer program offered at Leopold Park, Valley View Park, and Evergreen Manors for children ages 6-12 that will include various games & activities, arts & crafts, and field trips.

Child Advocates of Blair County: Blair County Head Start
Will support the comprehensive services provided by Blair County Head Start program, which serves 462 children and their families in fifteen centers across Blair County.

Claysburg-Kimmel Cares: Strengthening Families 10-14
Evidence-based program that consists of seven interactive, video-based sessions conducted over consecutive weeks to 8-10 families to help reduce alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use in Blair County.

Family Resource Center: Parents as Teachers/Infant Parenting Group
Will support the Parents as Teachers Program, which is an evidence-based best practice in-home visitation program and the Infant Parenting Group, which are monthly support group and educational meetings for parents and children at-risk.

Family Resource Center: Urban Garden (Booker T. Washington Project)
A community garden located at the Booker T. Washington Project on 19th Street between 14th & 12th Avenues that includes 10 raised beds to produce vegetables for the neighborhood.

Garver Memorial YMCA: YMCA Afterschool Program
Nine month program for children in kindergarten through age 13 in the Spring Cove School District that covers school homework help, physical & recreational activities, leadership skills, character development, and having fun through social play.

Garver Memorial YMCA: YMCA Summer Tutoring Program
Three-month program to assist students in grades first through eighth in the Spring Cove School District that will work with the student, the parent, and the child’s teacher to ensure success of the student who attends.

Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation: After School Program
After-school and summer programs provided for children ages 5 through 12 in a daily structured setting held within the housing developments of Evergreen Manors, Fairview Hills, and Logan Hills.

Hollidaysburg Area YMCA: Y Nites
Offers their facilities to kids and their families on the first Saturday of each month during the months of October through May to have access to their swimming pool, gymnasium, crafts, games, and concessions.

Home Nursing Agency Community Services: Nurse-Family Partnership
Evidence-based community health program that pairs vulnerable first-time mothers with a registered nurse home visitor to receive ongoing support and guidance throughout their pregnancy until the child reaches age two.

Joshua House, Inc.: Joshua House Community Center
A faith-based nonprofit organization with a mission to build community in kids, teens, and young adults through athletics, education, and faith and provides after-school activities and mentoring opportunities for youth in Northern Blair County, specifically Tyrone.

The Beacon of Blair County Foundation CPCF: The Beacon
A faith-based community outreach organization providing young people ages 12-20 a safe environment with structured activities, where positive adult role models can build relationships with them.

The Door/Hillside Community Church: The Door
After-school program held year-round for at-risk teens in junior and senior high school that provides a safe, home-like environment for kids after school.

The ROCK (Reaching Out to Community Kids): After School Program
After-school program for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade held at the 2nd Avenue United Methodist Church, which includes a recreational period, classroom lesson time, creative development period, and a hot, nutritious home-cooked meal.

The Second Mile: Blair Friend
Early intervention program that pairs Penn State Altoona college students with K-6th grade students in need of additional support and positive role models that attend scheduled Friend activities such as swimming, bowling, picnics, and holiday parties.

Williamsburg Public Library: After School Homework Help
Program to assist high school students in grades 7-10 through addressing homework and learning issues, career and/or post-secondary schooling needs, and also emphasize community service.


Past results 2008 | 2009 | 2010

^Top