"Operation Good Neighbor" Project in Atwater

On Tuesday, September 4th from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, “Operation Good Neighbor” was held.

The Atwater Police Department, led by Officer Ken Lee is heading up our improvement project for the Determine/Kelso area, named “Operation Good Neighbor”. Thanks to the coordination efforts of the Atwater Code Enforcement, Republic Services, and Mt. Bullion crew who were all instrumental in assisting with tree trimming, removing and cleaning.

Although the Atwater Police Department may have extra work on their plates now, the goal is to reduce calls for service in the Determine/Kelso area by improving conditions for the nice folks that are stuck there, and getting rid of the bad actors with evictions, code enforcement and arrests. As Interim Police Chief Bessinger states, “In another life, with some setbacks and hard times, you and your loved ones could easily have to live in this neighborhood. Maybe some of you did grow up in an area like this … maybe you became a cop because of it. There are plenty of good folks living there that are scared to have their kids play outside. These people deserve to live in peace and safety, and we are in the “peace and safety” business”.

Anyone who wants to assist will be welcomed. This neighborhood is a microcosm of what is wrong in our community. Let’s fix this, or at least mitigate the harm, and we can move on to other areas that need our help too. This is a long term project, it will take months. If done correctly, people will begin waving at you with all of their fingers, young boys and girls will consider becoming police officers 10 years from now because they will see that a cop cared enough about them to improve their neighborhood.