
Hanford Insider
Welcome the Hanford Insider, I’m your host Rob Bentley. I’m a lifelong resident of Hanford and I’m very involved in the local history scene and podcasting so I decided to start this show as a resource to Hanford area residents for covering issues, promoting events, sports, and reflecting on some local history.
Tune in each Monday for a new episode.
Please help me get the word out about the show by sharing on social media, or telling a friend. For more information about the show, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, or Threads at @Hanford Insider.
If you have a show idea, be sure to email me hanfordinsider@gmail.com If you are part of an organization that needs help getting the word out to the community, let’s work together.
Hanford Insider
Hanford Insider: Honoring Canine Officer Krash
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Have you ever wondered about the deep bonds formed between police officers and their canine partners? This week's episode delves into a touching community initiative to honor fallen K9 officers, specifically Officer Krash who served the Hanford Police Department.
Dionicia Parks and Jim Carpenter join us to share their passionate mission to create lasting memorials for these four-legged heroes. Krash's story – from his dedicated service alongside Officer Cano to surviving fentanyl exposure and becoming a beloved family member during retirement – highlights the unique role these animals play in our community. The pair discuss their fundraising efforts for a memorial bench and statue, explaining how these tributes will serve both as remembrances and practical additions to the community space. Their advocacy extends beyond physical memorials to raising awareness about the need for better protections for retired police canines, similar to those afforded to military working dogs.
GoFundMe Link
Before this powerful conversation, we catch up on local happenings with our community calendar, featuring details about Navy Appreciation Night at the Thursday marketplace and the upcoming Evening of the Arts at King's Arts Center. We also spotlight the Child Support Awareness Month Summer Kids Day event on August 7th, featuring free haircuts, school supplies, and family resources. Marie Waite provides a comprehensive overview of this collaboration between Kings County Child Support Services and numerous community partners.
Whether you're an animal lover, community advocate, or simply someone who appreciates the essential services provided by our law enforcement teams and their K9 officers, this episode offers meaningful insights into how passionate citizens can make a difference. Join us to learn how you can support the memorial project and help ensure no canine officer's service goes unrecognized.
You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
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On this episode of the Hanford Insider, we'll get a chance to talk to Denisha Parks and Jim Carpenter about a fundraising campaign they are initiating to recognize canine officer. Karash and Rob will cover some community news plus a quick check of the community calendar. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, july 28th.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome to the Hanford Insider, your behind-the-scenes look at life in Hanford, California. I'm your host, rob Bentley. This show is all about sharing local stories, highlighting community events and keeping you in the know about what's happening right here in our hometown. I especially want to thank the growing numbers of you who are ditching social media as a news source and coming to a trusted source. It doesn't matter if you've lived here your whole life or you're just getting to know Hanford. This podcast is the place for news, community events, history and maybe a few things you didn't know. First of all, I wanted to thank you for your support. I just wrapped up my 100th episode and I hope to have many more on the way.
Speaker 2:These last few weeks off have given me a chance to recharge and relax a little bit, but it's time to get back to it. So let's get started. The Hanford City Council doesn't meet again until next week, but for those of you who missed the special episode last week, I wanted to remind everyone that, following each council meeting, I'll repost Mayor Travis Payton's Wednesday Roundup featuring highlights from the meetings. If you subscribe to the podcast, it'll automatically notify you when it's posted. If you're not a subscriber, you can always stop by the website or social media pages to hear the Roundup as well. A big shout out to Travis Payton for allowing me to make this available to those of you who might not be on social media. Well, it looks like the City of Hanford Parks and Community Services has heard our voices and they've decided to open up the plunge a little more to keep us cool during the summer months. Stop by the city website at hanfordcagov for a complete listing of extended offerings. So last week the Carnegie Museum of Kings County launched the Historic Downtown Hanford Walking Tours. The tour is self-guided using your smartphone. You can download the flyer for the tour at carnegiemuseumofkingscountyorg. The first portion of the tour includes 12 stops. More stops are going to be added as interest in the tours grow.
Speaker 2:Now let's take a look at this week's community calendar. On Monday night, hop Forge Brewing is hosting a comedy night with Alvin Duke at 7 pm. At this week's Thursday night marketplace, it's Navy Appreciation Night with music by the band Electric Grease Also coming up. On Thursday night, the Little Brick Theater is hosting an open mic night at 630. You can check out their website at hanfordmtccom for information about that event. On Friday night, august 1st, the King's Arts Center will be holding their annual Evening of the Arts. Visit their website at kingsartscenterorg for details. Well, coming up on Thursday, august 7th, is the Child Support Awareness Month, summer Kids Day from the Kings County Child Support Services, and I have Marie Waite with me today to talk about the event. How are you doing, marie?
Speaker 3:I'm doing wonderful. Thank you for asking.
Speaker 2:So, Marie, I understand this is your second year doing this event.
Speaker 3:It is this is our second year that we are offering a free, family-friendly community event, hosted by the Kings County Child Support Services in partnership with FAS Federal Credit Union, celebrating Child Support Awareness Month, which happens every August every year, and we will be having resources, fun and school-age prep support. We're really meant to be here for the families. The observance of the Child Support Awareness Month seeks to showcase Kings County Child Support Service, continually changing to meet the needs of our community, which is evolving, as well as our vision to meet the the needs of our community, which is evolving, as well as our vision to meet the evolving needs of the community by improving access to programs that possibly impact families. This is a collaborative event with participation from various county of King's departments and local agencies, community partners. We could not have this event without such a great support from those in our county.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. Looking here at the flyer, you can see all of your sponsors. It's a tremendous community event. So we said it's Thursday, august 7th, from 4 to 7. And let's talk about the location, the unique location of your offices here.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. We are located downtown at the Fast Plaza, 312 West 7th Street in Hanford. This event will simultaneously be happening during Thursday Night Market, which we will be the host of that event that evening. So you can bounce between the Fast Plaza, where we will have activities happening both indoor and outdoor, and also enjoy the market and see our booth downtown Hamford.
Speaker 2:So why should people attend? What do people need to know about this event and maybe child support services in general?
Speaker 3:Well, I want everyone to know that all are welcome to this event.
Speaker 3:Whether you have a case, are interested in a case or simply just want a family-friendly event, this is meant for everyone.
Speaker 3:This is a celebration of the Child Support Awareness Month while getting kids ready for school, and so if you have a 10-year-old that's getting ready for school, please come. But if you have a 10-month-old and you just want a family-friendly event and maybe it's the first time they're going to get their little face painted, really, this is meant for all, or even if you don't have kids anymore and you just want to check out what's going on in the local community. We are really a program that is meant to serve families where they currently are, and there may be you've been a past customer or you could be a future customer but we just want to make sure that we're getting awareness of what our program is here to do, and it's to help families. In addition, this event is to access helpful services, so we want to shed light on other programs, such as King's Community Action, king's Partnership for Prevention. There are so many great programs here outside of just child support, and that's why this is such a collaborative event.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about some of those agencies that are going to be here no-transcript.
Speaker 3:So we'll talk first about those that are in the County of Kings. So we'll have the library, job training office, human services agency, Department of Public Health, 4-H youth development program for partners that are outside of Kings. Kings Community Action Organization, KCAO, is really stepping up to be a huge partner. This year they're going to be offering some food, which I'll talk about shortly. Kings Water Alliance, Kings United, More UCP of Central California and many, many more partners will be here on this day.
Speaker 2:So there's a lot of activities. You mentioned face painting, but there's also because it's getting back to school time. There's going to be a lot of free items for the kids, right?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. So I'll talk briefly about the raffle items. So we will be asking people to submit a ticket, one per attendee and we're going to be raffling off items from backpacks to school supplies, round tables, donated pizza, gift certificates. We have gardening kits, we have gift cards for hairstylists, in case you don't get a free haircut on that day. So let's talk about that.
Speaker 3:This is a unique thing. We are going to have eight hairstylists on site. It will be first come, first serve basis, but they will be doing haircuts in our facility and we hope that we are able to get kids hair trimmed. And we hope that we are able to get kids hair trimmed you know, anyone under 18, whether they're getting ready for their first day of preschool or their senior year of high school. We're really excited about the free haircuts.
Speaker 3:In addition, I mentioned our partner, king's community action. They will be giving out 200 food kits while supplies last and also we'll be featuring those food kits by providing samples. We're not going costco style everyone don't get too excited but it will be an element of a demonstration on how to utilize the food provided in the kits. In addition, I you know face painting. I have some team members that will be doing that Also. Little manicures Home Depot will be on site doing craft making activities. That was a huge success last year. Cornerstone Cafe is an adorable cafe, great food, customer service. That is downstairs of the Fast Plaza and they will be offering a 30% discount while supplies last. So we're excited about that partnership. And then the other partners are all going to have items on their booth, whether it's doing acute temporary tattoos or candy. There will be lots of giveaways at this event.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic, Marie. There's a tremendous amount of information and what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to post a link to the flyers for the event on the show notes of the episode. And if someone wanted to get involved in this, maybe they had a donation or maybe they just want to come and help out. How can they do that?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. For specifics on this event or donations and or child support matters, please contact us at 559-852-4127 or the email address supportcounts at cokingscaus. We truly look forward to seeing all at this community event at the Fast Plaza on Thursday, august 7th, from 4 to 7 pm.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much. Thank you, I really enjoy putting together this community calendar, so remember, if you have an event coming up and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. You can send me an email at hanfordinsider at gmailcom. I have a weekly newsletter and for those of you who aren't subscribed to that, you can do that. It has a complete calendar of events as well as show summaries, and it's the most comprehensive community calendar available, so be sure to check it out. Well, I hope all of you are having a great summer.
Speaker 2:I've been off for a few weeks, but I'm glad to be kicking off the third year of the show today here at the amazing new space in downtown Hanford for local creatives. It's called the Studio, and the Studio is located directly across 8th Street from Sensory Rock and it is owned and operated by Ruben and Monica Cano. I'd like to thank both of them for opening up their doors for us this afternoon. Our first guests of the new season are actually good friends of Monica and her family. It's Denisha Parks and Jim Carpenter. Welcome to the show.
Speaker 4:Thank you for having us.
Speaker 2:Denisha, we've seen the headlines about the Hanford Police Department canine officer Crash, who was euthanized just over a year ago, but today what I'd like to focus on is how you're working behind the scenes to make sure all canine officers receive the recognition that they deserve. So, Denisha, tell us a little bit about Crash's service in the Hanford Police Department.
Speaker 4:Anisha, tell us a little bit about Crash's service in the Hanford Police Department. Well, crash was assigned to Officer Cano in 2019. And during his training he was with the SWAT team. He was involved in the schools, with demonstrations. He was a street dog too, where he was involved in a stop where there was fentanyl and Officer Cano and Crash were exposed to fentanyl. And then he recovered and then after that he was put back to work and then he also injured his leg was put on, kind of like a workman's comp.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember reading about that.
Speaker 4:Yes, and his vet decided that his injury was a little bit more advanced than what he would recover from. So they retired him and during that retirement he stayed with the Kano family and loved the kids and he was enjoying retirement like all of us should.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so these dogs become a big part of family life, don't they?
Speaker 4:Absolutely, and Crash was very involved in their family and they loved him very much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was telling this story earlier about when I used to live next to a sheriff's canine officer and the officer was very kind and brought the dog over and assured my kids that they were safe and even did a lost keys demonstration and things, and it was very evident about how important these dogs are to families. So unfortunately, crash was euthanized, and can you tell us a little bit about that?
Speaker 4:Well, I don't want to get into detail about everything, but he was euthanized on January 31st 2024.
Speaker 2:So it upset a lot of people? Yes, it did, and there's a lot of circumstances that we're not at liberty to talk about here yes yes, Totally understandable.
Speaker 2:But you have an important mission. You want to make sure that these canine officers are always remembered. You want to make sure that these canine officers are always remembered and you have a special project and you've rallied community supporters, including Jim Carpenter, who joins us. Jim has been involved in city council meetings, making sure that the canines stay at the forefront of the conversation. Jim, you've been a vocal person at city council meetings, always making sure that people remember Crash and other canines. Why is this so important to you?
Speaker 5:It was important to me because I saw a post on Facebook and I am an animal lover. I have a little Datsun named Larry who I love to death Larry, who I love to death. And when I read this I immediately wrote back to the poster, which was my friend here, Donicia. And here I am. I got involved into it. It became a passion with me. I was seeing other animals on Facebook.
Speaker 5:I would go through the reels and watch how they were honored and how they were treated like officers that they were, and I cried a few times, quite a few times, and I said this is something I want to be a part of, and I got angry also. And then I remembered that I had met Crash a couple of times there at the school that I teach at, and he had visited our school twice and he would come around the kids and, of course, they were directed what to do and what not to do. But I said this is important, this is one of our police officers and we have not recognized him, and so I said let's do it.
Speaker 2:So, Denisha, you have a plan in the works to actually memorialize Crash and other canine officers. What do you have going?
Speaker 4:Well, at first we started selling shirts, so shirts are still available, they're $20. So shirts are still available, they're $20. So you can still order those. You just message us on Facebook, instagram.
Speaker 2:So I understand you're planning a memorial bench and maybe a statue.
Speaker 4:Yes, the bench is a lot cheaper than the statue. The statue is anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000. Anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000. The bench we already have estimates and we will go through a local company and we do have funds for that. We're getting very close to finishing the bench purchase and then we will just focus on the statue as the funds come in and that can be installed at a later date. But to get that bench is very important. What we would like to do, or put it is in front of the police department where a lot of custody transfers happen, so that the children have some place to sit and wait for the other parent, and just I think that that would be a wonderful place. And once we do get a new city building, a new police department, we can move that. But yes, that's the plan and I think that the community bringing a GoFundMe to light, anybody can donate and anybody can walk by who's donated and say I helped purchase that bench, to feel a connection.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you have the GoFundMe going and how can they, if they're not into online giving or something like that, how can they contact you to donate towards the memorial?
Speaker 4:Well, they can go through any of my social medias or they can come to the studio and get information. I'm very accessible. So my phone I can give you my phone number. I can do anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll tell you what. I will put the links on my page on the Hanford Insider webpage and links to the GoFundMe and other things. I have the ability. If you listeners go to the show notes portion, I have links to different show topics and everything right there and I'll put a link to the GoFundMe right there so you can go right to it Wonderful we also have a letter for businesses or whoever needs a letter to donate.
Speaker 4:So we definitely want to get this done. It's been overdue. I would have liked to have done it on his one year. I would have liked to never have experienced this and been a part of it, but I'm very grateful that I am and he still has a voice, and he has a voice for all of the canines that we still have. And because of crash, the state of California and probably outside of California, people are talking about their programs, their canine programs and making sure that this doesn't happen again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 4:We actually, as a state, need to make a law preventing this from happening again. The military has a law in place where all military, they go to the ends of the ropes to make sure these dogs are not euthanized and they can be retrained and they can do wonderful in homes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they certainly can. Well, Denisha, jim, I want to thank you for joining me today, and, of course, there's going to be more news coming down the line in the next few months in terms of things that are going on with the memorial and remembering all the canine officers. But don't forget that the community needs people that are passionate about things, and we need more Denisha's and we need more Jim's to come to city council meetings, talk to their city council members and express their concerns, because you're going to make a difference.
Speaker 4:Thank you. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3:And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley.
Speaker 1:It's almost August and fall sports are quickly approaching, with football training camps starting soon. Next week we'll preview the upcoming season, where Hanford High is already garnering preseason attention, hanford West gets a fresh start and Sierra Pacific looks to bounce back. As always, we'd like to cover as many local sports as we can, so if you have a score report or a story idea, make sure to email hanfordinsider at gmailcom. I'm Eric Bentley and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.
Speaker 2:Well, that's all the time we have for this week's show. Join me next week when I have a chance to sit down with Kings County Board of Supervisors, district 3 Representative Doug Verboon. I'm looking forward to having him on the show. If you enjoyed this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffeecom slash Hanford Insider and make a donation. I really appreciate it. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, you can stop by my website at hanfordinsidercom to sign up for updates. You'll also get a copy of that newsletter that I was talking about in your inbox each week.
Speaker 2:You know I also need your help getting the word out about the show, and you can do that several ways. One is sharing it on social media. The most popular way of finding out about the podcast, I'm finding, is that people just share it with friends. So let them know about it. And, most importantly, if you have a show idea, be sure to email me at hanfordinsider at gmailcom and I'll look into it. I've got some fantastic show topics coming up in the next few weeks and I can't wait to put those together for you. So I'd like to thank you for listening and I hope you have a fantastic week.