Barbecue dinner to benefit Aurora K-9 unit

A fourth annual barbecue dinner to benefit the Aurora Police Department K-9 unit will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13. The public is invited. The fundraiser will be drive-through only in the police headquarters east parking lot, 1200 E. Indian Trail Road in Aurora.

Reuland's Food Service in Aurora will dish chicken, pork chops, a combination dinner or a prime-rib sandwich with side dishes of applesauce and baked beans. Soda and bottled water will be available for $1 each.

Sponsor is the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, an APD support group, which will provide volunteers to serve meals.

Tickets are $12.50 in advance or $15 at the event.

Call (630) 897-9334 or email ptsheldon7@sbcglobal.net for tickets or information.

Founded in 1994, the CPAAA is a volunteer group dedicated to providing police department cooperation through community involvement. The police department's Community Oriented Policing Bureau instituted the Academy to improve communication and to obtain citizen input and support throughout the city. The Academy provides a 10-week program designed to give students working knowledge of the Aurora Police Department.

Interactive weekly classes meet on consecutive Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at APD headquarters, 1200 East Indian Trail Road in Aurora. Classes include patrol, telecommunications (911), traffic and criminal law, use of force, vice and narcotics, K9, evidence, juvenile, investigations, gang awareness, problem solving and crime prevention.

Students also participate in exercises that cover building searches, crime scene processing, and traffic stops. All instructors in the CPA are Aurora police officers. Participants gain a working knowledge of the duties and responsibilities required to be a law enforcement officer.

Admission is free. Each applicant undergoes a background check. Applicants must be 21 years old and live, work or own property in Aurora. The fall class, No. 42, started Sept. 1.

For more information and applications, call (630) 256-5342 or (630) 256-5385.