6 | September 13, 2018 | The winnetka Current NEWS winnetkacurrent.com Winnetka Village Council Trustees greenlight 28 new Tasers for Winnetka Police Fouad Egbaria Freelance Reporter The Winnetka Village Council approved a payment plan for a new set of Tasers for the Winnetka Police Department, as several of the department’s Tasers have lost functionality in the last year. The Village Council approved the proposed payment option during its Tuesday, Sept. 4 regular meeting. The Winnetka Police Department purchased 27 Tasers from manufacturer Axon in 2012 and 2013. The devices, however, typically have a lifespan of about five years. Police Chief Marc Hornstein said Axon does not service the devices after the completion of the five-year warranty period, meaning the department has needed to pursue purchases of new devices. Hornstein said the Tasers are tested every time an officer comes on shift; seven of the devices have failed testing this year. “The way I look at the Taser is it’s something that’s very seldomly used, but not unlike a good auto mechanic — where you need some specialty tools and you may have a tool that doesn’t get used very often but from time to time you get that difficult job that comes through your repair shop — you need the right tool to do the job,” Hornstein said. “The Taser is the same thing. ... I maintain that it’s critical that our officers continue to be equipped with such an important tool.” Given that many of the department’s Tasers were nearing the conclusion or past their warranty, Hornstein said the police budget included $7,500 in its police equipment account going into this year. “We were getting failure with some of them,” he said. “We learned pretty quickly that we’re going to have to start replacing these maybe sooner than later.” The department looked at two options, the first being procuring seven per year over the next four years, coming at a total cost of just under $49,000, taking into account the current cost of the device ($1,667) and the expectation that the price would rise by 3 percent each year. The second option, which Hornstein recommended and the Village Council approved, called for delivery of 28 new devices delivered immediately, with $6,000 paid up front in the first year. The department budgeted $7,500 for this year, but Hornstein noted that in subsequent years the budgeted amount would have ROUND IT UP A brief recap of Village Council action Sept. 4 • A resolution was approved granting a Class D liquor license to Albatross Wine Company, LLC, for 914 Green Bay Road. • The Village Council received an update on the Village’s police and fire pension funds, information on which is included in the board packet for the meeting. to rise to approximately $8,000 per year in order to meet the payments for the new devices. In total, the cost of this option came out to $41,564.60, which includes $2,800 in credit for trade-ins of devices current in the department’s possession, Hornstein said. He added the manufacturer did not offer a reduced rate in the hypothetical case that the Village might want to pay the entire cost up front. “It is an unusual item,” Trustee Penny Lanphier said. “It’s not like you can sort of wrap duct tape around it and keep it going along for a while. It either works or it doesn’t work.” police reports Money sent to fake dating profile At 5:50 p.m. Aug. 30, officers responded to a resident who reported sending money via Apple gift cards to a subject they met through a dating app, and later discovered the subject was using a false identity. The amount of loss is less than $500 and the case is under investigation. In other police news: NORTHFIELD Aug. 31 • At 10:14 a.m., a truck damaged an overhanging canopy to the main entrance of Lutheran Church of the Ascension, 460 Sunset Ridge Road. Officers made contact with the truck’s owner, who agreed to arrange for repairs to the building. Church officials declined any further action. Aug. 27 • Luis A. Duchimaza, 70, of Chicago, was arrested for speeding, 27 mph over the limit, driving without a valid license and operation of an uninsured vehicle at 12:03 a.m. at the intersection of Willow and Wagner roads. His court date is Oct. 18. WINNETKA Aug. 31 • A gas-powered leaf blower with a propane tank, worth $800, was stolen between 1:17-1:27 p.m. from an unattended landscaping trailer in the 100 block of Birch Street. EDITOR’S NOTE: The Winnetka Current Police Reports are compiled by the Winnetka Police Department and the Northfield Police Department. Individuals named in these reports are considered innocent of all charges until proven guilty in a court of law. 22CM podcast partners with local studio Eric DeGrechie Managing Editor Just over a year ago, 22nd Century Media, parent company of The Winnetka Current, launched its first podcast, “The Varsity: North Shore.” The brainchild of Michal Dwojak, who has worked with co-host Michael Wojtychiw since its inception, the weekly high school spots talk show has seen its popularity grow through each successive high school sports season. “I honestly originally thought we would just be doing it during the football season. It turned into us doing it the whole year,” said Dwojak, the sports editor of 22nd Century Media’s The Glenview Lantern and The Northbrook Tower. “It really is cool that it’s grown to this level.” Now, the podcast is ready to take the next step in its evolution as it partners with Northfield-based Media Podz. Co-founded by Chris Falcon, David Kohn and Joe Pettinato, the local startup prides itself on having state-of-the-art, private recording spaces that offer clients with the ability to record high-quality audio and video content for marketing and social media. “We worked hard creating a proprietary software that makes the experience of recording high-quality content simple, but our real goal was to create a vehicle that helps people connect with each other and with the world,” Falcon said. Last week, the co-hosts of “The Varsity” were given a tour of their future digs. Recording at Media Podz, 181 Waukegan Road, began on Tuesday, Sept. 11. “I really like it. Being able to hear ourselves while we’re talking will be nice,” said Wojtychiw, who is also sports editor of 22nd Century Media’s The Wilmette Beacon, The Glencoe Anchor and The Winnetka Current. “What’s also going to help is there’s going to be an audio engineer there to so we don’t have to worry about things like whether it sounds good.” Describing itself as a “podcaster’s dream,” Media Podz uses professional mics, cameras, lighting and software. The company can make even a beginner sound professional. “Collaboration and partnerships are the future and the now,” said Kohn, a native of Glenview. “We look forward to the partnership. It’s not only an opportunity for us to flex the muscle of our software, but also to demonstrate the strength of community and teamwork.” While Media Podz is just getting started, The Varsity podcast celebrates its oneyear anniversary. “The podcast had enormous potential from the start,” said Joe Coughlin, publisher of 22nd Century Media and podcast producer. “We know there are prep sports fans and families along the North Shore. With the enthusiasm and experience of our hosts, all ‘The Varsity’ needed to do was reach them. We’re getting better at that every week.” To learn more about Media Podz and to book studio time, visit mediapodz.com. “The Varsity: North Shore” can be downloaded on Soundcloud or popular audio-streaming services.
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