Ken
Gone but not forgotten
From the Bowling Green Daily News:
GM donates Corvette for KSP training
[font=arial,verdana,helvetica][size=-2]By Hayli Fellwock, hfellwock@bgdailynews.com -- 270-783-3240[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Sans-serif]Thursday, January 20, 2005[/font]
[font=times new roman,new century schoolbook,palatino][size=+0]General Motors helped Kentucky State Police strike a blow against car theft Wednesday afternoon through the loan of a 1997 blue Corvette Coupe for training purposes.[/size][/font]
[font=times new roman,new century schoolbook,palatino][size=+0]The car will be towed to classes throughout the state to provide hands-on instruction in identifying and recovering stolen vehicles and vehicle parts – a crime that tallied a total loss of $50 million statewide in 2003, according to Capt. Jeff Mayberry, commander of the Bowling Green KSP post.[/size][/font]
“When you have that great of a loss, it impacts everybody through higher insurance premiums,” Mayberry said. “Obviously, the more people we can get trained to identify and recover stolen vehicles, the better it will be for everybody. It will help us in the recovery of not just stolen Corvettes, but other stolen vehicles as well.”
Bill Riley, a detective in KSP’s Lexington-based vehicle investigation section, said the car will be a useful tool in the classroom and may even spare him some class trips to the junkyard – the only place Riley could previously find vehicles for interactive instruction.
“Most of our presentations are done through PowerPoint,” he said. “It’s really rare that you can have something that you can really use for hands-on demonstrations. This way we would be teaching them techniques on Corvette identification and, at the same time, have a vehicle sitting there that they can lay hands on. It’s very generous of General Motors to loan us the car.”
Officers will use the car to learn what to look for on vehicles at each stage of the theft process, Riley said. He said the Corvette will be slightly modified to include features such as an easily removable bumper to help officers take a more in-depth look at the car parts.
Kentucky averages about 10,000 stolen cars waiting to be recovered at any given time, Riley said. Due to the tough security system installed in Corvettes, they are not stolen as often as GMC and Chevrolet pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles, according to Riley.
But Corvette identification and recovery classes usually generate the most interest, he said.
Riley first approached Corvette Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode about loaning a car to KSP for training. Strode put Riley in contact with Don Farrell, chief financial officer for the GM Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, who agreed to loan the Coupe, a car that was loaned to the museum in 1997 for display purposes.
“We see this as a real benefit to our customers,” Farrell said. “Naturally, the Corvette’s very important to Bowling Green and our customers are very important to Bowling Green as well and the plant – they are our livelihood. “We see what state police are doing – training officers to improve recovery times and so on. Corvette customers have a very special relationship with their cars. That’s why we have a museum. We recognize that and see it as a benefit to our customers that we ensure they get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of their vehicles.”
GM donates Corvette for KSP training
[font=arial,verdana,helvetica][size=-2]By Hayli Fellwock, hfellwock@bgdailynews.com -- 270-783-3240[/size][/font]
[font=Arial,Sans-serif]Thursday, January 20, 2005[/font]
[font=times new roman,new century schoolbook,palatino][size=+0]General Motors helped Kentucky State Police strike a blow against car theft Wednesday afternoon through the loan of a 1997 blue Corvette Coupe for training purposes.[/size][/font]
[font=times new roman,new century schoolbook,palatino][size=+0]The car will be towed to classes throughout the state to provide hands-on instruction in identifying and recovering stolen vehicles and vehicle parts – a crime that tallied a total loss of $50 million statewide in 2003, according to Capt. Jeff Mayberry, commander of the Bowling Green KSP post.[/size][/font]
Joe Imel/Daily News
Kentucky State Police Capt. Jeff Mayberry (third from left) thanks General Motors on Wednesday for the Corvette that was donated for auto theft training. Don Farrell (from left), chief financial officer of the National Corvette Museum, Wendell Strode , executive director of the NCM, Sgt. Bob Motley, Maj. Mike Sapp and Detective Bill Riley were in attendance.
“When you have that great of a loss, it impacts everybody through higher insurance premiums,” Mayberry said. “Obviously, the more people we can get trained to identify and recover stolen vehicles, the better it will be for everybody. It will help us in the recovery of not just stolen Corvettes, but other stolen vehicles as well.”
Bill Riley, a detective in KSP’s Lexington-based vehicle investigation section, said the car will be a useful tool in the classroom and may even spare him some class trips to the junkyard – the only place Riley could previously find vehicles for interactive instruction.
“Most of our presentations are done through PowerPoint,” he said. “It’s really rare that you can have something that you can really use for hands-on demonstrations. This way we would be teaching them techniques on Corvette identification and, at the same time, have a vehicle sitting there that they can lay hands on. It’s very generous of General Motors to loan us the car.”
Officers will use the car to learn what to look for on vehicles at each stage of the theft process, Riley said. He said the Corvette will be slightly modified to include features such as an easily removable bumper to help officers take a more in-depth look at the car parts.
Kentucky averages about 10,000 stolen cars waiting to be recovered at any given time, Riley said. Due to the tough security system installed in Corvettes, they are not stolen as often as GMC and Chevrolet pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles, according to Riley.
But Corvette identification and recovery classes usually generate the most interest, he said.
Riley first approached Corvette Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode about loaning a car to KSP for training. Strode put Riley in contact with Don Farrell, chief financial officer for the GM Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, who agreed to loan the Coupe, a car that was loaned to the museum in 1997 for display purposes.
“We see this as a real benefit to our customers,” Farrell said. “Naturally, the Corvette’s very important to Bowling Green and our customers are very important to Bowling Green as well and the plant – they are our livelihood. “We see what state police are doing – training officers to improve recovery times and so on. Corvette customers have a very special relationship with their cars. That’s why we have a museum. We recognize that and see it as a benefit to our customers that we ensure they get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of their vehicles.”
