Local K9 Units Team Up for Vohne Liche Kennels’ Olympics

Posted on August 21, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

Three K9 Units from Starke County have teamed up to take on the “Olympics” at Vohne Liche Kennels.

The local team consists of North Judson Police Officer Rico Simpson and his K9 partner Jimy, Knox City Police Officer Chad Dulin and his K9 O’Neill, and Starke County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Brack Rowe and his K9 Zardoz.

Photo Source: Vohne Liche Kennels

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher touched on the collaborative effort during her report at Monday night’s council meeting, noting that it serves as a good training opportunity.

She explained, “Vohne Liche Kennels puts on a week-long Olympics and they go down and it’s technically the “Olympics” but they learn a lot from it; there’s different obstacles, different strategies, different techniques and so forth.”

Fisher added that law enforcement agencies from all over the country and around the world attend this annual event and she’s glad that Officer Simpson and his K9 partner are able to participate alongside other local officers.

On social media, North Judson PD officials also shared that Jimy is sporting his harness that was donated by the NJ-SP Liberty Elementary School.

Photo Source: NJ-PD FB Page

North Judson Police Department to Recognize St. Peter Lutheran School on New K9 Vest

Posted on December 20, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

The new bullet-proof vest for the North Judson Police Department’s K-9 Jimy has been ordered and plans are in the works to somehow acknowledge everyone who donated the funds for the purchase.

In her report during Monday’s Town Council meeting, Marshal Kelly Fisher asked for the council to approve a purchase order of $699 for the vest. She reminded members that the money for the K9 safety gear came from the week-long fundraiser that was held at the St. Peter Lutheran School in November.

The payment of the purchase order was approved unanimously by the council.

Marshal Fisher noted that once the vest comes in, they want to include something on it that would reflect that it was bought thanks to the charitable students and staff who participated in the fundraiser at St. Peters.

Fisher noted that she’s currently looking into a few different options that are available to get something like that done. She said there’s a chance they could have it embroidered or they may put a patch with the schools’ emblem on it.

Students at St. Peter Lutheran School Help Raise Funds for K9 Bullet-Proof Vest

Posted on December 8, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

NJPD K9 Jimy     Photo Source: Peggy Bohac

Students at the St. Peter Lutheran School recently held a fundraiser to help purchase a new bullet-proof vest for the North Judson Police Department’s K9 Jimy.

At Monday evening’s Town Council meeting, Town Marshal Kelly Fisher shared that about $630 was raised through the school’s fundraiser. Marshal Fisher, K9 Handler Officer Rico Simpson and his trusty partner Jimy went to the school at the end of November in order to take part in the incentive event that was promised to students.

Fisher explained, “Over a week, the kids had to raise money and they had a jar that they put the money in for the principal and, I believe, the vice principal and whoever got the most got duct taped to the wall so we went and participated with that.”

Other faculty members had jars in their classrooms as well. The two jars that gathered the most funds were those belonging to Principal Rhonda Reimers and 7th and 8th-grade teacher Steve Lee. As promised, the principal and teacher were good sports and allowed themselves to be duct-taped to the wall in the gym to celebrate the successful fundraiser.

More pictures from the event taken by Town Photographer Peggy Bohac can be found below:

Officer Rico Simpson, K9 Jimy, 7th and 8th Grade Teacher Steve Lee and his students

Students standing in line to tape up Principal Rhonda Reimers

Town Marshal Kelly Fisher and Principal Reimers

Officer Rico Simpson, 3rd Grade Teacher Rebecca Wenzler, 

Town Marshal Kelly Fisher and K9 Jimy

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher Reports Immediate Results from K9 Program

Posted on April 17, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

North Judson K9 Officer Rico Simpson and his K9 Partner Jimy have been very busy now that they’re out of training and patrolling the town. Town Marshal Kelly Fisher provided a brief synopsis of some of the work that the two have accomplished in their first week of deployment during Monday night’s town council meeting.

Since April 9th, K9 Jimy has already assisted with several traffic stops and indicated the presence of suspected narcotics, marijuana, heroin and drug paraphernalia.

Officer Simpson and Jimy also responded to a domestic battery situation on April 11th. Marshal Fisher shared that when they arrived on the scene, the suspect apparently began fleeing from the scene until Officer Simpson simply alerted the individual that he needed to stop or the K9 would be released. The suspect complied with the commands and was later taken into custody by Starke County Sheriff’s Deputies, following an investigation.

Aside from assisting with crime work, Officer Simpson and K9 Jimy have been providing demonstrations to the community.

They were present at the North Judson-San Pierre Elementary School fun fair and did a demonstration for the 4H Club at the NJSP High School. Marshal Fisher shared that she is very happy with Jimy’s temperament in social situations.

She shared, “Rico had Jimy and the kids were able to come up and pet him and he was real calm and I feel real comfortable with him being around the kids.”

During the recent demonstrations, the North Judson Police Department had to borrow a bite suit from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Since there will be more public presentations in the future, Marshal Fisher requested permission from the council to purchase a bite suit and helmet for about $1,200. She said the money is available in the K9 fund. Members unanimously approved the purchase.

Additionally, Marshal Fisher expressed her gratitude to everyone who made the NJPD K9 program possible with their generous donations.

Officer Rico Simpson, K9 Jimy & Town Marshal Kelly Fisher

Photo Source: NJ Town Photographer Peggy Bohack

North Judson Town Marshal Completes Chief School, K9 Officer Nears End of Training

Posted on April 5, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

North Judson Town Marshal Kelly Fisher alerted town council members that she recently completed chief school through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.

During her report Monday night, she told council members that she completed the schooling last week and was able to get some valuable information that will be beneficial to the department and town.

On a related note, she also mentioned that Officer Rico Simpson and his K9 Partner Jimy are in their final week of training at Vohne Liche Kennels. Simpson came in during Fisher’s report and provided a few details about his new K9 partner. He informed the council that Jimy is a 3-year-old German Sheppard originally from Brazil. He added that Jimy takes commands in Dutch.

Officer Rico Simpson, K9 Jimy & Town Marshal Kelly Fisher

Photo Source: NJ Town Photographer Peggy Bohack

He said that during the last week of training, no new information will be introduced and instead, they will be reviewing what has been covered over the past 5 weeks.

After the meeting, the council and audience members had a chance to visit with Officer Rico and police dog Jimy and to check out the completed K9 vehicle as well.

K9 Vehicle

Photo Source: NJ Town Photographer Peggy Bohack

Marshal Fisher said K9 Officer Simpson’s first shift back on patrol will be Sunday evening. She added that at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 9th, NJPD will be at North Judson-San Pierre High School presenting a public demonstration with Officer Simpson and K9 Jimy.

Councilman James Young, Officer Rico Simpson, Town Marshall Kelly Fisher,

Council President Wendy Hoppe & K9 Jimy

Photo Source: NJ Town Photographer Peggy Bohack

North Judson Police Officer Rico Simpson and His K9 Partner Complete Week 2 of Training

Posted on March 9, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

North Judson Police Officer Rico Simpson is at the tail end of week two of K9 training at Vohne-Liche Kennels and according to Town Marshal Kelly Fisher, things are going really well.

At Monday’s North Judson Town Council meeting, Marshal Fisher told members that Officer Simpson and his K9 Partner Jimy already have a phenomenal bond. She said Jimy has a great demeanor and is doing well in his training courses so far.

Fisher shared a bit about the training so far, “Actually, he detected a bomb that one of the instructors forgot that he had left. I said well hopefully he didn’t pull the key out and hand it to Rico and say ‘look what I found’. But he’s doing really well with tracking so he’s coming along real good.”

Fisher added that the kennel for the K9 SUV has been installed and the police lights will be added this weekend. She said she’s hoping that by the next town council meeting, she’ll be able to bring the vehicle and the next K9 to a meeting so everyone will have a chance to see how numerous community contributions helped the North Judson Police Department’s K9 program.

Officer Simpson and his K9 partner have approximately 4 more weeks of training to complete. Marshal Fisher said at the halfway point she is going to go down to Vohne-Liche Kennels to see some of the progress that Jimy and Rico have made with their training. She added that if any of the council members were interested in tagging along, they are more than welcome to.

North Judson Police Department Welcomes K9 Jimy to the Force

Posted on February 21, 2018
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

The highly anticipated addition to the North Judson Police Department is finally here.

Yesterday, Officer Rico Simpson picked his K9 partner out of more than 300 dogs at Vohne Liche Kennels. The dual-purpose K9 that he chose is named Jimy.

As a dual-purpose dog, Jimy will be able to assist with patrol work such as narcotics detection and apprehension, as well as tracking. Town Marshall Kelly Fisher previously reported that the tracking capabilities could not only help with finding criminals, but they could also come in handy for missing persons cases.

The purchase of this police dog was made possible through the gracious donations of many community members and business owners.

Aside from countless monetary donations, some services have been offered along the way. Various local businesses have assisted with outdoor kennel construction and required vehicle attachments for the K9 SUV, while others have volunteered to help with things such as food, grooming and veterinary visits at no cost to the department.

Officer Simpson will spend about a week with his new K9 partner before they head off to training on Monday. Simpson will be making the commute to the Vohne Liche Kennels facility for 6 weeks in order to complete necessary training.

NJPD K9 Jimy

Officer Rico Simpson, K9 Jimy & 

Town Council President Wendy Hoppe.

Officer Simpson & K9 Jimy at

Vohne Liche Kennels.