Chelsea Perritt was honored by The Dalles City Council at their Monday night meeting. She was introduced by Wasco County Treasurer Elijah Preston, whose duties include supervising the county’s veterans services office. He told councilors that Perritt had stepped in at the last minute to run a Veterans Stand Down event when another agency had to pull out at the last minute. That event connects veterans with a number of social service and health agencies. Mayor Rich Mays read a proclamation which said, in part,
“In recognition of your exceptional service to our veterans, the city council and mayor extend our gratitude for your work in organizing vendors, securing financial sponsors, providing meals and managing logistics, provided a critical platform connecting 35 veterans with essential services including medical care and dental care, mental health services, disability benefits, housing and transportation.”
And Police Chief Tom Worthy introduced three new hires at the police department.
“This is Dante Avila. He’s local, from city of The Dalles, and he got tired of crawling under houses, but we’re still going to make him crawl under houses sometimes. And in the middle is William Bryan-Askay. He comes to us from information technology, also lives here in The Dalles, and then last, Gabriel Wilson here. He joins us from Hood River Police Department where he’s been a police officer for seven years. He has an advanced certificate in law enforcement. He’s an instructor in several disciplines.”
When they all finish training, Worthy said the police department will be fully staffed for the first time in years.