THOUSAND OAKS : Firms Convert Van for DARE Program
It was the ultimate make-over: Take an old utility van with a lot of miles and transform it into a sleek black police vehicle complete with flashing lights, tinted windows and a killer stereo.
After GTE donated the old van to the Thousand Oaks Police Department, 13 local businesses banded together to convert the van for the department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
“They tricked it all out,” said Lt. Mike Brown. “Jazzed it up, fixed it all up. It’s got some miles on it, but it looks like a brand new van.”
DARE officers used to have to pull a car from the patrol fleet when they went to schools to deliver the program’s anti-drug, anti-gang message.
The van was formally presented to the City Council on Tuesday night.
Brown thanked the owners of B & B Auto Body, The Tire Man, Phantom Electronics, Pep Boys, Executive Auto Upholstery, Road N Truck, Carpeteria, Signs Now, California Tire, Eckhart’s Trailer Hitch, Thousand Oaks Tinting, American Muffler and Byrne Graphics.
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