Black Hawk! Black Ops!! Or maybe it’s a summer camp

This press release just in from the Eugene Police Department. Don’t freak out when that Black Hawk helicopter flies overhead and lands on 22nd Avenue. It’s all for the kids. You know, nothing says “promoting positive youth development” like a large military aircraft.

News Release

June 20, 2012

For further information, contact:

Paula Hunt, AIC Public Information Coordinator, at 541.682.5124, or

Jenna McCulley AIC, Public Information Director, at 541.682.5197

VISUAL/STORY OP: EPAL Campers have a special visitor today!

WHERE:  Eugene Police Activities League Camp (EPAL)

Arts and Technology Academy, 1650 W 22nd Avenue, Eugene

WHEN:   TODAY, June 20, 2012, at 12:00 p.m.

It’s a bird…It’s a plane…

NO, it’s a UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter!

Don’t miss this very special and awesome ‘drop in’ visitor from the Oregon Army National Guard!  In addition to today’s regularly scheduled activities, todays EPAL campers will have the exciting honor to have a closer look at this amazing Helicopter and those who operate it.

The special visitor is scheduled to touch down today at 12:00 noon in the field behind the Arts and Technology Academy, 1650 West 22nd Ave.

The Oregon Army National Guard crewmembers are some of the best pilots around. They assist with ongoing search and rescue efforts as well as firefighting. These highly skilled crewmembers respond to hundreds of emergencies flying from Mount Hood, to Mount Jefferson and the Sisters.  They can hoist a climber from Mount Rainier at 13,500 feet, pull a drowning kayaker form the Sandy River or snag a lost child dangling above the rocky Oregon Coast.  It has been said that when flying a Blackhawk mission to service the community can be very similar to police work, “…you never know what you are walking (flying) into.”

You don’t have to be a kid to love this visit.  Come have a closer look yourselves!

As a reminder, EPAL is an annual day camp for youths between the ages of 8 and 13, offering a variety of activities, from competitive sports to arts.  EPAL provides educational and social skill development programs that will help students develop and build leadership skills.  EPAL is part of the National Police Activities League program, a non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting positive youth development.  This year’s Eugene Police Activities League Camp (EPAL) runs from June 18 – 22.