The growing concerns of Homelessness, Adult Trafficking and the Fentanyl and Opioid addiction within our region, will be three of the topics addressed at the upcoming Nevada County Community Forum on Friday, May 24th.
The two guest speakers from local law enforcement will be Nevada City Police Chief, Dan Foss, and Grass Valley Police Chief Alex Gammelgard. This free, one hour event will be held on the Sierra College Nevada County campus from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 in the auditorium, room N-12.
The program moderator, Terry McAteer, Steering Committee Member for the Community Forum, believes that these three issues are becoming more of a concern for not just Nevada County but for many Foothill Communities.
“I think that more and more we’re hearing from people who are either retiring here to Nevada County or young families that want to work here and enjoy this beautiful area but are now seeing more homeless individuals with mental illness or drug related issues,” said McAteer. “We have to stop thinking that Nevada County will be isolated and protected from some of these serious problems. These are real community issues that need to be addressed.”
Chief Foss has been a Law Enforcement Officer for the past 18 years, serving in the Fresno area. He has been Nevada City’s Police Chief for the past two years. In addition, he founded and managed a highly-acclaimed non-profit organization known as OLIVE, focused on improving and assisting in the care and treatment of victims of human trafficking.
Grass Valley Police Chief, Alex Gammelgard, has been a member of the department for over 16 years as well as a local graduate of Nevada Union High School. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree with concentrations in finance and law and public policy from Gonzaga University and prior to returning to Nevada County worked as a reserve officer in Spokane, Washington.
Sponsored by the Sierra College Foundation’s Nevada County campus, the Community Forum hosts an hour-long, in-depth speaker series several times a year, discussing local issues and topics of interest to both our community and neighboring counties.
This is the last Community Forum for this 2023/2024 school year and will start again with a new series beginning Friday, August 23rd.