By Mary O’KEEFE

Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station has a community feeling, from the often-used community room to the numerous events sheriff personnel attend throughout the area. That community feeling extends even behind the scenes, reflected in a new mural painted on the rear exterior wall of the station.

In an effort to maintain a positive community appearance of the station, Capt. David Silversparre asked an inmate work crew, PACE (Prisoner Assisted Community Enhancement), to paint the wall.

“[One] of the inmates was quite the artist who had done murals before,” Silversparre said.

Reserve deputy and law enforcement technician Deanna Hammerli came up with the idea of what to include in the mural.

“It is dedicated to our great employees and many volunteers that we have including the Montrose Search and Rescue team,” Silversparre said. “Our department’s graphic artist Sandy Enslow provided technical support.”

Among the images the mural has is the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. shield, LASD Air 5, the station’s number 12 and, of course, Meatball the bear that made CV his home. Meatball kept the sheriffs very busy during his numerous visits to the area.

The mural is a win-win for the station and the community. The design and painting worked as an education program for the inmates and did not cost taxpayers anything as it was done through PACE.

“[I am] very happy with it,” Silverspare said. “The inmates enjoyed what they were doing and enjoyed working with the graphic artist.”