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City, Sheriff’s Department Celebrate New Substation at Gateway Towne Center
Stores in new shopping center pitch in with donated gifts for station kitchenette

By Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin Staff Writer

COMPTON – The new Sheriff’s Department satellite station in Gateway Towne Center is finally open, and city and department officials gathered two weeks ago to celebrate its grand opening.

Residents and representatives from Gateway and other area businesses braved the heat for several hours during the Friday, May 16 event, which was advertised to start at 9 a.m. but did not officially get off the ground until well past 11 a.m.

Sheriff Lee Baca flew in to participate in the dedication, which featured a musical performance by members of the Faith Inspirational Praise Team.

“Everything has a beginning, and the beginning is in the city of Compton, and I want to thank Mayor Perrodin and the administration of the city and the City Council for having the fortitude and the vision to form a partnership with a very important company,” said Baca. “That company has shown a willingness to invest in a community that is well worth investing in.

“This all started with a vision. It was the city’s vision,” Baca said of the new shopping center boasting top-notch businesses, which many in the community thought would never come to fruition. “The Sheriff’s Department is proud to be a part of it. This is an historic day for all of us.”

Clad in her BNC, or Birthing a New Compton, gear, Councilwoman Barbara Calhoun spoke on behalf of the city and borrowed some of the younger generation’s slang to describe the satellite station.

“This is so dynamic. This is, you know how the kids say ‘da bomb,’ well, this is da bomb!” she said enthusiastically. “This is a partnership. This is a partnership along with the community, and we have to do it together.

“And you know what citizens? This is yours. This is not just ours, this is yours,” continued Calhoun. “This is what you asked for. This is what you said, that when we had this shopping center built, you said you wanted to make sure that each and every one of you were protected. This is what you asked for, and this is what you received, and this is what you have.”

After a ribbon cutting, attendees were given a tour of the new facility. Baca lunched with city officials, deputies, Compton Station volunteers and event attendees on volunteer Georgena Pickens’ locally famous fried chicken and other Southern fare.

Although many of the major retailers in the center have been open to the public for a number of months, work on the substation was just recently completed. Station staffer Aysha Burks said that day that the station had technically been open for three weeks.

The roughly 1,200-square-foot space features a small lobby, four work stations with computers, a storage room, kitchenette, bathroom and lockers.

“This satellite station wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the partnership between Prism Realty, the developer; the city of Compton; and the Sheriff’s Department,” said Compton Station Capt. William Ryan.

The space was donated by Gateway developer Prism-IQ Partners, which is comprised of Brook Morris’ Prism Realty Corporation and football legend Vince Evans’ Inside Quarters Enterprises. The computer and office equipment were paid for by the city, and the Sheriff’s Department is supplying the staff.

On the day of the event, Home Depot and Best Buy pitched in at the request of Calhoun and donated items for the kitchen, including a refrigerator, microwave and coffeemaker.

“That’s the community coming together,” Calhoun said.

The station will be staffed seven days a week by two deputies from the station’s Special Assignment Team and Sheriff’s Department law enforcement assistants, said substation employee Alex Alatorre.