Harrison girl spends 10th birthday raising money for New Kensington Police K-9 unit

Kaley Bastine spent the better part of her 10th birthday party in companionship with New Kensington police.

The Harrison girl wanted to celebrate the milestone with a benefit for the department’s second police dog and its handler.

“I’ve been wanting to do another fundraiser, so I picked it on my birthday,” Kaley said Saturday shortly before entering the dunk tank outside Voodoo Brewery in the city.

There was live music, food trucks and 50-50 and basket raffles. Among the items up for grabs was memorabilia from the Tom Hanks film “A Man Called Otto.”

At least 200 people stopped at the pub along Fifth Avenue. The family was able to raise just under $3,800.

All told, Kaley has raised close to $41,000 for police from various events she and her family have organized in the past four years.

Mother Jamie Bastine said she felt joy and held back tears at the party.

“Instead of presents, she wanted to do a fundraiser,” Bastine said of her daughter . “ To see this in today’s world, a young kid wanting to do this on her birthday to take time out instead of having a big 10^th birthday, and to bring the community together for police officers, it’s amazing. I’m very emotional with this. As a mother, I’m very proud of my daughter.”

The family has been planning the party/fundraiser since January.

“It wasn’t stressful at all,” Bastine said. “I called everyone and told them what she wanted to do, and I had no issues getting anybody to help out for this. I just want to thank everyone who came and supported my daughter on her birthday. It means a lot to us.”

Proceeds were to help Max, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, and his handler, Officer Jerry Hobeck.

Max joined the force in August and was introduced in October.

“I’m just happy to be here,” said Hobeck, 35, of Washington Township. “I can’t express my gratitude for Kaley running a fundraiser for us. The fundraisers help us for equipment, and it helps pay for our training. We go to a special training group four hours every week.”

The department acquired Max with a $20,000 anonymous, private donation, Chief Bob Deringer said. Then-Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck provided $50,000, which paid for a new fully outfitted SUV for Max and Hobeck.

Hobeck said he had to spend about $3,000 for canine equipment, and it costs about $1,800 for annual upkeep, including food and training.

Hobeck has been with the department for about four years and became a K-9 officer to become involved in narcotics investigations.

“It’s a great tool to have at your disposal,” Hobeck said. “It’s a great crime deterrent. You can’t run from the dog. You can’t hide from him. He’s going to find you, and there’s nothing you’re going to hide that he’s not going to be able to find. It just puts us a step above all the criminal activity. It gives us the upper hand.

“It’s not even always about the crime. He’s great with being out in the community. We’ve done demonstrations. The children love interacting with the dog. It helps more or less with the environment and how things are now. We can actually bring the community together.”

Hobeck also got in the dunk tank Saturday and did his part to raise funds.

“This is where you get the benefits of all the work that you put in,” Hobeck said of the event. “You get to come out and see the people having a great time. It’s nice to see people out and enjoying themselves.”

Max is the department’s second dog. He joined Deuce, also a Malinois, who formally joined the force in August 2019.

Deuce was acquired with assistance from the Officer Brian Shaw Foundation. Shaw was killed in the line of duty in November 2017. The dog was named in honor of Shaw’s jersey number, 2, when he played soccer at Burrell High School.

The district retired Shaw’s soccer jersey number.

Sgt. Kevin Hess is Deuce’s handler.

Kaley has raised $41,000 for police

Kaley has been raising money for police departments since she was 6. She has sold cupcakes, lemonade, candy and other items through the years.

Kaley raised $20,000 for Harrison and, with Saturday’s event, has raised about $20,800 for New Kensington’s police.

Kaley said she heard of Shaw’s passing a few years ago and wanted to help out city police.

Colton Petrosky, 9, of West Deer is one of Kaley’s many friends who participated in the event.

He was the first to knock Kaley into the dunk tank.

“It felt good,” Colton said. “(She’s) a good friend, kind.”

He said it felt great to play games and support Kaley and has related plans.

“I want to be a police officer because I want to save the world,” Colton said.

“The whole family’s great. I love them,” said Colton’s mother, Leslie Petrosky. “Everybody’s coming together as a community helping Kaley with her cause. This is wonderful.”