Marblehead Police Officers Get Big Lift From Rotary Donations

MARBLEHEAD, MA — A Marblehead Rotary Foundation donation provided a big lift to a proposed transformation of basement space in the Marblehead Police Station into a new fitness center for officers.

Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King was looking to create an area where officers could access equipment for a workout routine at a convenient location and time without having to shuttle to outside facilities with costly memberships. When Linda Doliber of the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor learned about the chief's plan, she reached out to Blair Lord, Marblehead Rotary's president, to work on a program to assist those efforts.

The Rotary Foundation recently presented Chief King with a $6,000 check to help with equipment purchases. The Rotary said the rest of the $13,000 cost is expected to be raised through public donations.

King intends to purchase new or like-new commercially quality equipment, including treadmills, barbell sets, weight benches and hand weights.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)