Citizen Academies begin in September The Ames Police Department and the Story County Sheriff’s Office are looking for interested residents to attend their Citizen Academies. The academies teach residents how the two law enforcement agencies work, including how to arrest and book offenders and how to investigate crime scenes. The hands-on courses also include officer ride-alongs and firearm training. The fourth annual Citizen’s Police Academy will begin Sept. 21. Applications are available at the police station, 515 Clark Ave. The class will last 11 weeks and will be held on Thursday nights. The second annual Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy will begin Sept. 12. Applications are available at the Sheriff’s Office, 900 6th St., in Nevada or by calling Deputy Jennifer Holmes at 382-7455. Application deadline is Sept. 4. The class will meet for 12 weeks on Tuesday nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Both academies are free. – Kati Jividen St. Thomas Aquinas gets a facelift Construction at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 2210 Lincoln Way, is almost finished after a year and a half. Father Everett Hemann of St. Thomas said since Iowa State has grown over the years, the facility needed to grow as well. “We needed a new modernization to meet the new century and the millennium,” he said. The project added 19,200 new square feet and 18,300 renovated square feet of space to the church, Hemann said, and cost a little under $6 million. An artistic addition to St. Thomas is the “Story Wall,” located in the entry way of the church. The wall consists of different pottery figures depicting scenes from the Bible. Construction is scheduled to be finished in mid-October. “Everything should be completed by then except for the prayer garden,” said Campus Minister Crystal Sullivan. “It will be finished next spring or summer.” St. Thomas Aquinas’ Student Center is open 8 a.m. until midnight everyday. – Amy Pint