Cash lifted from a pair of pants lying on the bleachers. iPods snatched out of backpacks. Cell phones swiped from the tops of lockers.

Over the last month a dozen thefts at Chaska High School have been reported to police. The bump in thefts at the school was recently reported by the CHS newspaper, Hawk Herald, and is keeping school resource officer (SRO) Mike Kleber busier than usual.

“Theft is a problem up there,” said Chaska Police Detective Sgt. Jon Kehrberg. “Not just this year, but for whatever reason, our SROs have been making a lot of reports in the last 30 days.”

Former Chaska High School football coach Phil Link has been charged with felony theft.

According to a press release from Carver County Attorney Jim Keeler's office, Link has been charged with two felonies for "stealing over $7,600 from Independent School District 112.

"Link is charge with two counts of theft by swindle for thefts that took place during the summer of 2009," the release stated. "The thefts are related to summer football camps that Link ran on behalf of the school district."

Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight recently received an e-mail asking about who is responsible for digging fire hydrants out of the snow and issued this reply:

“We always remind folks to ‘watch over their’ hydrants. In fact I have put out a reminder in our CPD 411 newsletter in the past.

The Chaska Police Department has restarted its Citizen Academy. The academy is a six-session program, in which people learn about police work in Chaska by experiencing police work. Lectures and actual hands-on experiences are combined for a unique insight into the police department. The classes are held on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. and are free.

According to police, for the second week in a row there has been a collision between a vehicle and a school bus.

A text message alert sent out at 3:20 p.m. reported that the accident occurred just before 3 p.m. at the intersection of Engler Boulevard and Highway 41.

A car turning from Highway 41 west on to Engler slid into a school bus.

There were no children on board at the time of the crash. Neither driver was injured, police reported.

By Mollee Francisco

First-year Chaska High School coach Phil Link has resigned his position amid allegations of financial wrong-doing.

According to a search warrant filed by Chaska Police in Carver County Court, the district alleges that between June 14 and Dec. 15, 2009, Link, head football coach and administrative dean, “made claims for reimbursement to the school district for costs he did not incur and were eventually paid for by another party that did not know he already had received compensation for those costs.”

The Chaska Police Department is launching a new crime mapping service at CrimeReports.com.

According to the latest police news letter, to view a map of where Chaska Police Department activity is occurring, visit www.crimereports.com, enter an address, and choose the crimes you'd like mapped.

Here's more from the release:

According to the Chaska Police Department, a local resident received a call from someone claiming they were from Crystal Canyon Water and working with the city of Chaska to test water quality.

With a new infant in the home, “the people were receptive” to the call, said Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight. “Who’s not worried about water safety,” he said.

After arriving at the home yesterday, the representative tested the Chaska home’s water and said it was unsafe, then attempted to sell them a water filtration system, Knight said.

Police are looking for information about who may have damaged numerous vehicles in Chaska last week.

On Dec. 16, three vehicles were damaged at Auto Pros of Chaska. Two of those vehicles had their car stereo systems stolen.

Pertaining to the Tiger Woods dust-up, the latest Chaska Police 411 newsletter included a good step-by-step of what’s needed if a Minnesota driver is in an accident:

Recently we learned that Tiger Woods was involved in a car accident, and a fair amount of news coverage was devoted to questions concerning what is a driver required – by law – to report to the police. In Minnesota the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident is required to: