The month of May is rapidly approaching, but if there is any room on your calendar, you might want to circle May 10 and keep it clear.
That’s the day the Rainy River District Community Policing Committee (RRDCPC) and the OPP are jointly sponsoring Vital Services Day at the Emo-La Vallee Arena and according to OPP Sr. Cst. Pete Drouin, it will be something everyone in the family can enjoy.
“It’s going to be a great day,” Cst. Drouin vowed. “It will be a sort of home and trade show with lots of exhibits and some hands-on displays.
“The idea is to strengthen our relationships with the people in our communities and promote our mission statement, which is, ‘Police are people: People are the police,’” he added.
Cst. Drouin has been involved with Vital Services Day since 1994 when he was with the OPP detachment in Long-Sault, and since then, he has seen the concept grow. This year’s event in Emo has 50 exhibitors already booked.
“We have representatives from district social services, emergency response teams and First Nations,” said Cst. Drouin.
In addition, there will be dog handlers and demonstrations of the K-9 units in action; subduing suspects, as well as locating drugs and explosives. There will also be several law-enforcement contingents from across the border and seminars to help prevent violence in schools.
Although the message organizers want to convey is a serious one, there will be a number of displays and demonstrations with a decidedly lighter theme.
The OPP “Kids Corner” will enable children to be photographed wearing child-size police uniforms and have their faces painted. Also, there will be an “Ident-A-Kid” booth, where they can be fingerprinted and photographed included in a data base to aid the authorities in the event it should become necessary.
In addition, there will be a barbecue serving hotdogs, burgers and drinks for a small fee and a special dunking pool, in which—again for a small fee—you will have an opportunity to send various well-known local personalities plunging into cold water.
Among those on the celebrity “dunk” list are; Emo Counsellor Gary Judson, OPP S/Sgt. Hugh Dennis, Sgt. Steve Lashaw, Sgt. Rod Brown, Cst. Dave Lee, Fort Frances Fire Chief Steve Richardson, Fort Frances High School vice-principal Gord McCabe and district jail manager Murray Alexander.
Representatives from the Fort Frances Times, B-93 FM and Fort Frances Mayor Glenn Witherspoon are also tentatively scheduled to take the plunge. The proceeds from the barbecue will go to support various projects of the RRDCPC while those from the dunking pool will go the purchase of new playground equipment for Emo and Barwick.
The RRDCPC is a non-profit organization that raises money to support a number of programs in the district.
RRDCPC chair Bonnie Bender said the occasion will be a splendid opportunity for people to learn what is available in the district beyond just emergency services.
“It’s really about public education of all the services available. There’s so much more than emergency services,” she claimed.
“Also, we’re involving high school students, who can fulfill some of their community service requirements for graduation,” added Bender.
Vital Services Day begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
