Carson City Sheriff's Stellar Squad prepares for Cops and Kids Safe Streets party May 19
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Sat, 05/12/2018 - 1:05pm
Volunteers with the Carson City Sheriff's Office DARE program were busy Saturday assembling between 400 and 500 prize bags to be handed out to children at next weekend's annual Cops and Kids Safe Streets party.
The volunteers, part of a DARE team called Stellar Squad, play a key role in event preparations throughout the year, said CCSO DARE Officer Lisa Davis.
"This is how we get everything done for Cops and Kids and National Night Out," she said, noting that most of her Stellar Squad has been with her since its inception five years ago. "This is a group of students who have different goals, but they want to give back to the community."
Jodi Ignacio is a high school junior who joined the squad as a way to have an impact on her community.
"I just wanted to make a difference and try to help the community all that I can," she said. "Being a teenager there's not much you can do, but with grown up influence there's something to be done."
Davis said the Stellar Squad program, like Cops and Kids, has proven to be a successful venture for the sheriff's office, promoting civil responsibility among youth in the community.
"Every student that I've had has successfully gotten jobs, gaining work experience through here and developing a solid work ethic," Davis said. "I'm real proud of my Stellar Squad kids. We're small, manageable and we get a lot done. And they are having fun."
Stellar Squad was working hard Saturday morning to fill around 500 prize bags with goodies for the hundreds of children that turn out for Cops and Kids Safe Streets each year.
Next Saturday's annual party, held in front of the Carson City Sheriff's Office along East Musser Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will mark the 15th year of the event.
The all-day event typically draws as many as 1,500 people, including many families, Davis said. Its purpose is to give the community, and especially youth, the opportunity to interact with law enforcement officers and other community agencies or organizations.
"The biggest thing is to have the public, and especially kids, interact with officers," Davis said. "When they see the adults that represent other agencies, they know where to go for different services and types of help."
Davis said the Safe Streets party is a fulfillment of Sheriff Ken Furlong's promise to open the office up to the public and is consistent with his commitment to youth.
"We are carrying out that promise," Davis said. "Cops and Kids is an extension of the DARE program. It's also our springboard for the National Night Out."
National Night Out occurs in August at Mills Park.
Davis said the prize bags being assembled can be redeemed by children once they have visited all of the booths and gotten their prize sheets signed off by agency and organization representatives.
"The kids earn prizes when they go to visit the booths," she said. "Kids need to visit the west side, north side, east side and inside (the Sheriff's Office) up and down stairs. They present their prize sheet in here and get their prize bag."
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