Badges and books: Police, firefighters join children on reading adventures
Published 9:26 am Thursday, April 12, 2012
Donning their uniforms and choosing their favorite children’s books, a group of local emergency personnel spent a quiet afternoon reading to students last Wednesday, March 14.
The Badges and Books event, now in its second year at Cascade View Elementary School, featured Snoqualmie police officers and firefighters, state troopers, and a sheriff’s deputy, who talked to the students about their jobs and their favorite books.
Officer Nigel Draveling, community-oriented policing coordinator for the department, said the event, part of a nationwide program, is intended to help make children more comfortable around police, firefighters and other people they’d normally see only in emergencies.
Participating officers in this year’s event included: from the Snoqualmie Police Department, Becky Munson, Jackqui Kerness, Sgt. Robert Keeton and Sgt. Paul Graham; from the Snoqualmie Fire Department, Ron Payne, Sam Roberts, Steve Stockman, Paul Haller, Cat Cotton, David Repnik, and Todd Reynolds; from the Washington State Patrol, Brian Hoshino, Julie Startup, Brent Mattox, Robert Taylor, and Keith Trowbridge; and Deputy Shaman Wicklund.
Deputy Shannon Wicklund of the North Bend Sheriff’s substation, tells an animated story about the adventures of Curious George to Cascade View students for Badges and Books. Badges and Books is an event designed to make children more comfortable around their local emergency personnel.
Officer Robert Taylor of the Washington State Patrol came to class in full uniform recently, to read to children for the Snoqualmie Police Department’s second annual “Badges and Books” event.
