PO‘IPU — More than 200 Junior Police Officers attended an appreciation event hosted by the Kaua‘i Police Department Monday at Po‘ipu Beach Park. “Our No. 1 priority as police officers is the safety of our community, and pedestrian safety is
PO‘IPU — More than 200 Junior Police Officers attended an appreciation event hosted by the Kaua‘i Police Department Monday at Po‘ipu Beach Park.
“Our No. 1 priority as police officers is the safety of our community, and pedestrian safety is a large part of that goal,” said Kaua‘i Police Chief Darryl Perry. “I am honored to see so many of you, at such a young age, playing an active role in keeping your schools safe.”
JPOs do more than just watch traffic, said Mardi Maione, a parent volunteer. They also monitor for safety throughout the campus during the school day.
The JPO program is offered to fifth-grade students at each of the public elementary schools across the island as part of a statewide effort which assists in protecting the safety of students walking to and from school, a county news release states.
“Everything is inside the school now,” said KPD Lt. Mark Scribner. “The JPO help traffic flow by opening doors for arriving students and after school do the same thing to help traffic flow within the schools.”
Kaua‘i’s JPO program is coordinated through KPD’s Traffic Safety Unit in partnership with the state Department of Education.
“As a former JPO, I can appreciate all you do to help keep your classmates safe,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. “Thank you for stepping up and taking on this responsibility. I encourage you to keep volunteering and participating in your school and in your community. What you do is making such a positive impact to those around you.”
William Arakaki, Kaua‘i Area Complex superintendent, said things have changed a lot from the days when he was a JPO. For instance, today’s JPOs wear plastic helmets as opposed to the military-type cap.
“We also did marching,” Arakaki said. “Using the signs held sign-down, we would have to practice marching. Today, our goal is still the same though — to help keep our schools safe.”
The picnic did not mean a stop to learning as Kilauea Elementary School adviser Maureen Chung devised a Kaua‘i BINGO game for the students to engage in during the long ride from Kilauea to Po‘ipu.
“We have 31 JPO students,” Chung said. “For some of them, they have never been to Po‘ipu Beach. My children have all grown up so it’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”
During the BINGO game, students would mark the appropriate square for different locations and landmarks as they passed en route to Po‘ipu, a filled BINGO card earning a small prize.
“The hardest one was Queen Victoria’s Profile,” Chung said. “Other hard ones were the Kaua‘i Museum, Kilohana and not too many children knew where the Mayor’s Office was.”
In addition to opening doors for children arriving or leaving school, JPOs open doors for themselves too, figuratively speaking. They cited the amount of knowledge gained on the bus ride from Kilauea to Po‘ipu.
Each JPO was presented a certificate of appreciation for outstanding service and dedication to the program.
•Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
