by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
The sixth annual Sartell Cookout with Cops broke attendance records, with more than 250 senior citizens and special guests showing up to socialize and to learn on Aug. 22.
The event took place at the St. Francis Xavier Church’s large indoor Gathering Place. Police and volunteers served a cafeteria-style lunch as the long lunchline extended all around the indoor space. So many people showed up, in fact, police had to rush out to buy more hamburgers and buns.
Lunch included hamburgers with all the fixings. During and after lunch, the audience enjoyed conversation and listened to several informational demonstrations. Officer Dan Miller of the Offender Task Force told about the new drug drop-off box at the Sartell Police Department and other facts about narcotics-safety for seniors. Sartell Fire Marshall Butch Rieland addressed the topic of fire safety and the battery-exchange system for seniors. Derek Whitehead, an officer from the Waite Park Police Department, brought his canine “Cato” to perform canine demonstrations for the crowd.
Police Chief Jim Hughes, who also helped out with tasks at the cookout, said he and all officers were extremely pleased with the big turnout. Cookout with Cops, which is a free event, began six years ago during a meeting of Seniors and Law Enforcement Working Together, a group that reinforces good communications among seniors and police officers. Someone suggested having a cookout with cops, and the program began. Attendance has grown by leaps and bounds every year since.
A long line of senior citizens moves through the lunchline during the annual Cookout with Cops Aug. 22, which took place at St. Francis Xavier’s Gathering Place. The free event, sponsored by the Sartell Police Department, drew a crowd of more than 250, a record in the six years of the annual gathering.
Sartell Police Chief Jim Hughes lends a hand for garbage duty during the sixth annual Cookout with Cops.
Another batch of frozen hamburgers is placed on the grill to satisfy the appetites of the many seniors who attended the annual Cookout with Cops Aug. 22. Tending the burgers are (left to right) Sartell Deputy Chief Dale Struffert, Blake Miller (son of officer Dan Miller, one of the event’s speakers) and Sartell officer Rob Lyon.