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SHERIFF’S FUN DAY HELD

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, July 14, 2007 11:29 PM CDT

After several days of torrential rain, Mother Nature smiled on Pine Bluff Saturday as the skies cleared and the rain held off for the first Sheriff’s Fun Day at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

“I’ve got to admit there were a couple of times yesterday (Friday) when I was really worried so I went home and said, ‘Lord, this is our first fun day and I’m asking you to take care of us with the weather,’ and he did,” Sheriff Gerald Robinson said Saturday morning between stringing fishing lines on poles, showing youngsters how to cast, and shaking hands with adults and children alike.

“I need to get to do this a lot more often,” Robinson said as he showed Blake Hence, 8, the proper way to throw a line into the pond at the park. “It’s a lot less stressful and a lot better on the blood pressure.”

For Hence, the goal was simple Saturday: “I want to catch a bit fish,” he said.

Meanwhile, 5-year-old Mikayla Stertmann clutched her fishing pole for dear life while her mother, Susan Stertmann, who is a probation officer and works part-time for the sheriff’s office, watched from a short distance away.

“I hope she can catch a fish because that would just make her day,” Susan Stertmann said.

While Robinson was busy with some of the youngsters, Sgt. Jametta Harper was taking a lot of ribbing from other deputies while stringing line on a brand new rod and reel for another young man.

“I used to know how to do this because I grew up on a farm and had to learn,” Harper said.

Fun Day was a joint project between the department and the Literacy Council, and featured a fishing derby for youngsters under 16, displays of equipment and demonstrations from the department’s canines, and a free lunch of hot dogs, chips and a drink.

Deputy Mark Harper coordinated the event, which he hopes will become an annual affair.

“We wanted the kids to come out and have a good time and let the people see what their tax dollars are going for,” Harper said about the displays of a variety of weapons, vehicles and other equipment on hand at the park.

He said the Literacy Council program uses law enforcement officers as role models for “at risk” kids who come through the criminal justice system.

“A lot of the time, kids are in the system because someone they know or are related to are in the system and it’s almost like a family tradition,” Harper said. “We’re trying to break that chain and show these young people that there is a better way to live their lives.”

For Robinson, the day was also a way to give back to the community.

“A lot of times, people, and especially kids, see us only when we’re out there locking up bad guys, but we want them to be comfortable with us and understand that we do a lot more than that,” he said.

“This Sheriff’s Fun Day is a good way to bridge that gap and show people that we are a community policing agency and we are concerned about everything that goes on in the community,” Robinson said.

Under an awning at the Sheriff’s Department Mobile Command Post, deputies were busy doing child fingerprinting and DNA kits while a popcorn vender a short distance away offered free popcorn.

“During my campaign, one of my goals was to keep the community safe and protected and I think all our deputies have come to share that goal and that vision,” Robinson said. “Our spirit is with the community and we hope the community’s spirit is with us as we do everything we can to make this community a safer and better place to live.”

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