FROM THE MAYORS OFFICE: Why We Live Here

From The Mayor’s Office

This past Tuesday with picture perfect weather we celebrated National Night Out in Veteran’s Memorial Park. The event was the first held in the Village of Warwick and was organized by the Warwick Police Department and the Warwick Valley Prevention Coalition and sponsored by the Village and Town of Warwick. The evening was a coalescence of our Emergency Service Groups and first responders. In attendance besides the Warwick Police and the Coalition were the Warwick Fire Department, the Warwick Ambulance Corp as well as our Departments of Public Works. The evening was a way for us to get to know our Police Department on a community level – a way to interact with the men and women who serve and protect us. I can only describe the throngs of very happy children who were able to meet real police officers, firemen and EMS members. On hand to help were members of the Warwick Community Center and Warwick Lions Club and many volunteers. This was above all a family event and the type of event that you walk away from thinking how lucky we are to live here

Present that evening as volunteers were young men and women, freshly minted graduates from the Summer Youth Leadership Academy and the first class of the Warwick Junior Police Academy. Last week I described the Communities Centers Summer Youth Leadership Academy and how they help to draw on and form leadership skills. The Warwick Junior Police Academy, which is a collaborative effort between The Police Department and the Warwick Valley School District, does something very similar. It is a 10-day program, an intensive which includes classroom experience, activities and lectures led by members of the Police Department as well as field trips led by local professionals. The Junior Cadets activities included a play “crime scene” investigation, visiting the West Point Museum and the Orange County Emergency Services center. The program is about hands-on learning and developing the important life skills of leadership and teamwork.

Congratulations to the Warwick Police Department, Chief John Rader, and our Officers, the Warwick Prevention Coalition Program Director Annie Colonnade and Coordinator Francesca Bryson and Coalition members and the young men and women of our Academies for helping create a memorable, meaningful evening for Warwick. Thank you.

This Saturday August 6 at 7:30 Uncle Shoehorn will be playing at Railroad Green. A Summer Concert Series favorite. Come out, bring a chair and enjoy!