What a wonderful Block Party we had yesterday with Columbus Division of Police at Barack Community Center on the South Side. (It did NOT rain until 20 minutes after the event ended--yay!!) The kids (and adults) had a great time dancing, playing basketball, doing sack and egg & spoon races, and having water balloon fights, among many other activities.
It did seem that, once again, the "Dunk An Officer" event was the crowd favorite. In addition to Deputy Chief Tim Becker taking the plunge, we had Officer William Murray, Sergeant Jim Marable, and Sergeant James Fuqua, all of whom got well and truly soaked. Chief Becker had the honor of getting dunked twice by Deputy Chief Ken Kuebler, who throws like he's done it professionally, and by an officer who sided with Chief Becker's wife, Officer Julie Becker. She missed her three attempts, but the officer made sure the chief went in nonetheless, blatantly pushing the button for her when he went to retrieve the balls. 😂 There were also representatives of Franklin County Prosecutor G. Gary Tyack's office who gave it a go. They didn't get Chief Becker in, though. Next Friday, maybe?
Sergeant Marable had his own "admirers" to contend with, as crime reporters Lacey Crisp of 10TV - WBNS and Bethany Bruner of The Columbus Dispatch came out to MAKE SURE he got soaked, and they succeeded! Just when Sergeant Marable thought that was the worst of it, Chief Elaine Bryant stepped up to take her turn. "How much trouble am I going to get into for uh...talking smack?" he quipped.
Chief Bryant took him down--no help involved--on her third ball and then talked some smack of her own!
It was so much fun. While we were there, we had two requests to make it an annual event and someone else asked one of the 614cadets when the next event was scheduled for Barack. While we don't have one scheduled there, we have added another Block Party because they've been so popular. We hope you can join us.
Friday, July 23, noon-3pm, Far East Community Center, 1826 Lattimer Drive
Wednesday, July 28, 4-7pm, Adams Community Center, 854 Alton Avenue
Friday, July 30, 4-7pm, Glenwood Community Center, 1888 Fairmont Avenue
Thanks to Byers Auto Group for making this possible, and to Pepsi, Roosters, and Kona Ice for their support of the event. Thanks also to the 2nd & 7 Foundation for donating books and to Sahara Columbus for making snack bags for all the children who attended.
Thanks to the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department staff and CPD's Safe Streets team and all the other involved officers for their hard work in making sure everything went perfectly. You all did a great job!
Last but definitely not least, thanks to the community for joining us and for setting the tone of joy and fun. We love it and can't wait to get together with you again on Friday!
