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If you see a Powell police officer stopping a young biker in a helmet this summer, there’s a good chance they aren’t issuing a warning, but a reward.
As part of an effort to …
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If you see a Powell police officer stopping a young biker in a helmet this summer, there’s a good chance they aren’t issuing a warning, but a reward.
As part of an effort to promote safety, the department plans to hand out thousands of trading cards to youth they see following the rules of the road. The cards, which feature comic book-like renderings of the department’s officers, could qualify as keepsakes in and of themselves, but they can also be redeemed for sweet treats and other prizes around town.
Thanks to the generosity of more than two dozen local businesses, police could hand out as many as 4,300 prizes.
“I’m excited,” said Officer Trevor Carpenter.
Education is a big part of Carpenter’s job as a school resource officer and when he returned to that role last fall, he knew he wanted to put an emphasis on bike safety; in his time patrolling Powell’s streets, Carpenter said he sometimes sees bicyclists blowing through stop signs and doing other unsafe things. So when Westside Elementary School physical education teacher Luke Robertson proposed the new trading card program, Carpenter thought it was perfect.
“That’s going to be a great way for us to interact with all of our citizens,” he said, “but also to put a little bit of a special emphasis on our youth and building that relationship.”
Robertson has also seen his share of unsafe biking and thought he could help make a change. He’s incorporated bicycling into his PE classes — teaching safety tips alongside riding techniques — but also wanted to reward safety outside of the school day.
The trading card concept came from Robertson’s youth in Monroe, Wisconsin, when he remembers the excitement of collecting Milwaukee Brewers baseball cards from local officers. (Powell officers participated in a similar program decades ago, though they handed out Colorado Rockies cards.)
Rather than featuring a professional ballplayer, the new cards depict one of the department’s uniformed officers on the front and a reward on the back. Those include ice cream cones, donuts, shaved ice, pizzas, cookies, caramels, popcorn, video game tokens and even dice that can be claimed at Powell businesses.
“I think pretty much … every place I went to said yes,” Robertson said gratefully, adding, “Everybody was on board with the project.”
As if that wasn’t enough, kids who collect five different cards can bring them to the police station to collect a foam football, a gift card or beverage — and be entered into a drawing for a big prize at the end of the summer.
One of the things officers will be looking for is young bikers wearing helmets — and members of Powell Valley Healthcare’s EMS team are doing the same in a similar but separate effort. EMS personnel have already started handing out certificates for free ice cream cones to kids they see wearing helmets. Like police, they will continue to do so throughout the summer.
As they head out on break and onto Powell’s streets, Park County School District 1’s elementary schoolers won’t have an excuse for being caught helmetless: Also thanks to the generosity of local donors, Robertson was able to purchase over 600 red-and-white helmets. When combined with a separate Powell Economic Partnership-hosted program at Parkside and efforts by Safe Kids Park County at Westside, it has resulted in every K-5 student receiving a free new helmet.
“Local businesses were amazing,” Robertson said. The list of donations indicates they contributed well over $15,000 worth of items and money.
While helmets and bike safety are an area of focus, that’s not all police will be looking for. Carpenter said youth can score cards for any kind of safe behavior, such as looking both ways and using crosswalks when crossing a street. Helmet-clad parents out with their kids could get rewarded, too.
“If we see good positive safety practices in place, we’re fine handing out cards to everyone,” Carpenter said, adding, “really, it’s just about safety.”
Kids can also bring their helmets and bicycles to a Youth Bike Rodeo the police department is hosting Friday, June 6. The free event is set to run from 9-11 a.m. at the Powell Middle School parking lot. It will feature bike courses for novice and experienced riders, all geared around promoting bike and street safety. Carpenter said he’s hoping for a great turnout.
