The Daisy troops of Oakland have been busy learning about their community and benefiting from the largess of local merchants. Some recently visited the Oakland Police Department, and others were busy at Shoprite hawking their own line of cookies dressed in traffic stopping costumes.
Visiting the Police
Oakland introduces many of its youngest citizens to our first responders before kindergarten even starts. Safety Town in Oakland is a great experience for pre-schoolers about to enter kindergarten, but for most Daisies this was the first time visiting the Oakland Police Department. For those who did attend Safety Town, they may have remembered Detective Mark Piercy who heads Oakland’s juvenile justice division. Topics such as seatbelt safety and talking on cell phones while driving were covered, along with timeless reminders from a well worn Mickey Mouse public service video that many parents had probably seen.
Visits such as these help show the human side to policing, and can dispel fears children may have about the police. Unfortunately, many parents still off-handedly comment to disobedient children that they will call the police; and, many television shows only reflect police in relationship to their pursuit of criminals. The fun visit to the Oakland, NJ police station put a friendly face on place that often houses less amicable guests.
The girls visited the dispatcher room where the calls for help come in over the phone, the jail cell, and the town council chambers that also act as Oakland’s local courthouse for municipal offenses. Detective Piercy also gave the Daisies an up close look inside a police car. It’s a great age to visit keystones of the community such as the police station, the fire house, and the library, and see the components that help build a community.
Daisies Sell Cookies
For those who didn’t have the fortune of knowing a Girl Scout, Brownie or Daisy to purchase the famous cookies from, Daisy Troop 213 was out in full force on March 20th at ShopRite. Dressed in uniform or as Caramel DeLites or Thin Mints the girls were ready to sell the delicious cookies that come around only once a year.
