Clintonville officers participate in community events
By Bert Lehman
Over the past year, the Clintonville Police Department has participated in a variety of community events that have helped it interact with community members in a positive light.
“It’s part of our mission to provide excellence in the delivery of community-oriented policing through community partnerships and improving the quality of life to our residents,” said Clintonville Police Chief Craig Freitag. “Giving back to the community we serve is important and it ties us in with our community.”
Freitag said it is important for the officers to interact with community members in a positive manner.
“It’s a great way for our staff members to meet many people in our community,” Freitag said. “This is a chance for them to build community relationships and as a result it builds trust from our community.”
Most recently the Clintonville Police Department participated in Waupaca County Shop with a Cop, held in Waupaca.
The department also held its third annual Clintonville Shop with a First Responder event.
Freitag said over the past three years, Officer Cody Rollin worked on putting this program together. Police officers, fire fighters and ambulance staff take area children to Clintonville Fleet Farm and shop with them.
“Staff at Fleet Farm assist the children with making Christmas ornaments to take home,” Freitag said. “Staff are assigned to a child and we shop with the child and purchase gifts for their family members. Each child has $250 to spend and if there is money left over, we purchase items that could be used in the home, for instance laundry detergent, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. After shopping we bring the gifts to the police department and we wrap the gifts with the children. Once done with that we eat dinner with the children. This entire event is very memorable for not only the children, but for the officers. It’s a great way to spend time with the children and build positive relationships with them.”
This holiday season officers also participated in the Clintonville Chamber Christmas Parade. The department received a first-place trophy for its float.
Freitag said the community has been very supportive of the work the department has done.
“I have had many people make comments to me that they have really enjoyed seeing staff giving back,” he said. “The credit truly goes to the staff, as they are the ones donating their time to put on these events. For the events we have done this year I believe we have been able to positively impact many families in our communities.”
Cops@Culver’s Day
In October, Clintonville police participated in Cops@Culver’s Day, an event organized by Q90 FM of Green Bay. Freitag said police departments throughout Wisconsin participate at various Culver’s locations to collect donations for the Police Lights of Christmas. Officers are at Culver’s restaurants that day collecting donations from customers.
The money collected is given to Q90, which then purchases gift cards at various businesses. The gift cards are then given to the police departments who participated.
“This one-day event brought in $165,000 in donations,” Freitag said. “Locally at our Culver’s location we collected $3,500. Q90 FM also provides backpacks filled with a free meal gift card, winter warmth items, toiletries, and snacks. These backpacks are handed out to community members while officers are out on patrol.”
Stuff The Squad
In November, for the first time, the Clintonville Police Department hosted a Stuff the Squad event. The event was organized by Office LeBreck, who worked with EconoFoods in Clintonville and the Clintonville Area Food Pantry.
“Staff members who volunteered their time that day were amazed by the outpouring support from our community,” Freitag said. “We filled the squad cars full of nonperishable food items, which resulted in 1,829 items and $3,100 monetary donations that were given to the food pantry. After seeing those numbers, we were very pleased and we are hoping next year to top those numbers.”
Outreach programs
Freitag said the police department is planning on several new community outreach programs in 2022.
“We are in the process of planning for our very first citizens academy,” he said. “We are continuing with the neighborhood program that has been in existence at the police department for several years. Our plan is to expand on this program. We are working on securing several grants that would allow us to put on outreach programs such as, Cops and Bobbers that utilizes fishing as a tool to connect police officers with the youth in our community.
“Another program we are looking at is Badges and Bullseye, which uses archery as a tool for officers and the youth to work together to master the skills of archery. Another one is Gutter Busters, this will use the same philosophy of the two previous mentioned events, through the fun activity of bowling.
“We also are wanting to start the “Yell and Tell” program. This program is aimed for young children, who see something dangerous, feels afraid and don’t know what to do. The “Yell and Tell” program teaches children how to take action and be a hero. There are seven teaching lessons to the program: pools, rivers/lakes, fire, poison, guns, child enticement, bullying, drugs and alcohol. Lastly, PSLO Bartel is putting together a program at the Clintonville Elementary School where officers will go into a classroom and read books to the children.”
Freitag said none of these events and programs would be possible without the efforts of staff members.
“We want it to be known we are part of this community and want to help our community,” Freitag said. “We feel giving back to our community in other ways is part of our job.”