GRANITE FALLS — New Police Chief Dennis Taylor wants to hear what elementary and middle school students have to say.
He visited elementary and middle schools during lunch time last week to talk and give them Outstanding Citizen Awards from the Granite Falls Police Department.
Taylor b
egan his Dine With the Chief program in September after he was asked to lead the department. He replaced former Police Chief Tony Domish, who resigned after reaching a settlement with the city after Domish and Mayor Haroon Saleem accused each other of misconduct. The program was something he wanted to begin when he was working as a sergeant for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office but he wasn’t able to start it before coming to Granite Falls, Taylor said.
“I like the small town community and I really like when the police department doesn’t have to be the bad guys,” he said.
The program is part of Taylor’s crime prevention program for the city and aims to reduce juvenile crime and misconduct. When police officers are present in schools, it helps provide an “inoculation” against the allure of gangs, truancy, juvenile delinquency and future criminal activity, Taylor added.
Taylor spoke with two small groups of students at Granite Falls Middle School on Wednesday. When sixth grader Tristan Armstrong quietly entered the conference room in the school’s office carrying her tray of pizza, an apple and a small carton of chocolate milk, Taylor asked if she knew why she was selected to have lunch with him.
She didn’t know why.
“A long time ago I asked the principals of all the schools if I could have lunch with the best kids in the whole school,” Taylor told her. “Your homeroom teacher nominated you as an outstanding citizen. I deal with mostly bad people so I get to have lunch with good kids.”
Seventh grader Jeremy Miller has been nominated twice by his teachers to have lunch with the chief. The first time he felt a little nervous about sitting down with Taylor but the feeling quickly disappeared. He was happy to be selected again.
“We started talking and everyone was telling stories and it was a lot of fun,” Jeremy said. “Mr. B, the principal, told me I was going to have lunch with the chief and I said, ‘Again? That’s pretty cool.'”
His group Wednesday discussed what it means to be a good person, shared what they did during spring break and talked about their pets. During the second group lunch of the afternoon, Taylor asked five eighth graders to talk about their ideas for a future youth center in the city.
The students weren’t shy. They suggested foosball and skee-ball tables, Xbox 360 games, a go-kart track, karaoke, computers, popcorn and other snacks be part of a future center.
Taylor listened and also asked what students thought about their awards.
“It’s pretty awesome,” eighth grader Ryley Repenn said.
Students seem to enjoy the recognition they receive and the chance to ask him any question they want, Taylor said.
“I’ve been asked, ‘Is that a real gun?’ and if I’ve ever shot somebody,” he said. “Every once in a while someone says their relative is in jail. That’s disheartening but it’s a reality.”
Still, Taylor said he looks forward to his Dine with the Chief visits every month at Granite Falls Middle School, Monte Cristo Elementary and Mountain Way Elementary.
“This is as much for me as it for them,” he said.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
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