Belvidere police launch ‘Badges with Books’ program for kids

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

Belvidere Police Department Officer Michelle Wilgus enjoyed making positive contacts with the youngsters she met while on duty. She would stop when they waved, while riding their bicycles or skateboards, just to say “hi” and let them know that police were friendly.

However, she wanted more than that.

“I wanted to add a personal touch with these contacts and provide them with a gift,” she said. “What better gift than a learning tool, such as a book.”

She decided to do something about that goal. She posted on her personal Facebook page, looking for children’s books to keep in her patrol car. The idea was to give the books to youngsters she came in contact with on city streets, or while on calls while at work.

Friends provided the first donations and she said she handed the books out to some kids as they got off a school bus. From that came parents posting on their Facebook pages what the officer was doing and that she was seeking more books.

Several emails and hundreds of donations later, “we decided to do a truck or treat for Halloween, where we handed out about 400 books,” she said. “The children loved it, and the parents loved it.”

Hometown Christmas

After a very successful book drive over the past two weeks, sponsored by Burger King, Officer Wilgus said she and others decided to hand out books Friday, Dec. 2 in the downtown fire station, as part of the annual Hometown Christmas celebration.

Youngsters were allowed to pick out a book of their choice, and if they wanted it to be wrapped, to put under their Christmas tree, police also wrapped it.

Now, interested Belvidere police officers are given books to carry in their patrol cars and hand out to kids with whom they come in contact.

Badges with Books is supported by donations. Fund-raisers will be held in the coming year. But right now, Officer Wilgus was happy to report that “we are fully stocked and don’t need any books.”

However, she asks residents and others to follow the department’s Facebook page for future donation sites.

She hopes that the program will be successful.

“I feel it builds a strong bond and builds great relationships between the community and the police department,” she said.

Two companies got on board when they donated a combined $450 to the city for the community policing program.

The city’s committee of the whole, at its Nov. 28 meeting, agreed to recommend directing the contributions from Gallano Trucking ($250) and Dean Foods ($200) to the Badges with Books program.

New rescue pumper

Also Nov. 28, the committee supported the recommendation of Fire Chief Al Hyser to purchase a new rescue pumper from Alexis. The company is located in Alexis, a small town near Moline and Rock Island, for $472,285. The trade-in, a 2002 American LaFrance, will lower the purchase price to $464,285.

There were six bids in all, ranging from $463,417.27 to $563,800.

Chief Hyser’s recommendation was “based on much research” and included the following points:

The Alexis bid met all specifications proposed by the Belvidere Fire Department’s apparatus committee.

Through past dealings, Alexis demonstrated quick and reliable customer service.

The department is familiar with Alexis, from which the city purchased Ladder 150.

Alexis is an Illinois fire apparatus manufacturer.

The apparatus committee recommended that the following equipment be added to the new engine: tool boards and mounts, tool trays and fire headsets. That will increase the cost by about $10,000, he said in his report to the committee.

Another bidder, Sutphen, based in Ohio, actually had a lower bid of $463,417.27. Comments from the chief stated the bid met most apparatus committee specifications, but as a new regional dealer, its customer service level was unknown. However, the city is familiar with Sutphen because it bought Engine 101 from that company.