THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408280057
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LISE OLSEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
For a few hours, police became referees, using whistles to start instead of stop a running child. Three wooden blocks on a dusty field were the ``winners' circle.'' And a child like long-haired Charles Burnham, 7, was suddenly an olympic medalist.
Such was the magic of the first Police Athletic League (PAL) Olympics, held Saturday morning in a schoolyard in Virginia Beach. The event drew 140 kids, about 50 officers and volunteers, and small-but-enthusiastic groups of parents for four hours of athletic competition and fellowship.
Perhaps none was more enthusiastic than Mittie Burnham, of the Green Lakes neighborhood. She cheered every child as if the youngster was her own, giving each a thumbs up before the race. Only when her son Charles brought back a silver medal did she show her bias: He got a big hug.
A few minutes later, Charles passed on the medal like a lei to Master Police Officer Tammy Kellogg - though he quickly took it back when she threatened to keep it.
Such interaction between kids, police and parents is what the Police Athletic League is all about. The PAL program gives children a chance to become friends with officers, who work and play with them all year. It also offers recreational opportunities to kids in low-income neighborhoods who otherwise might not have them. Each officer tailors his or her PAL activities to the interests of the kids, though each emphasizes discipline and respect.
Virginia Beach's PAL program began in 1990. It is a part of a community-oriented policing movement that has become popular nationwide.
The olympics marked the first time that Virginia Beach officers from across the city brought their PAL groups together. But they're hoping to make the competition an annual event. Eventually, they'd like to expand the competition by inviting officers from other cities to bring their neighborhood groups.
Green Lakes, a neighborhood in central Virginia Beach, brought 40 kids to Saturday's event - more than a quarter of the athletes. Early on, their kids began to dominate the medals competition. And a throng of parents gathered to cheer, urging the kids to bring home a busload of medals and promising to publish winners' names in a newsletter.
``We're very excited,'' Mittie Burnham said. ``The kids have been at this since June, up practicing as late as 10:30 at night. The kids have been great.''
All the while, officer Gregory Vick stood to one side, quietly smiling. He didn't openly take sides: Everyone wins with the PAL program, and neighborhood rivalry is not encouraged. But Green Lakes is part of his territory - one of the four neighborhoods in the First Precinct where he works with kids every day. So Vick couldn't help but show pride.
``Most of these kids had never competed before so this is a learning experience for them,'' he said. ``And they're very excited.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
Police Capt. Earnest Rorrer examines a medal won by Francesca
Harper, 6, at Great Neck Middle School on Saturday.
Color photo
JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff
Norfolk police officer Carl Lee tries to catch the ball during a
game of kickball with neighborhood youths on Chester Street.
Photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Quentin Hills, 7, left, and Andrew Cathlin, 7, race in the 50-meter
dash of the first Police Athletic League Olympics, held in Virginia
Beach on Saturday. Andrew came in first.
by CNB