Students become OPP for the day

May 29, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Angela Gismondi
Milaina Prezzano and Kelvin Dahri took a break from being Grade 5 students at Palgrave Public School to become acting officers at Caledon OPP for the day last Thursday.
Taking the helm at the Detachment in Caledon East, Prezzano was named detachment commander and Dahri was staff sergeant for the day. The pair were given a long list of responsibilities, which included handing out orders.
“It’s your day to decide what you want people to do,” said Inspector Tim Melanson, detachment commander. “That’s what’s nice about being the boss — you get to tell people what to do.”
The new recruits’ first order of business was a walkabout, meeting and speaking to all the staff in the office, followed by a tour of the facility.
“You have to speak to everyone everyday and see what’s going on,” explained Melanson. “It’s kind of like school, you get to socialize a little bit.”
The Caledon detachment held an annual essay competition to decide who would get the detachment commander and staff sergeant for the day honours. Students were asked to respond to the question “Why do you want to be Detachment Commander for the Day?”
Prezzano and Dahri’s essays were selected as the top two among 84 submissions from Grade 5 students throughout Caledon.
Prezzano wrote about how she helped her friend battle cancer. She said being inspector for a day would give her the opportunity to take on more responsibility.
“I really like to see how everything works and how everything is done,” said Prezzano.
In his essay, Dahri wrote about how he stands up to bullies and encourages his friends to do the same. He recognized the position comes with a lot of responsibility but was looking forward to the challenge.
“I get the chance to be a hero to people,” said Dahri.

Inspector Tim Melanson and Constable Brenda Evans last Thursday welcomed acting detachment commander Milaina Prezzano and acting staff sergeant Kelvin Dahri to their posts for the day.

Acting staff sergeant Kelvin Dahri and acting detachment commander Milaina Prezzano checked out the facilities at the Caledon OPP station, including the cells.
Photos by Angela Gismondi