Stearns County Sheriff’s Office Hosts Summer Safety Camps for Kids

(KNSI) – The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office is holding its Safety Camps again this summer.

This year, four events are scheduled around the county. The camps are for kids between eight and 12 years old. They’re taking place on June 10th at Belgrade City Park, June 11th at Holdingford Veterans Memorial Park, Warner Lake Park near Clearwater on July 1st and the Paynesville Airport on July 2nd.

Sheriff Steve Soyka gave KNSI News a rundown of what’s happening at the parks. “We do some presentations on water safety, we have the DNR come out and talk about wearing your life jacket. Our water patrol comes out. We typically have a fire department come and talk about some fire safety stuff. We may teach them how to use a fire extinguisher or sometimes they actually pull the hose out and let the kids spray some water.”

The sheriff’s office will also bring out our its UAVs and K9s for demonstrations, and the possibilty of seeing some SWAT gear. There will be activities between classes, such as playing kickball with those from the explorers program. Aside from teaching kids to stay safe, Soyka says there’s another reason for the day camps. It’s community engagement. “The underlying message is that we’re people too. And we’re interacting with the kids and trying to get them comfortable with law enforcement and comfortable with the fire departments.”

The camps can fit up to 30 kids each. The events are free, but you must pre-register. To do so, scan the QR code on the sheriff’s office’s flyers or call the sheriff’s office. Lunch will be provided.

The Summer Safety Camps are part of an initiative started by Sheriff Soyka after he was elected and is in its fifth year.

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