Customs and Border Patrol agents visit library's summer program
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Three Havre-based officers with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did two presentations for local children in Blaine County Library's summer program. The officers were part of a series of presentations by "people in the community that kids could recognize and turn to for help." Other presenters included firemen, police, a Navy sailor, beekeepers and the CBP officers.
Three Havre-based officers with the Customs and Border Patrol CBP) recently visited with children at Blaine County Library's summer program for kids. The officers did two presentations to educate children about the agency's job of protecting the nation's borders. The Customs and Border Patrol was created in 2002 when the Homeland Security Act combined the functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service into one agency. CBP is now the largest uniformed law enforcement agency in the country
The three CBP officers talked to younger kids in the morning and presented to children up to age 13 in the afternoon. Assistant Librarian Kelsey Buhmann Brown said, "We had a really big turnout. Based on past programming we expect large turnouts for guest speakers." Per Brown, the presentation was part of an overall program to help kids learn about "people in their community who can help them. We had programs by police, firemen, a US Navy sailor, beekeepers and the Custom and Border Patrol officers."
Assistant Librarian Brown explained the purpose of this year's programming: "We had to cancel our summer program last year because of COVID. This summer, with things opening up, we wanted to bring the community into the library so the kids would recognize and get to know people they could turn to if they needed help or had concerns. It seemed to work very well."
The CBP officers presented an interactive program. Describing some of They also enjoyed getting locked up in the officers' pickup, like they were fugitives. They particularly liked using the loudspeaker system on the pickup where they would yell, "Stop right there!"
Asked about interesting questions the kids posed to the officers, Brown laughed and said, "When the officers explained that the dog was often used to detain people who spoke other languages, one of the kids asked, "What other languages does the dog speak?" The officer patiently explained, "The dog only understands the commands we give them, it doesn't have to understand other languages."" What a classic kid question.
Brown explained how the kids reacted to the K-9 demonstration. The older kids were impressed with how the dog responded to verbal commands. "The little kids," she added, "were more inclined to tell the officers about their own pets at home. I'll have to say the CBP officers patiently listened and responded to the stories from the kids about their pets." Another popular part of the presentation was the "take home stuff." Brown said, "The officers had backpacks, pens, key chains and all sorts of stuff that the kids could take home with them. The giveaways were definitely a big hit."
New programs for kids begin in the fall
The summer programs for kids ended the last week in July. Librarian Brown said, "Our fall programs will start a week or two after school begins. We'll have information about the fall programs in the "Journal" newspaper, on the Blaine County Library's website as well as on our Facebook and Instagram sites. There will also be posters around the schools or you can call us at 357-2932 for information about the fall programs." Programs during the school year will include movies, "hangouts" for older kids, story time for youngsters, Lego Club and other activities.
