Warsaw Fifth-Grader Treats Officers To A Meal For His Birthday
Warsaw Fifth-Grader Treats Officers To A Meal For His Birthday
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw Fifth-Grader Treats Officers To A Meal For His BirthdayFor his 11th birthday, Haiden Hastings didn’t want it to be about him at all.
Instead, the Washington STEM Academy fifth-grader wanted to serve local law enforcement a hot meal to thank the officers, jailers and dispatchers for protecting and serving the community.
“I wanted to have cops come over so that they would have a safe place, just so they would feel safe, just welcoming,” Haiden said while waiting for them to arrive. “I just wanted to do it and I just thought it would just be good.”
While his birthday was Tuesday, the dinner was from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at his parents’ Warsaw home. He invited officers from Warsaw, Winona Lake and Claypool police departments; deputies and jailers from Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office; and dispatchers from the Kosciusko County 911 Communications Center. Taking him up on his invitation were three dispatchers, four jailers, six KCSO deputies, seven WPD officers, one Claypool officer and one Pierceton officer.
The meal included rib eye steak, a potato bar, salad, soda and desserts including cake, cookies and doughnuts.
His parents, James and Brittany, helped him with the decorations which included tablecloths of the “thin blue line” and red, white and blue balloons. Outside on a flag pole was a thin blue line flag.
The thin blue line stands for law enforcement's separation of order from chaos and is a reference to police. The thin blue line flag stands for the sacrifice law enforcement officers of this nation make each day, according to a Google definition.
James said, “What he really wanted to do was mainly give officers an opportunity to sit and have a meal where they’re not having to look over their shoulder. They often times sit at restaurants where they’re being judged by other people, and it’s tough being an officer at this time, so we’re just trying to give them a safe place to eat and relax.”
Former Pierceton Police officer and new Claypool Police officer Nick Scott said, “I think it’s really good. I think it’s a good way to get to know everybody, hang out and see what everybody is about.”
Chris Francis, KCSO deputy and public information officer, arrived with deputy James Smith and Smith’s son. Francis also brought Haiden a gift bag of items for his birthday, including a plastic deputy hat.
“This is the first time, in my understanding, we’ve ever been invited” to a kid’s birthday party, Francis said. “I think it’s an honor to come here. Most kids want to have Flash, or Batman or Superman. To get an invite for the cops to come eat, I think it’s very kind of the young man.”
To invite the officers to the dinner, Haiden said he wrote a letter and took it to the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office and Winona Lake, Warsaw and Claypool police departments. It says, “This is an invitation to all law enforcement to celebrate Haiden Hastings’ 11th birthday. It would be an honor to serve you a hot meal and thank you personally for protecting and serving our community.” It also provides the menu, date, time and address.
Haiden was “very excited” that up to 40 law enforcement personnel were expected to come. He was going to get them anything they needed during their meal.
“I’ve met a lot (of officers) before,” he said.
As the officers arrived, they were asked to sign a guest book.
“We’re going to make a little thank-you thing. What we’re going to do is write their badge (and the police flag) and put it on a piece of wood or something,” he said.
He also had about 20 family members on hand, making it his biggest birthday party so far.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the officers,” he reiterated.
