FAIRFIELD, Maine — This week Fairfield police officers are assisting Maine School Administrative District 49 by distributing laptops to students who need them to complete their schoolwork while learning from home.
Chief Tom Gould, with help from another officer, is doing the deliveries for families at a time when people are ordered to stay home to stay safe from the spread of COVID-19.
For parents like Corey Dickey of Fairfield, it's something that is greatly appreciated.
"Just like to say thank you for delivering the laptops for still being out there and you know protecting us and being first responders," he said.
His 12-year-old daughter, Navaeh Williams, is in 6th grade. She said she appreciates what the police are doing right now too.
"I think that they are just very considerate people,” Williams said.
Fairfield police are urging people to stay home.
"Our officers are working with almost no PPE (Personal protective equipment)," the department wrote in a Facebook post.
Facebook is proving to be an effective way of communicating for the department. Not only are officers using the social media platform to communicate directly with the people they serve, but they are also using it to encourage kids to share their artwork with them.
The Fairfield Police Department has launched what it’s calling the "2020 COVID-19 art challenge." Some police officers have been moved to a temporary space for social distancing purposes and they say the walls are pretty bare.
They want to fill the walls with artwork from kids in their neighborhoods - artwork the kids may already be doing for their art classes from home. They plan to have an art show to display it all “when this whole shindig is over.”
Police officers in Fairfield are trying to make these times a little brighter for kids in their community from keystrokes to paint strokes.
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