Father and daughter team up for class act

By Coral Botting
Special to the Pioneer Times
    Recently, I completed the first-ever Houlton Police Department Citizen’s Police Academy. When I attended the first class with a few of my friends, I loved it. And, when I went home to tell my parents all about it, my father, Merle Botting, expressed an interest in the class. GRADUATED —Coral Botting and her father Merle graduated from the first Houlton Police Department Citizen’s Police Academy in a class of 26 residents who learned first-hand the daily activities and responsibilities of Houlton’s police officers. In addition to earning their certificates June 10, graduates got caps and t-shirts.
   I am currently studying criminal justice at University of Maine at Augusta. My father has always been interested in the kind of things that I will be doing after I graduate. When he heard that the class would give him a first-hand look at what I will be doing in the future, he immediately wanted to know if he could attend also.
    Chief Butch Asselin was more than willing to have another applicant. And so, my father began attending the classes as well. My father sometimes has issues showing his emotions. When he was so interested in attending the class to learn what I would possibly be doing professionally later in life, I was beyond happy. I was ecstatic. It means the world to me — more than my words could ever express — that he decided to attend the classes with me.
    The Citizen’s Police Academy was amazing. But, what made it so special, was that my father was right there with me. We were learning together and sharing that time with each other.  
    Thank you, dad for wanting to learn more about what I will be doing after graduation. And have a happy Father’s Day.