King named honorary mayor
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
CHRISTOPHER KING, of Presque Isle, was honored as Mayor for the Day during a ceremony held at the Presque Isle Public Safety Building on Oct. 20 — King’s wish to be famous for a day granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
King received a framed proclamation marking the occasion, as well as a key to the city, among other gifts. Pictured in front from left are: City Council Chair Emily Smith, King, Councilor Dick Engels and Deputy City Manager Martin Puckett. In back are: Lydia Patterson, Junior Miss Potato Queen; Lindsey Lagerstrom, Junior Miss Presque Isle 2012; Pre-Teen Miss Mapleton 2012 Paige McHatten; Victoria Williamson, Junior Miss Mapleton 2012; and Delaney Alward, Little Miss Potato Blossom 2012.
By Kathy McCarty
PRESQUE ISLE — Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you — especially if you’re one of the many children, like Christopher King of Presque Isle, fortunate enough to have a wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
King, whose wish was to be famous for a day, got the royal treatment during a day-long event Oct. 20 that kicked off with a special ceremony at the Public Safety Building on North Street in Presque Isle. Arriving by limousine, King was given the red-carpet treatment, with fans awaiting his arrival in the lobby of the Presque Isle Police Department. Once inside, he was escorted to the conference room where he was recognized by city officials as Mayor for the Day and presented with several gifts to mark the occasion.
Dozens turned out to honor King, including several area beauty queens, city officials, friends and family members.
“They’re gonna make my wish come true,” said King, when asked if he knew why he was at the Public Safety Building.
Emily Smith, chair of the Presque Isle City Council, named King Honorary Mayor for the Day, as she read from the proclamation.
“The city of Presque Isle, along with the Make-A-Wish Foundation wish children of the past, present and future will have an opportunity to share the power of a wish. The city of Presque Isle would like to present a key to the city to Christopher King as well as proclaim him Honorary Mayor for the Day for his outstanding contributions to the children of our community through the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” noted Smith.
Smith explained the history behind presenting citizens with keys to the city.
“The key to the city is bestowed upon distinguished persons of the city of Presque Isle. When admission into a city was hampered by many legal restrictions, as well as by walls and locked gates, the key symbolized free entry. In Presque Isle, the act of giving the key to the city is symbolic, since the city has no gates to unlock. Today, the presentation honors outstanding citizens,” Smith said.
Councilor Dick Engels and Deputy City Manager Martin Puckett joined Smith in presenting King with the proclamation and key to the city.
In accepting the key, King asked, “Do you mind if I keep this? Do you mind if I bring this home?” Smith said of course he could keep the items.
King, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a type of muscular dystrophy, sat in his wheelchair holding the key on his lap.
“I never had a key before,” said King.
“Now you have a big one,” replied Engels.
Next, Police Chief Matt Irwin and Fire Chief Darrell White presented King with a shadow box filled with memorabilia from both departments.
“We’ve put together a collection of items for Chris,” said Irwin, as White gave the gift to King’s mother, Sandra.
The fun continued, with Junior Miss Potato Blossom 2012 Lydia Patterson and Pre-Teen Miss Potato Blossom 2012 Kaci Bates, both of Presque Isle, helping King unwrap a large gift that turned out to be a brand new flat-screen television.
“You can watch your favorite show, ‘Animal Cops: Houston,’ on your new TV,” said Marilyn Carey, one of King’s Make-A-Wish coordinators.
Following the theme of his favorite show, the next up to visit with King was PIPD Officer Kevin Reed, accompanied by Dozer, the department’s drug detection canine.
“I’m nervous around cop dogs,” said King, as Reed brought Dozer close enough for King to pet him. “I’m allergic to cop dogs.”
King was then given a tour of the police station, then whisked away in the limousine for a bit of down time before returning for lunch at the fire station. Before his limo ride, however, King was presented with the door from a race car belonging to Austin Theriault, an Aroostook County driver. King also received a hat courtesy of a driver also named Chris King from downstate.
“We planned a number of special things for him, including a visit with a Customs and Border Protection agent and visit at the airport. Walmart also named him Manager of the Day. Chris was given a shopping spree at Walmart as part of his special day,” said Carey.
A variety of photo ops occurred throughout the day, with Chris Weimer, of WAGM-TV, overseeing the production of a special film to mark the occasion.
