MOHS Alumnus Stays On Track For Olympic Return

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After taking fourth place in the triple jump for track and field during the finals of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Keturah Orji is jumping at another shot of winning an Olympic medal.

The 2014 Mt. Olive High School graduate will be representing Team USA in the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo, set to be held Friday, July 23 through Sunday, Aug. 8.  The women’s triple jump event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on July 30 and Aug. 1 at the Japan National Stadium.

Staying in shape both mentally and physically was a challenge for Orji, but not enough to derail her from her aspirations.

“I’m so excited to make my second Olympic team,” says Orji, 25, during an exclusive interview with “Mt. Olive Online.” “I’m so blessed and grateful to be in this position and to be able to remain consistent and win my 5th consecutive outdoor U.S. title. This is the first step to achieving my ultimate goal of winning a medal in Tokyo!”

In the first round of the preliminary trials for the Olympics held Friday, June 18, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., Orji with the Atlanta Track Club completed her 

three jumps and won first place with a score of 46 feet-10.75 inches. The top 12 then competed in finals on Sunday, June 20, with Orji also jumping the furthest at 47 feet-7.75 inches. The top three- Orji; Tori Franklin; and Jasmine Moore, have been named to Team USA for the triple jump competition. 

Orji also competed in the Long Jump for Team USA on Thursday, June 24, in which she ranked eighth after jumping 21 feet-5.5 inches in the qualifying round. The top 12 went on to compete in the final round on Saturday, June 26, with Orji coming in seventh and jumping 21 feet-11 inches.

Training During Pandemic

Living in Chula Vista Calif., Orji is a professional athlete sponsored by the Mizuno Atlantic Track Club.

With many athletes having issues staying on track during the pandemic, Orji says Mizuno ATC “have been very supportive of me. I’m so appreciative of that relationship.”

Says Orji, “It was hard staying motivated. I had no motivation to train on some days,” especially when the 2020 Olympics were cancelled “and we didn’t have any competitions on our schedule.

“There was no goal in mind,” she says. “I didn’t know when the next meet would be; I didn’t know when the world would return to normal. On top of that, weight rooms were closed, tracks were closed; everything you would need to train was closed unless you were a distance runner and could just run on the road.”

For Orji, when the going got tough, she clearly got going.

“I had to really be creative,” she says. “I bought dumb bells and some weights to be able to lift at home. I was doing hill workouts. I also found stairs. I was doing stadium runs, and hops and jumps like that on stadiums; finding grass fields to work out in.

“So, it was definitely hard, especially being motivated, but I tried to just think of it as you’re not training for the Olympics right now; you’re just trying to maintain your health so that when the world does turn back to normal, you’re not so far behind everyone else. It was more of a maintenance phase.”

Record Breaker 

Support, hard work, practice and dedication surely contributed to her breaking the American Record in April this past year when she jumped 14.92 meters, or 48 feet-11 inches in Trula Vista, Calif., where she trains.

Her rival, Tori Franklin of Illinois, held the previous American record since 2018 when she jumped 14.84 meters or 48 feet-8.25 inches, after taking the record away from Orji.

This is not the first time Orji is breaking records. At the age of 20, she came in fourth place in the triple jump for track and field during the finals of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, jumping 48 feet and 3 ¼ inches, setting the female outdoor record in America.

On the collegiate level, she had competed on the University of Georgia team all four years, breaking even her own indoor record.

In 2018, during her last collegiate year, Orji broke the school, collegiate and American records in the triple jump, jumping 47 feet- 8 inches, beating her previous record of 46 feet-11.75 inches.

Orji was born to jump, literally. The sport opened for women in 1996, the same year Orji was born. She has been competing internationally since she was 17 years.

For the triple jump, athletes are always trying to jump just a bit further to beat or break a record.

To increase her jump, Orji says she has been working on some tactics like “taking 18 steps before I triple jump,” she says. She has also been working on drive phase, “making sure that’s good,” trying to be consistent and making her jumps more horizontal.

Orji says she used to struggle with inconsistency of the three phases of the triple jump, but she has been working on it to be more horizontal and more balanced throughout the phases.

“Obviously, we all have goals,” says Orji. “Our goal was to never achieve the American record; it was just to help me get better and that just came along with it so that was really nice.”

Going into the Olympic trials last month, Orji’s goal was “to jump 15 meters; that is a lustrous barrier that a lot of triple jump women hope to eclipse; not a lot of people are able to do it so it will be great to be added to that list of women who have surpassed 15 meters.

“I also want to jump over seven meters in the long jump, which again few have been able to do that much less do both.”    

Time For Relationships

During her maintenance phase during the pandemic, Orji says she appreciated the time off so she could spend some quality time with her family in Mt. Olive and her sister, who is living in Georgia.

“Usually during those months I’d be training and be very far from my family,” says Orji. “It was really nice to be able to see them and just spend time with them at a time when I usually would not be able to see them.”   

Besides training, Orji jumped at her chance in August 2020 to marry her love, Kisean Smith, a former 800-meter runner for the University of Georgia.

Orji says it was a “small ceremony, no reception,” with a Zoom link for family and friends to watch.

“It was nice to get people together,” she says and hopes to have a larger reception one day to celebrate.

She does credit her husband and family for keeping her motivation jumping.

She says her “sister was working out with me while we were in quarantine together.” They would go on hikes and became closer spending time together during the pandemic, she says. 

“My parents and husband have just always encouraged me and continue to help me really do my best and stay motivated,” says Orji.     

With spectators prohibited from attending this year’s Olympics, Orji’s family will not be allowed to see her compete in person like they did for the 2016 Olympics. “I’ll support her from here,” says her mom, Nicole Orji of Mt. Olive. “I’m happy I made it to Brazil,” thanking the community again for their financial support at that time to help pay the travel expenses. Due to COVID, “With everything that’s going, I’m ok.”

Not attending does not deflate their happiness nor excitement for Orji.

“I was pretty sure she would do it again,” says her mom. “I’ve always prayed for her to be injury free” since her younger years when she was a gymnast. “God has been very faithful to that. I thank God for his mercy and grace for answering those prayers.

“My husband and I are proud of her,” continues Nicole Orji. “She’s always doing extra stuff that I can brag about or smile about.”   

Advice From A Pro Athlete

Orji offers some advice to other athletes who would like to one day step into that professional arena.

She encourages all athletes “to really figure out what your goals are and just remind yourself of your goals consistently. Sometimes it’s easy to get lazy from the day to day because you’re not thinking about that goal you want to achieve. But when you remind yourself of it consistently…keeps you focused and reminds you of what you want to do.”

Orji also encourages “all athletes to find hobbies and interests that are outside of your sport.” She encourages others to “not put their identity in their sport,” as she says, “our sport at some point comes to an end and ultimately our sport will always let us down.”

She says, “no matter how hard you train you are going to have those practices or meets where you don’t perform as well as you want to. Sometimes it can really, really mess with your mind and make you doubt yourself and doubt a lot of things.”

Athletes need to keep in mind “they are more than their sport; your accomplishments and failures don’t define you, it’s just who you are. If something in your sport doesn’t work out, there’s still so many other opportunities out there with other talents and abilities.

“Diversify your interests,” she advises. “Spread out your talents.”  

“To learn more about me, follow my day-to-day life, and see my journey to Tokyo,” go to www.keturahorji.com, and her instagram @ktorr1. 

There are two sides to every bubble…. well at least there is at the Mt. Olive High School Marauder Dome.... ‘aka’ the bubble. 

Some parents and players are speaking out against the idea of the bubble staying up again this upcoming school year and information they heard about outdoor sports having to play inside the bubble for games and practices. Boys’ and girls’ soccer, lacrosse and field hockey would be subject to play inside the bubble. 

Parents wrote a letter to the editor about their concerns and others complained about the idea on the sidelines. But Mt. Olive School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Zywicki deflates that bubble rumor, reassuring the community that there are other plans in the works.

Zywicki suggests that concerned parents and players should think “outside the bubble” …literally, and when they do have an issue to call him to discuss.

“Call Zywicki; he answers his phone,” says Zywicki.  "They can just call me, and I can give them all the information. I’m here, people can just call me. Reach out to me. That’s what I’m here for; talk to me.”

In a letter to the editor this past week, parents raised several concerns about their kids playing in the bubble this fall located at the rear of Mt. Olive High School in Flanders. Concerns ranged from germs recirculating especially after the COVID 19 scare; uncomfortable temperature playing without air-conditioning; limited spacing and accessibility; inability to raise funds without concession stand; loss of video camera in sky box stadium; and decision to fund new scoreboard at Marauder Stadium rather than using those funds to take down the bubble.

See the full letter to the editor at the end of this article.

Why The Bubble Stays Inflated

The bubble over the turf field was an approved expenditure by the previous MOHS Superintendent Dr. Larrie Reynolds.

The bubble used to get taken down and put back up in the colder months. But when it got too costly, and the manufacturer’s warranty ran out, school officials decided to take matters into their own hands.

In November 2019, the Mt. Olive Board of Education was informed that it had violated the manufacturer’s warranty.

“They took it down and ripped it,” by accident, explains Zywicki.

Then last year, a snowstorm had caused more damage to the bubble.

School officials decided to do a pilot in the 2020/2021 school year to keep it up and see how it went, he explains.

In August, the bubble will come down to fix the panels that had been in disrepair from the snowstorm, but then it will go back up. The school district will then have to wait six to eight months before they can take it down again because of the manufacturer’s warranty, explains Zywicki.

Next April “will be detrimental” as to whether the bubble will stay up or come down.

“Once we make repairs in the Dome, we will see if we can put it up and take it down.

Sports Outside The Bubble

In the meantime, there are alternative plans for teams to play on other fields.

Like last season, the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, lacrosse and field hockey will get to play their games at the Marauder Stadium, where the MOHS football team plays, as well as the turf fields at Turkey Brook Park in Budd Lake, and the Mt. Olive Middle School Turf field, says Zywicki. 

There is also another “project in the hopper,” says Zywicki. The current baseball field at the high school is faced with “terrible drainage.”

Bids went out to fix the drainage, but they were rejected in March as they came in too high, says Zywicki.

The idea now is to turn the baseball field into a “multi-purpose turf field,” to be utilized by soccer, football, lacrosse, baseball and softball, says Zywicki.

“We are going out for bid in September,” he says, adding that the field could be done earliest next spring or next summer.

The bubble will be used only on a “case by case basis,” Zywicki says. “We can if we need to, if it’s pouring rain. Once we get the other field in, we’re in a good place.”

The bubble will also be used during the school day, will be rented out and used for practices by teams including the football and soccer teams when there are games being played at the stadium, he says.  

Bubble Woes

Vito Del Vescovo has two rising seniors and will not be happy if his son, Nico, must play his games in the bubble.

His other son, Tony, plays basketball so he should not be affected.

“Soccer is not meant to be played inside a bubble,” says Del Vescovo. “My main concern is there is no air circulation and since we are still in a pandemic, we would be putting our kids in a dangerous situation. Who will take responsibility from the district for this decision if God forbid one of these kids was to get the COVID-19 virus?

“Other concerns: Field too small, no quality air for parents to also breath in,” he says. “I don't think we can also get good video footage in a bubble, no sunshine on the players.”

When asked if there are any pros to playing in there, he says “There are no pros to playing [in] the bubble.” 

He suggests: “If the bubble stays up, we have to have the ability to use the football field as we have done in the past. I am disappointed that we are discussing this now after everything we have been through in the last two years. It’s my kids last year and the district and school should be doing everything in their power to make this the best season/year ever.” 

Some players are also unhappy with the idea of playing inside the bubble.

Senior Kyle Birmingham, varsity captain goal keep of the MOHS boys’ soccer team, says “I strongly dislike the bubble.”

He says, “reason one: You can tell it’s totally different on what we want to experience. We feel enclosed; lighting is different; can’t breathe. You feel closed in.”

Birmingham says he had a practice in there last year for a week and “it was terrible; air was musty; my skin felt itchy. I even got a rash on my skin. When you run in the bubble you feel disgusting; 90 minutes of straight running, just feeling enclosed, the feeling you have. I was not the only one complaining; it’s not just me.”

Reason two deals with tactical concerns: “Goalkeeper wise and soccer players- when you go in there, I’m supposed to see the whole field,” says Birmingham, who has been playing soccer for 10 years. He was told by his coach, “to get used to it.” But he realizes, you can’t see in there” as the lighting is dimmer. “From practice, we played worse. For punting, I hit the ceiling a thousand times; it all gets messed up.”

Soccer players, such as midfielders, like long balls, but Birmingham says “I feel you can’t play the ball like you want to. You can’t play at your full potential” inside a bubble. 

Reason three: Booster club can’t make money, says Birmingham. Without food nor drinks allowed inside the bubble, the Booster club cannot use the concession stand.

“It’s our senior year,” says Birmingham. “I want people to come and see me play. I want my friends to come see me play. My dad takes the pictures; the lighting will be messed up. There’s just a bunch of cons to playing in the bubble.”

Reason four: Safety. “I feel it’s very unsafe in the bubble,” says Birmingham. “Players run into the netting; poles fall on players. There’s not enough space to play.” He says they had to move up the soccer goals about a foot off the line.

“What if the bubble just pops?” says Birmingham. “There’s very tight space. If a pole hits the side of the bubble, or cleats?”

If it is rainy or windy, Birmingham agrees the bubble could be a good thing, but "in the fall, it’s nice weather.

“I would love to play outside,” he concludes. “I’d play in the stadium,” if the bubble stays up. “I want my final games outside so everyone can watch me on a turf field school campus where everyone can see me.” 

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June 28, 2021

Dear Editor,

I am writing to you with concerns over the bubble at the MOHS and the understanding that it will remain in place with the start of HS fall sports. The turf field was just installed a few years ago but the bubble was always taken down so the HS teams could utilize the fields. Now, Dr. Zywicki has stated the bubble will remain up and the student athletes are expected to play their respective sports inside of the bubble. There are many concerns with that, safety being the first and foremost.

1 – COVID – Last year sports teams were not allowed to play inside of the bubble due to COVID protocols. However, we still do not know what the fall will look like when it comes to COVID and restrictions. These students have been through enough without worrying about their season being impacted due to spikes in COVID cases. Being indoors could once again increase the spread of COVID and once again jeopardizing the safety of the students and coaches. At the end of the school year, spectators were not allowed at the wrestling championship or drama club performance. The risk of this happening again in the fall is greater by playing in the bubble.

2 – Temperature – The bubble is not airconditioned nor does it have proper ventilation, especially for the summer heat when student athletes start their season. Supposedly fans will be installed, potential even misting fans. If we have learned anything from the mold situation at the middle school, wet air in a confined space is recipe for disaster, not to mention what implications fans have for COVID. Those that attended the recent BOE meeting held in the bubble can attest to the heat and can imagine how difficult it would be for athletes running around for over an hour to breathe.

3 – Spacing – Playing small sided 8v8 soccer games in the winter had kids running into the protective netting, running into the side of the bubble and the risk of injury was high. For an 11v11 indoor soccer game, NCAA rules state coaches and team benches need to be 10 feet away from the touch line while spectators need to be 20 feet, while NFSH recommends at least 10 feet for both.  In previous years, spectators watched games on that field and stand on the ground just outside the turf which is outside of the perimeter of the bubble. How will spectators, college coaches, and even the players be ‘safe’ in the limited space in the bubble? What happens when a referee or another team see the space and refuse to let us play due to safety concerns?

4 – Money – Most are aware of the ongoing debate that the bubble costs so much money to take down, which is why it must remain up. One would assume these cost implications were considered when deciding to put the dome up in the first place. This was a debate before COVID so blame cannot be on the pandemic. The money was spent to put in the new turf field but decisions to keep the dome up permanently makes that field almost useless to anyone but MOSC. Instead of purchasing a new jumbotron for the football field, those funds could be leveraged instead to fund the cost of taking the bubble down for the fall season. The bubble was damaged over the winter so it will be taken down this summer for repair anyway. Aside from the cost of taking it down, repairing it, and putting it back up again, why not leave it down until the winter?

5 – Limited accessibility – the bubble is often locked or being shared with MOSC, so as players want to practice outside of school, the field is not available.  At the stadium, goals for soccer and/or field hockey are often thrown over the fence making it impossible for players to use other space to practice on their own.

There are additional factors as well that impact these teams including the inability for multiple teams to raise funds through concessions, since food and drinks are supposedly not allowed in the bubble. The teams also lose access to the video camera in the sky box in the stadium.

Alternatives that have been discussed include playing on the baseball field. Why not allow all teams to play in the stadium? What is the cost there to retrofit the baseball field into a soccer /field hockey / lacrosse field and the cost to add ventilation/fans to the bubble? Should Varsity players be forced to play on grass while the Middle School teams play on turf at their field? Why are certain teams being displaced and punished for decisions made that are out of their control and without their input? Did anyone think about who they are hurting and the ripple effect of these decisions? These athletes deserve better.

Decisions were made in a ‘bubble’ (yes I did that) without the community’s knowledge. As I am sure there are political reasons at play here, but I must ask why wasn’t this decision voted on by publicly? The parents as well as the student athletes need to be aware that their seasons will be played in these unsafe and unfair conditions. Maybe the hope was once it was public knowledge it would be too late for the parents and players to act. Others in the community need to be aware. The only options acceptable to our student athletes is to either take down the bubble or allow teams to share the stadium in the fall.

Yours,

Concerned MOHS Parents of Student Athletes

There are those people who are “all talk no action,” and then there is Denise Washington who talks, acts and succeeds…surprising herself along the way by her potential-----and from looking at her track-record…may just be nothing less than limitless.  

Washington, who lived in Mt. Olive for 30 years before moving to Hackettstown, recently won 1st place in Toastmasters District 83 Table Topics Contest. Not an easy quest, having to first win the area and division contests earlier this year, Washington competed against nine others winning it all during the April 29, 8:30 p.m., virtual event in New Jersey.

At the age of 66, Washington is living her best life by taking on challenges and succeeding.

“I was extremely nervous before each competition,” says Washington admitting that public speaking was always one of her fears. “I question myself beforehand. I make sure I’m wearing something comfortable. Each competition I question, ‘why am I doing this?’

“I breathe deeply,” she says. “I remember why I’m doing this. If I can encourage someone to no longer question themselves,” that gives Washington her purpose. “Everybody has a story. We have a commonality regardless of what we share.” 

Washington, who works as a compliance, education and coding specialist at Genesis Health in Kennett Square, Pa., first got involved in Toastmasters in 2018.

“I was short on continuing education credits,” for the teaching portion requirements needed for her degree. She was originally planning on attending only three Toastmasters meetings to earn nine credits, but after having such a good experience she decided to stay and join as a member of Warren County Toastmasters Club.

“That group, they are so supportive,” says Washington. She recalls her first meeting with them: “We had to do Table Topics. Someone said if you don’t speak now you will never speak. I was able to tell a story about my brother. I gave them the credit card that night to sign up.

“I found my tribe,” says Washington. “You guys are equally crazy as I am. They are very supportive, always finding the positive.”  

What Is Toastmasters?

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches communication and leadership skills through a worldwide network of more than 16,200 clubs in 142 countries, according to a press release. Speech contests are a Toastmasters tradition. Each year, thousands of Toastmasters compete in the Humorous, Evaluation, Tall Tales, Table Topics and International speech contests. Competition begins with club contests, and winners continue competing through the Area, Division and District levels.

Warren County Toastmasters is under District 83, which is comprised of more than 120 corporate and community sponsored clubs in northern and central N.J., Rockland County and Staten Island, N.Y. It meets every first and third Thursday, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. temporarily online via Zoom. Washington is one of 20 current members- men and women aged 20’s to 70’s- in her local club.

The group used to meet at the local senior center before the pandemic, nearby her residence.

“I could walk to Warren County,” says Washington. “It’s approximately five minutes to my house.” 

Since each chapter is different, Washington joined a second club five months ago- Northern Stars, a more advanced group to get stricter evaluations of her speaking capabilities for greater improvement.

“Warren County group is a little biased,” says Washington. “I needed a group that I was not associated with. I’m not leaving Warren County. Northern Stars is known for evaluating other people.”

Since joining Toastmasters, Washington has become a mentor of the Warren County group, and more recently a contester in area, division and district competitions this year.

Leading Speaker

Representing Warren County Toastmasters club, Area 12, Division A in the contests, Washington decided to challenge herself to her first Toastmasters contest. It was an area level contest in which she had to speak for two minutes and 28 seconds on the topic: “Tell me a time when someone gave you less credit that you deserve or misjudged you in a way.”

Washington related this topic to her work. “Everything I spoke about was personal,” she says.

This win bumped her to the Division level in November against 32 contestants. Her topic was: “Tell me about a time when you were on mute.”

Says Washington, “You can be on mute when you are in trauma. I was mute; I didn’t communicate with people. Mute can be a healing force.”

After winning at the Division level, she entered the District level contest in April in which she competed against nine others.

The topic was about the pandemic: “As a result of last March, what have you learned?”

Washington spoke about her “searching and finding my step-sister and the reason why. 

“With Tabletop, you don’t know what the topic is,” says Washington. “You have a time limit,” and can’t go over. “When they say topic, there are sirens going off in my head; and then when they say it again, I say ‘ok.’

Candidates are placed in their “own Zoom room,” and each take their turn to speak on the same topic.

“We would speak one at a time,” describes Washington. “They take you into a another Zoom room; had to show them the phone to prove no one is texting you.”

Candidates get to hear the others speak after their turn is up.

Judges turn in their sheet to submit their scores after each person speaks.

“It’s your review of that person,” says Washington, who has served as a judge before. “We do not know the number, the name nor who they are,” she says.

Each talk is also timed.

“I have my timer, big green, yellow, red timer,” which alerts her when there is just 30 seconds to go. “You can’t communicate to the judges after; can’t ask why I got that score.”

Washington explains why judges do not explain their score: “That’s what the meetings are for,” she says. “If I’m giving a five-minute speech, that’s when you are evaluated.”

She does know that the judges “thought that I created the story, had a distinct beginning, middle and end, had a lesson at the end and it has to make sense,” she says. “On that particular day, they are stating I did the best job.” 

The surprise and challenge drive her.

“Denise competed in contests because she enjoys the surprise aspect of Table Topics,” says Jessica Huang, District 83 Public Relations manager. “Having to create a meaningful speech with a beginning, middle and end is both a test in creativity and a test in the ability to touch your audience either with a life lesson or a common experience.”

Not only does she enjoy the surprise for the topic, but winning the contests was even a greater surprise.

“I didn’t even know I won,” says Washington. “I surprised myself.  I said to myself, ‘you didn’t even place.’ Before her name was announced, she texted her friends, as well as her two grown kids- Avery, 28, and Jordan, 31- who live with her but were not home, ‘I lost.’

“I was at my kitchen table, I was going to do a namaste bow,” she explains before she found out she won. “When they said my name, I said ‘ooh isn’t it lovely.’ All I could say, ‘Oh my God I won,’ …that’s exactly what I said to myself,” she says.

“I was shocked; I’m very happy.”

During the contests, the public is invited to listen on the web; other club members, family and friends usually tune in.

“They are very excited for me,” she says about her family and friends.

After she lost her husband, her mother and her father, her 84-year old uncle Jack Jordan in New York had told her: ‘After this you are not coming out stronger, particularly in communicating with others.”

That was her motivation to try.

Her prize from these contests is a certificate, maybe a statue and most importantly greater confidence in public speaking.

Police officers and coffee just seem to go together naturally. More than just a morning ritual or a simple caffeine jolt, coffee holds a host of benefits for all who drink it. When shared with others, it is extra special. Something as simple as sharing a cup of coffee can encourage people to slow down, take a break, talk with others, and even form bonds.

That’s what Mount Olive’s Police Department counted on with their Coffee With A Cop program. Taking place quarterly, at various locations, the most recent Coffee With A Cop took place on Saturday, June 12. Grabbing a donut and cup of coffee, citizens and police gathered at Flanders Park to chat with each other.

Initially founded in 2011, the Coffee With A Cop initiative was the brainstorm of police officers in Hawthorne, Calif. Dismayed by the changing dynamics of the community regarding their police departments, police searched for a way to build trust and relationships with their citizens. They decided that getting back to basics with a face-to-face causal gathering seemed to be ideal.

Quite simply, the Coffee With A Cop initiative is based on the premise to build relationships between the police and the people in their various communities--outside of crises. An occasion where people could relax and get to know one another.

At its core, Coffee With A Cop is about talking with each other and fostering goodwill. Additionally, it’s about trust--and in an era where people experience negativity and suspicion regarding the police, a program like this can be essential.

Mt. Olive Police Officer Lonnie Elbaum quickly jumped on the idea in 2016, advocating for the Coffee With a Cop program for the town.  According to Chief Stephen Beecher, it was an idea easy for everyone to get behind, seeing that it was a perfect way to reach out and create a dialogue with the community members.  The program soon became a part of Mt. Olive’s Community Policing.

“Coffee with a Cop is always nice,” Beecher asserted. “The June 12th event went well, I think--thanks in part to a girls’ soccer game going on,” he half-joked. “It’s nice to talk to people, get to know them, and hear their concerns and speak to those.”

“It went great,” Corporal Michael Russell of Mt. Olive’s Police Support Division who runs point for the Coffee With A Cop program, said.

Beecher calls the program ‘a unique tool to get out and meet people in a non-crisis situation.’ He enjoys getting out to meet the community.   

Perhaps an event like this was even more critical now, given the pandemic everyone has been experiencing--as isolation takes its toll. “We wanted this particular Coffee With a Cop to be held outside,” Beecher related. “Since everyone has had a hard time with contact with others (in the pandemic). We are all trying to get back to normal.”

“What was tough about this one was COVID restrictions that Coffee With a Cop had to be an outside venue,” Russell disclosed. “We chose Flanders Park because we wanted to have that foot traffic from the soccer games or the playground, places where parents, community members, and kids were.” He mentioned that the kids also enjoy the Coffee With A Cop events. While parents have coffee and chat with cops, the kids can enjoy some treats of their own such as donuts, giveaways, and stickers. “They love to see the police cars and hit the sirens,” Russell enthused.