Building comfort

A table built by students at a local high school will act as a bridge between the city’s police and the Aboriginal community.

The Thunder Bay Police Service’s Aboriginal liaison unit needed a place within its community policing office at Victoriaville where people could sit down with officers and discuss issues surrounding their neighbourhoods.

But one key piece was missing – a table. Luckily for the city police, students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School’s wood shop class wanted to help. Students built a boardroom table, which featured the Aboriginal liaison unit’s logo carved into it, and presented it to police Thursday morning at the high school.

The police force’s community services branch commander Alan McKenzie said the table will be a place for members of the community to meet with officers and should help them feel comfortable.

"People can just simply get an opportunity to talk to a police officer in a non-confrontational situation. Because we generally meet people in negative situations, this will be an opportunity for people to meet us in a positive light," he said.

Student Kevin Rae said he mainly built the table himself with the help of a few other students along the way. Rae said he’s never done much wood working before, but since building the table, he’s looking a career in carpentry.

"It took me about two weeks before March break," Rae said. "It feels good (to finish it)."
Leon’s has provided 10 office chairs at cost to complete the table. McKenzie said it’s important that the city’s two Aboriginal liaison unit officers finally have a place to sit with the community.

"To ensure that we have understanding of all the diverse cultures and understanding that our demographics are changing within our community. We want to reflect that," McKenzie said.

The table should be at the Victoriaville office in the next couple of weeks.