D.A.R.E. graduates found a friend in “Officer Nick”

By Ashlee Picard, SPENCER NEW LEADER

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

     BROOKFIELD – For the students at Brookfield Elementary School, the return of the D.A.R.E. program this year has meant much more than learning how to say no to drugs.
     As school and police officials at the fifth-grade D.A.R.E. (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education) graduation ceremony said last week, the program taught students about making friends, showed them that police officers are a positive community resource and brought them their own personal “gentle giant” in the form of Officer Nick Abair. 
     “He’s a famous person, like in Hollywood, when he walks into the school,” Police Chief Ross Ackerman said at the June 16 event.
     In an interview after the ceremony, the chief added that children now call all members of the Brookfield Police Department “Officer Nick” when they see them in the community.  “That’s a good thing,” he added.
     Abair stressed that he viewed each of the 53 students who graduated from the program as his friends.  He recounted the numerous times he stopped by the school for a “free lunch” or recess, which he often spent discussing the newest video games or skateboarding techniques with the students.
     “I still feel like I’m a kid at heart, so I feel like I can relate to kids here at Brookfield Elementary School,” he explained.
     When the officer recently underwent reconstructive shoulder surgery, children from kindergarten to fifth grade sent him cheerful cards offering to lend him “an extra hand.”
     Abair, who serves as the school resource officer as well as the D.A.R.E. officer, has also helped to portray police in a positive light for the students, according to Principal Kathleen Hosterman.  While the motto of the police force is to protect and serve, she said, many times people do not believe that that is its function.
     However, children at the Brookfield Elementary School now see that police officers are available to help and show them the right ways of doing things instead of viewing police as figures who simply “catch them doing the wrong things,” Hosterman said.
     She added that the D.A.R.E. program does not simply teach them not to do drugs, but also touches upon other important subjects like making friends and not being bullies.  In the end, she said, the experience empowers them.
     “It really preps them for what is about to come,” the principal explained.
     Tom Goyette, the physical education and health teacher at the school, told students at the ceremony that he recently saw one of his former students at Tantasqua Regional High School.  The 16-year-old girl thanked him for everything she learned during health class, said Goyette, who now works alongside Abair.
     “She told me, ‘The things I learned in that health class were exactly what I needed,’” he said.  “The bottom line is, it’s up to all of you to make the right decisions.  You make the final choices for yourselves.”
     Brookfield Elementary School has been without D.A.R.E. for about five years, Goyette said, and he’s glad to have it back because “it’s such a strong program.”  Although the 10-week course involves one class per week, Abair spends much more time in the school than what is required, Goyette added.
     After each of the students, who donned black and white D.A.R.E. T-shirts, received diplomas and bracelets, Stephen J. Comtois II of the Brookfield School Committee congratulated the graduates, including his own daughter, Leslie.
     As a father, Comtois said, he knows how difficult it can be to communicate important messages to children.
     He also presented Abair with a personal check for $200 for the program, which is funded entirely through donations.
     “I hope that everyone in this crowd can go out into the community and show support for this program,” said Comtois, who is running for the 5th Worcester District state representative seat.
     In addition to thanking Comtois, Abair also expressed his appreciation for those who have helped to make the D.A.R.E. program successful, including the Board of Selectmen, the School Committee, Goyette, the school’s secretaries, custodian and staff and his family.
     Abair also thanked the program’s sponsors – Brookfield Motors and the Kruzewski family, Joseph Spadea, K. Michael Robbins of Spencer Savings Bank and District Attorney John Conte’s office – who pay for the cost of the course.
     “They care about kids in a proactive way,” Hosterman said.  “They want to help before something bad happens.”
     Despite Abair’s recent injury, Ackerman said he is sure that “Officer Nick” will be back in the hallways as usual at the start of the next school year.
     “It does have a chain reaction,” the chief said.  “Now we’re all just ‘Officer Nick.’  He’s a big guy with a big heart.”