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Virginia Sheriffs' Institute
Supporting Virginia’s Sheriffs & Deputies

Sheriff B.J. Roberts and the Hampton Sheriff’s Office made the spring of 2008 a special time to celebrate and show their appreciation for the Hampton community located in southeastern Virginia.

Master Deputy Lynette Gittens fingerprints a toddler during the annual Child Identification festival.

Lt. Alonzo Cherry, Hampton Sheriff’s Office
Sheriff B.J. Roberts and the Hampton Sheriff’s Office made the spring of 2008 a special time to celebrate and show their appreciation for the Hampton community located in southeastern Virginia. Sheriff Roberts has put in place several community programs that support all factions of people, but he admits to having a soft spot in his heart for the people at each end of life’s spectrum, children and senior citizens. As in any community, these two groups are the most dependent on others and by in large they are the most appreciative of assistance and we take great joy in celebrating them.

Hampton's Carousel Park

Hampton’s Carousel Park was the site of the Sheriff’s Annual Child Identification Festival in April and the four hour event drew hundreds of people on a day dedicated to children. Over 270 children were fingerprinted and nearly 100 free gun safety locks were distributed. The event was completely free and open to the public. The fully restored 1920 wooden carousel is one of only 170 working in the nation and it created an incredible backdrop for children of all ages to gather at the sunny outdoor event near Hampton’s harbour.

More than 40 Hampton Sheriff deputies and staff members volunteered their Saturday afternoon to promote and encourage child safety to hundreds of children and their families. The festival’s two large moon walks helped to work up an appetite as deputies manned stations providing popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones. Sponge Bob and Dora the Adventurer theme characters’ teamed along side Pirates from Blackbeard’s Crew parading the area creating smiles and laughter. Balloons and pop music filled the air as children participated in line dances and games.
Sheriff Roberts feels that our rapidly increasing senior citizen population can never receive enough recognition for their contributions to the community and he constantly looks for avenues to acknowledge them. During May (Older Americans Month), the Hampton Sheriff’s Office set out to make the annual Senior Citizens Picnic even bigger and better than the years before. Over 400 senior citizens converged on beautiful Mill Point Park in Downtown Hampton for an afternoon filled with food, music, dance and fellowship. The picnic has gotten so large that ticket requests for the May event start as early as February. The event was free and the Hampton Sheriff’s Office provided a complimentary lunch of southern barbeque, hot dogs and baked beans to the large crowd of seniors. The volunteer efforts of dozens of Hampton Triad members, many whom are seniors themselves, were essential as they arrived early in the morning to setup, serve lunches and cleanup afterwards.

The fellowship was fantastic and smiles and laughter were aplenty as seniors enjoyed hot food and cool lemonade while elected officials from Hampton and surrounding areas joined Sheriff Roberts in addressing the crowd. Each spoke about their offices’ commitment to programs to assist senior citizens. Special guests joining Sheriff Roberts were Hampton Mayor Ross Kearney, Congressman John Miller, Delegate Mamye BaCote, Hampton Fire and Rescue Chief James Gray and Chief Charles Jordan of the Hampton Police Division.