Behind the Badge
Juan was on tape duty.
Cody knocked on several doors.
At times, they hung out together in the gutter.
But it all was for a good cause: beautifying the curbs of some Garden Grove streets while raising money for the Garden Grove PD’s Explorer Post 1020.
In a first-ever activity, nearly 20 Explorers and a few of their advisors painted addresses on curbs in exchange for modest donations from homeowners — and, in some cases, even when they didn’t receive any donations.
“I had a great time,” said Juan Sanchez-Cruz, 18, an Explorer with the GGPD for almost a year.
Garden Grove PD Community Service Officer Kari Flood organized the activity after Garden Grove PD Crime Prevention Manager Cindy Nagamatsu saw it promoted on the Facebook page of the West Garden Grove Neighborhood Watch. That group paid for paint, tape and other supplies so the Explorers could fan out to neighborhoods that were lacking a little in curbside appeal.
Garden Grove PD Explorers Cody Garling, left, and Dylan Wilt paint addresses on the curbs of Topaz Street in Garden Grove to raise money for the Explorers.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
The Explorers first would ask homeowners if they would like to support their cause. Then they would head out to the gutters to blast out fresh addresses in black spray paint against white backgrounds on the curbs.
“This helps the officers who go out on calls more easily find an address, and it makes the curbs look better,” said Cody Garling, 16, a member of Explorer Post 1020 for 2½ years.
The curb-painting netted $360 for the GGPD Explorers, Flood said — money that goes toward such activities as Post 1020’s annual awards banquet, held Wednesday, May 6 (stayed tuned for Behind the Badge OC’s coverage of that banquet), the upcoming Strawberry Festival and competitions.
“We had a lot of fun doing something for our community, which is part of what being an Explorer is all about,” Flood said.
Photos courtesy of Kari Flood
Garden Grove PD Explorers Pascual Villasenor, left, and Joey Garcia paint the address numbers on curbs on Cerulean Avenue in Garden Grove as the sun goes down to raise money for the Explorers.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
