On June 13, 2015 the Bates County Sheriff's Office hosted their first annual D.A.R.E. Family Fun Day. Kids from Bates County were treated with free hot dogs, popcorn, sno-cones and cotton candy. They were able to take a chance at dunking a Deputy in the dunk tank and play on inflatables that were provided by Andy's Inflatable Rentals. The kids also got to take their picture with Daren the Lion. Deputies interacted one on one with the kids to show them that Police Officers are their friends and are just normal people too. Sheriff Anderson estimated that we served around 500 hot dogs and over 400 sno-cones. The first 100 kids were given a free t-shirt. The t-shirts were all handed out within 15 minutes of starting the event. Sheriff Anderson would also like to thank Brent Welston from On the Go Johns for providing the portable toilet and also to Tyler Green from Citizen's Bank for donating the use of their cotton candy machine and all of the supplies for the machine. He would also like to thank Butler Fire Department for filling up the dunk tank, Sheriff's Posse member Keith Cramer for donating his time and also to the spouses and children of our Deputies and the news media who also donated their time to help make this event successful.
Sheriff Anderson said the event was such a huge success he plans on doing it again next year. This was just another way that the Bates County Sheriff's Office gave back to the community. A day of free and safe fun was provided to our youth. We hope everyone in the community enjoyed the event just as much as Sheriff Anderson and his staff did!
