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Why have a PAL?

| 16 Feb 2016 | 04:12
    PHOTOS BY CHRIS WYMAN Vernon Township Police Department Corporal Scott Waleck greets Piper Arnold, 5, of Highland Lakes with a high five. Arnold was the first of 31 children to be called out to receive their Safety Town graduation certificate. In the background is teacher Lisa Haw.
    PHOTOS BY CHRIS WYMAN Vernon Township Police Department Corporal Scott Waleck greets Piper Arnold, 5, of Highland Lakes with a high five. Arnold was the first of 31 children to be called out to receive their Safety Town graduation certificate. In the background is teacher Lisa Haw.
    Third grade student Adem Istrefi, 9, and his 7-3/4-inch sunfish are shown with Mike Bush of Mountain MikeþÄôs Sport Shop at a PAL fishing derby in 2015. He was one of seven children in the Grades 3-6 division who went home with a trophy.
    Third grade student Adem Istrefi, 9, and his 7-3/4-inch sunfish are shown with Mike Bush of Mountain MikeþÄôs Sport Shop at a PAL fishing derby in 2015. He was one of seven children in the Grades 3-6 division who went home with a trophy.
    Cellist Victoria Menenes, 16, a junior at Vernon Township High School, performed a medley of American patriotic songs during the annual Vernon PAL Youth Leadership Cultural Day.
    Cellist Victoria Menenes, 16, a junior at Vernon Township High School, performed a medley of American patriotic songs during the annual Vernon PAL Youth Leadership Cultural Day.

Most towns have a parks and recreation department, but not all towns have a Police Athletic League (PAL).

Due to parent complaints and broken agreements regarding the rental of the township-owned facility, the Township of West Milford recently severed its ties with its PAL. While the township will now take over the PAL’s programs, StrausNews took a closer look at how other New Jersey PALs run.

“The whole idea of the PAL is to have a connection between the police and the youth,” said Sparta Township Chief of Police and Sparta PAL Director Ernie Reigstad.

Like the West Milford PAL, both the Sparta PAL and the Vernon PAL are 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations, run independently of their township, but coordinate with their township parks and rec department. Both Sparta and Vernon PALs are funded by registration fees for their programs, fundraising events and the rental of rooms within their facilities.

The difference is whether the PAL owns their building. Similarly to how the West Milford PAL used to rent the township’s building, the Sparta PAL leases the building it uses, however it is not owned by the township. The Vernon PAL owns and has a mortgage on its building.

In Sparta, all the youth sports programs are run by individual organizations, Reigstad said, for example, Sparta Soccer Club, Sparta Softball and Sparta Little League Baseball. The Sparta PAL runs travel basketball, which is the most popular program and what the organization is known for, and has also run volleyball and fencing programs.

“Now the rec department, what they do is they coordinate the field use and all that,” Reigstad said. “As far as the winter with the gyms, we just coordinate with the schools. So we don’t really work that much with the rec dept. They coordinate with all of the outdoor activities. And then they run a lot of non-sport activities for the township.”

Events such the winter carnival, breakfast with the Easter bunny, the summer concert series and meeting Santa at Christmastime, along with all of the senior citizen recreation programs are what the Sparta Township parks and rec department runs, according to Reigstad. They coordinate between all of the sports organizations that use the township facilities.

Similarly in Vernon, the township parks and rec department runs a lot of the community day events, such as “Vernon Day,” a 5K race and the annual tree lighting, according to Vernon PAL Assistant Director Jeanne Buffalino. The big difference is that the Vernon PAL runs almost all of the recreational activities.

Vernon PAL programs include lacrosse, basketball, wrestling, ski club, youth leadership group, bowling, “mad science,” horseback riding and karate. There are also programs for three to five- year-olds during the day, according to Buffalino.

Football, baseball and soccer are separate organizations run independently of the Vernon PAL, however the PAL allows them to use its building for meetings, Bufalino said. The Sparta PAL similarly allows outside groups to use its meeting areas, along with birthday parties that can use the meeting area and the gym, according to Reigstad.

The unique aspect that PALs offer that parks and rec departments often don’t is the involvement of the police department in their programs.

“I just had a 3-, 4- and 5-year-old program here and one of the police officers stopped by just to play with the kids a little bit,” Buffalino said. “There’s police involved in my ski club, they’re chaperones when the kids go over to the mountain. So I think it’s extremely important. It’s a benefit to both programs.”

The Vernon PAL has been so successful because of the support it receives from the township and the school district, and has also received government grants in the past. Because the Vernon PAL owns its facility, the PAL has turned more into a community center.

“I think the biggest difference is that it’s more of a community-based organization,” she said. “I have adult basketball, the Special Olympics comes here and they do basketball, so we’re open to so many different facets than the rec dept. would be.

Reigstad said that a number of Sparta Township police officers coach, himself included. The Sparta PAL building is also used for a number of summer camps, including one held by the Sparta Police Youth Division.

Similar to “Police Explorers,” the week-long camp allows middle schoolers to learn about police work, according to Reigstad. Some of the Sparta officers come and talk to the campers, and even bring in the sheriff's K9 unit to let them see how their dogs help their officers.

“In general, it’s just good for the police officers to see the kids in a positive light,” he said. "And it's amazing to see how many of those kids years later come back to you with some important information because they trust you, because you were their little league coach.”