WHEATLAND – Kids and parents from all over Platte County came to the Platte County Fire Training Center last Saturday morning for Discovery Day which featured professionals from Wheatland, Guernsey, Chugwater and Glendo who made their professions transparent and accessible.
From highwire climbing gear to tractors, police cars and ambulances and even a helicopter, the public could come and find out about the vehicles and equipment our local Platte County professionals use in their everyday lives.
“This is where the kids can come through and turn on our sirens and our lights,” said Wyoming State Highway Patrol Trooper Jaime Wingard. “They can climb in and out of our cars as well as all of the equipment that is here today. They also got to see the helicopter land from Life Flight.”
The event is held annually at the Platte County Fire Training Center in Wheatland, and according to Guernsey police officer Mac Holt, his wife, Phathom Holt had initiated the event in 2017 and other than taking a year off for COVID, it has been successful ever since.
“She had to explain it to Kiwanis, and started this thing out of nothing and it was her brainchild from the start,” he said. “The last time we had it, we had 600 people here. My wife has merged it with Book and a Bite from the Platte County Library. The library had the books out and were also selling food. Kiwanis was providing all the cleanup and the setting and the arranging.”
The event was again a success on a very warm and windy Saturday morning which marked the first time in 2022 where sunscreen was breaking out all through the crowd of over 500 people. The setup started at around 7 a.m. and people started rolling in at 9 a.m. The event lasted until 1 p.m.
“From 9-10 we had quiet hour,” Phathom Holt said. “It was for kids with special needs. I contacted Book and a Bite and that has been a wonderful partnership. I can’t say enough about it. We try to reach out to everybody. We even sent coloring pages to all the elementary schools including Wheatland, Chugwater, Glendo and Guernsey so that they could come out and know about it. It’s a totally free event and I so want to thank all the professionals that come out and share their equipment and their expertise.”
