Patrick Clarke
Waxahachie Daily Light
WAXAHACHIE, Texas — Waxahachie High School students saluted local police officers with presents of Thin Blue Line wooden flags, Thursday.
Junior and senior students presented the department with some 98 flags - one for each officer - made in their architecture and construction classes.
“Each flag is handmade and, therefore, each one is a ‘one of a kind,’” Waxahachie Police Chief Wade Goolsby said. “The employees were not only surprised but they were just amazed by the effort and thoughtfulness of the students to take on a project like this... Each flag has hand-engraved stars and burnished wood stripes.”
The blue line represents the sacrifices of law enforcement.
Community Services Officer O.T. Glidewell said he and his colleagues were moved by the ambitious act of solidarity, and he plans to display his gift at home.
“Each officer here was very touched by the kind gesture and show of support and plan on displaying their flag with pride,” Glidewell boasted. “Most of our officers have taken their flags home to proudly display and share with their family. Currently, my flag is displayed in my office. I plan on displaying my flag at my home above the fireplace.”
“It is a great feeling and we are very proud to have the support of the students, teachers, school district and community,” the community services officer acknowledged.
Students began working on the project last year in January under the direction of Curtis Green who teaches construction and architecture classes.
“This project was not an assignment but we did work on it in class when we had inclement weather or a test that did not take the entire class period,” Green explained.
The teacher brought the idea to his students after helping a friend and fellow teacher in another district with a similar project.
“While doing it I thought that my students could make these for the local department,” Green stated. “We had lots of lumber donated to us from Lowe’s that was considered cull lumber and they could not sell it. Since we have the machines in the construction lab to cut them down, we were able to remove much of the material that caused the lumber to be culled and it was still very usable by us.”
“The students got a lot out of working on this and they were very excited when they were able to distribute them to the police department,” he added.
The group took pictures with the officers at the department as they showed off their hard work.
“This was an amazing group of students and teachers that came together to make this a success,” Glidewell mentioned. “The students put hours and hours of work into each flag, personalizing them in their own individual and unique way.”
“We are proud of these students’ craftsmanship and hard work and thankful for the service of our wonderful police department,” the school district noted.