Heroes and Hamburgers a big hit
The second Heroes and Hamburgers, now an annual event, got emergency workers and residents together at Simple Pleasures on Saturday.
Bella Vista resident Angela Weidner followed her grandson, Jax Sporleder, trying to keep track of him as he excitedly checked out all the emergency equipment on scene, looking through an ambulance and fire truck, before sitting down for a moment in the driver’s seat of a patrol car.
Weidner said this was her first time at the event and she liked what she saw. It was good, she said, to show the emergency workers a good time, as well as giving kids a chance to meet them.
“These guys need some praise, more places need to do this,” she said, glancing over at the police, fire and emergency-medical-service workers. “They deserve a lot of credit for what they do and what they put up with.”
Ken Miner, proprietor of Simple Pleasures, said he put on the event to honor emergency workers. Police, in particular, he said, have gotten a negative reputation that he does not believe they deserve. A bonus, he said, was raising money for nonprofits operating in Bella Vista.
“The purpose of Heroes and Hamburgers is to get people to know the heroes, as I call them,” he told attendees.
Fire Department Deputy Chief Bryan Wolfgang said he was glad for the chance to get out and interact with Bella Vistans.
“It’s a good time to come out and meet with the public,” he said, “and let them look at what we do and our equipment and our people.”
Bella Vista Police Chief James Graves brought his family and sat down with them and his officers while he ate a burger. He appreciated the atmosphere, which he described as “like a family picnic.”
“I like it, it’s a great event,” he said. “It’s a nice time for the officers and children to interact.”
That interaction, he said, is important. Any sort of community outreach, he said, is essential to a police department’s operation.
“If we don’t have the consent and support of the community, we can’t do our job,” he said.
Representatives from the trio of nonprofits benefiting from this event — Village House Adult Day Program, the Bella Vista Animal Shelter and the Bella Vista Courtesy Van program — were on-scene collecting donations and showing off their services.
Bill Puskas, president and driver for the Courtesy Van service, said this was a good opportunity to raise money.
“This event is terrific,” he said.
His crew has three vans, he said, which run five days a week to provide rides for people who might have difficulty getting around otherwise. These vans, he said, all need to be fueled and get roughly 50,000 miles’ worth of maintenance each year, meaning every bit he can raise is helpful.
While several organizations found a lot to be happy for, many of the kids in attendance were having a fun night out with simpler goals in mind.
Dannika Venter, 6, was working with construction paper and various craft supplies to put together a card for police or firefighters — the card’s destination changed a few times during construction. But the driving force behind its construction didn’t.
“So we can get ice cream,” she said.