HOWELL – A summer evening provided the perfect opportunity for Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick and members of the Howell Police Department to team up with the owners of Ice Cream on 9 for Operation Pol-Ice Cream.
From 6-9 p.m. July 26, as the sun was shining, free ice cream was provided at the business on Route 9 south for guests who stopped by to chill with the police chief and other members of the force.
“This is an opportunity for the police department and the community we serve to come together in an informal manner because most of the time when the public does need the police it is often not for a good reason or it is for something negative, so this is something positive, it is an opportunity on a beautiful summer night for us to interact with the community,” Kudrick said.
Ice Cream on 9 is owned by the Krist family and their business has been a favorite in Howell since 1999. The Krists believe their “mom and pop” shop is the perfect place to help “make people feel more comfortable around police officers.”
Owner Steve Krist expressed his support for law enforcement officers, emergency services personnel and everyone who serves the community in some way. Krist said he “would like to see them do this more,” but knows those individuals are busy.
“We are really grateful that we have the opportunity to do this because we support the local police and all people in uniform,” he said. “We felt it was a great opportunity to bring law enforcement in contact with our customers and the public and a way to make things better in the community.”
As ice cream was being served, children were running around and getting an up-close look at police vehicles. Residents had a chance to casually chat with police officers and K-9 Officer Opus played and enjoyed his own special doggie ice cream.
“We try to give back a lot to the community, a community which has been good to me,” Krist said. “We have a nice business, people in the surrounding communities support us, so whenever we get an opportunity to give back like this, we like to.”
