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Travis Family Donates Van to WPD Explorers

From left, Major Christine Kelley, Mayor Scott Avedisian, Lt. Michael Gilbert, Council President Donna Travis, Al Melucci, Chief Col. Stephen McCartney, and Dep. Chief Michael Babula, with a van donated to the Warwick Police Explorers by the Travis family.
From left, Major Christine Kelley, Mayor Scott Avedisian, Lt. Michael Gilbert, Council President Donna Travis, Al Melucci, Chief Col. Stephen McCartney, and Dep. Chief Michael Babula, with a van donated to the Warwick Police Explorers by the Travis family.

Warwick, RI – The Warwick Police Department Explorers have a van at their disposal for transporting cadets and equipment, thanks to the generosity of Council President Donna Travis’s husband, Bill.

“This is a huge deal for the program,” said Al Melucci, director of the program, at Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, Wednesday morning.

The van will make transporting Explorer cadets and their gear to program activities a lot simpler. “It’s been very difficult,” up till now, Melucci said.

Council President Donna Travis, a member of the Warwick Police Explorers for the last 13 years, said her husband decided to donate the van after inheriting it from his parents, who recently passed away.

After spending some time trying to decide what to do with the van, Travis said, Bill said he wanted to give it to the cadets.

” ‘Are you sure you want to do that?’ ” Travis said she asked.

He was sure.

From left, Mayor Scott Avedisian, Council President Donna Travis, and Warwick Police Explorers Director Al Melucci.
From left, Mayor Scott Avedisian, Council President Donna Travis, and Warwick Police Explorers Director Al Melucci.

The Explorers’ program introduces young men and women to the law enforcement career.  Cadets are treated to classroom instruction, hands-on training, and ride-alongs with police officers.  Training includes, but is not limited to, handcuffing techniques, traffic stops, emergency vehicle operations, firearms proficiency.

The program doesn’t have a residency requirement, noted Mayor Scott Avedisian.

“So we’ll take any student who wants to be part of it,” he said.

The Explorer Program also fosters a sense of responsibility and civic pride through which the Explorers will go out into the city and state and perform many services for the community. Exploring programs are based on five areas of emphasis: career opportunities, life skills, citizenship, character education, and leadership experience.

Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

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