In an arresting performance, Sheriff Kenny Furlong captivated the attention of students with story and song Friday morning.
"I've always said we need to get back to the kids and make them feel comfortable with us," he said. "This is the age just before the kids start getting that really heavy peer influence. Sometimes they just need someone to reach out to."
Furlong read to Laura Granstrom's fourth- and fifth-grade class at Bordewich-Bray Elementary School as part of Nevada Reading Week.
"It celebrates reading and it connects the kids with the community," Granstrom said. "Reading is a wonderful way to access information and access adventure."
Furlong began by reading "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. Then a student asked him to read "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Furlong sang the lyrics, with the students joining in.
"I had a really good time," he said. "I hadn't planned on singing, but that's what they wanted to do so that's what we did."
The sheriff's spontaneity impressed 10-year-old Tyler Wheeler.
"It was cool because he's a cop and he sang with us," Tyler said.
After reading with the children, Furlong called a boy forward who had been sitting alone in the back.
He offered the boy his golden tie tack with a star in the center.
"You've been a little sad, but now I'm going to make your day," Furlong said. "We're going to make you a sheriff today."
Then, one-by-one, he let the children try on his badge.
"It felt cool because I like being a sheriff," said Tanya Hill, 10. "I'm going to grow up to be a sheriff."
A dozen other deputies will also be reading to students at the school throughout the month.
Schools across Carson City will host similar programs including a project at Fritsch Elementary School where students will be writing their own books.
