By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press
Horns blared and children cried out in excitement as they got to explore a variety of vehicles at the Copperas Cove Public Library’s first Touch-A-Truck event on Tuesday.
From 10 a.m. until noon, children and their families were invited to the Old City Hall Field (near the library) to explore and touch work vehicles used by the city of Copperas Cove, a tow truck, and a fire truck for a total of seven different vehicles.
“This is the best!” shouted Selah Dixon (5) after checking out several of the vehicles. “It was very loud. I like the horns! It’s very loud and I like that.”
“We’re happy that they get to get in the trucks that they always see around town. They love watching them pick up the trash in front of our house and now they get to see it up close. I’m very grateful,” said Dixon’s mom, Kamera Dixon. “It’s very enriching, especially as a homeschool mom. It’s important for us to get out and interact with things in our community.”
Children’s librarian Karen Eacrett organized the event which was modeled after a similar event held in Killeen.
“I always wanted to do a Touch-A-Truck for my younger kids,” said Eacrett. “It’s a fun activity for families to come out and look at the trucks. There’s lots of picture taking…I’m really pleased with the turnout. The kids are so excited.”
Eacrett said that there was a great turnout, and several families showed up before they even arrived. She said that the response to the event was very positive with participants both young and old. Eacrett said that she recognized some of the families from their reading time as well as both the regular and teen Summer Reading Programs.
Eacrett said that the city employees and the fire department were happy to volunteer their time and vehicles for the event.
“We’re part of the city and the city works together,” said Eacrett. “These are the behind-the-scenes folks that keep our city going.”
The fire department brought one of their fire trucks, Unlimited Towing showed off their tow truck, Keep Copperas Cove Beautiful attended the event with their vehicle as well as their mascot, Wanda the Recycling Waste Basket, and city employees brought their street sweeper, a dump truck, and more.
“It’s an opportunity to show off our stuff,” said Ian Sargent, a member of the city’s Streets Department who works with their light equipment. Sargent showed off the vehicle that they use to transport hot mix asphalt for road work. Children were excited to get the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat.
“Everyone loves the horn,” said Sargent. “I like that they get the opportunity to sit down and take a look. I like when they are excited that one day they could potentially drive something like this.”
“He’s really interested in the trucks. We saw this on Facebook, and he really wanted to see the fire truck and the dump truck,” said Melissa Bendyna who brought her son, Alexander Bendyna (7) and her daughter, Elizabeth Bendyna (11 months). She said that she really enjoyed the event. “It gives the kids the opportunity to get in the vehicles and learn something about what they do.”
When asked what his favorite was, Alexander replied, “Everything!”
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