By Glenn Rolfe

MILLSBORO — Upward of two dozen youths are receiving a mix of structured discipline and rigorous physical training coupled with fun activities this week at the Millsboro Police Department’s fourth annual Youth Academy.

Attention to detail, teamwork and respect are the orders of the day for seven-day academy, which began Thursday, June 20 and concludes Friday, June 28 with graduation.

The academy is offered free to recruits, who receive various uniform apparel, a bookbag, cap and water bottle – all free of charge. It features field trips and guest speakers.

“The goal with this was to provide something for the kids, an experience that they can’t get anywhere else,” said Millsboro Police Sgt. Jonathan Zubrowski. “And to do that, a lot of times, it has got to be free. There are families that might not be able to afford certain things. So, giving them an experience that most people would pay a lot of money for … they are getting it for free.”

Fourteen-year-old Joshua Zeitler, who will be a freshman at Indian River High School, is back for his second academy. He was a first-time recruit last year.

“What got me into it is my friends were doing it, and I wanted to not stay home and be lazy. I wanted to get up, do some workouts and everything,” said Joshua. “Last year, I took with me like respect for my parents. I took workouts seriously. And I am thinking about becoming a police officer. So, this also worked out for me.”

Kory Thornton, 13, is a rookie recruit this year.

“I came here to get stronger, get more respect. I used to be pretty strong and I had big drive last year. This summer I’ve been kind of busy, so I came here to get a workout and get back into the routine again,” said Kory, who will enter eighth grade at Georgetown Middle School this September. “I want to learn some respect, and have that drive to work my body, and just become a better person in general.”

Friday’s special activity was a visit and demonstration by the Milford Police Department and one of its two K-9 units, Mason, and Mason’s handler Sr. Cpl. Miles Kosiorowski. They were accompanied by Cpl. John Badger of the Milford PD.

Mason, a 5 ½-year-old Belgian Malinois, is a dual-purpose K-9 as is Milford’s other K-9, Raven.

“They use their nose for detection, and then they use their mouth for apprehension,” said Sr. Cpl. Kosiorowski.

The academy’s daily agenda highlights include CPR with Millsboro Fire Station 83, job interview techniques, martial arts, the Food Bank of Delaware, a trip to Camp Barnes featuring Delaware State Police Mounted and Aviation Units, crime scene investigation, bowling, and the state police Special Operations Response Team.

Throughout, of course, there will be plenty of physical training.

“Yeah, they can’t get out of that!” said Sgt. Zubrowski.

Kory concurred that the first day was pretty tough. “It hasn’t gotten easier, but it has gotten easier handling it, and just accepting that it is going to be tough this week,” he said.

In addition to Millsboro officers, the academy on various days is staffed by officers from other municipal agencies as well as Delaware State Police.

“Yes, we probably could contain it all within just Millsboro PD officers. But I feel it is beneficial for the kids to see different types of officers,” said Sgt. Zubrowski.

The academy has expanded since its birth.

“At the end of week, we generally ask the kids what improvements you want to see with our academy, so that we can make it better,” said Sgt. Zubrowski. “A lot of kids were saying, ‘We want it to be longer.’ So, we tried it and now it is seven days.”

The academy is funded in part through the Delaware Criminal Justice Council by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, as well as support and donations from the community and businesses, which provide most of the lunches.