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<p>WHITE HAVEN &#8212; Children in three municipalities of Luzerne County are being cited <em>for</em> following the law this summer. Citations include wearing a helmet while bike riding, using safety items such as reflective lights while biking and having brakes on a bicycle.</p><p>The fine? A free scoop of ice cream from Woods Ice Cream.</p><p>Police in White Haven &#8212; who also patrol Dennison Township and Penn Lake Park &#8212; are handing out &#8220;their favorite citations&#8221; for a free cone at Woods to children if they are caught following the law.</p><p>It&#8217;s part of the police department&#8217;s Summer Safety Program, which began three years ago. The idea was brought to Chief Tom Szoke by Officer Emalynn Hoten, who is no longer on the force. Szoke said Hoten found it online from a police department in Ohio, and Szoke said he was &#8220;absolutely&#8221; behind the idea.</p><p>&#8220;I want us to be proactive,&#8221; Szoke said. &#8220;We want to get out, meet the kids.&#8221;</p><p>The program&#8217;s main goal is to make sure children are safe during summer months, when school is out, but to also help children realize that the police are not &#8220;monsters.&#8221;</p><p>Szoke said the program helps children realize police want to be in the community.</p><p>&#8220;If the kids are outside, we want to participate in it,&#8221; Szoke said.</p><p>At Woods Ice Cream in the White Haven Market Plaza, Jessica Radjavitch says the &#8220;kids love it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;They come up and &#8216;pay&#8217; for their ice cream,&#8221; Radjavitch, an employee at the shop for five years, said. She wishes the police gave out the &#8216;citations&#8217; when she was growing up in White Haven.</p><p>&#8220;The cops have been great with the kids,&#8221; Radjavitch said, noting a few other yearly programs the police do for the area.</p><p>Szoke said the summer program is sponsored by the ice cream shop&#8217;s owners, Darrin and Wendy Gallagher. The chief said the Gallagher&#8217;s are &#8220;strong supporters&#8221; of the six officer police department &#8212; three part-time officers and three full-time officers.</p><p>&#8220;(The Gallagher&#8217;s) didn&#8217;t hesitate&#8221; when he approached about joining the program, he said. &#8220;They were right on board.&#8221;</p><p>Officer David O&#8217;Brian, one of the newest members of the force, said he likes to see these children as &#8220;repeat offenders.&#8221;</p><p>O&#8217;Brian&#8217;s first summer on the force was last year, and he said he gave about 40 to 50 &#8220;tickets&#8221; out.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a treat for them at the end of the day,&#8221; O&#8217;Brian said.</p><p>Borough Manager Linda Szoke said the police department started off with 60 tickets this year, which the force reuses throughout the summer.</p><p>The most ordered thing on the ice cream menu is anything &#8220;with sprinkles,&#8221; Radjavitch said.</p><p>The program in White Haven runs until Labor Day.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">White Haven police officer David O&#8217;Brian drives around White Haven to &#8216;cite&#8217; children wearing their bicycle helmets on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061816kidscited1.jpg</photo0><caption0>White Haven police officer David O&#8217;Brian drives around White Haven to &#8216;cite&#8217; children wearing their bicycle helmets on Friday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061816kidscited2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">If children are spotted wearing their bicycle helmets, White Haven police officer David O&#8217;Brian hands them &#8216;citations&#8217; to redeem for a single soft serve at Woods Ice Cream in White Haven. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL061816kidscited2.jpg</photo1><caption1>If children are spotted wearing their bicycle helmets, White Haven police officer David O&#8217;Brian hands them &#8216;citations&#8217; to redeem for a single soft serve at Woods Ice Cream in White Haven. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Program rewards children for following safety rules</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Woods Ice Cream is open noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday at 501 Main Street in the White Haven Market.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko</p></shirttailMeta></div>

White Haven police ‘ticket’ kids for following bicycle safety laws