Fighting the thick blue line

The Charlottesville Daily Progress
Published: May 24, 2008

Sitting at a diner downing coffee and doughnuts may be the stereotype for cops, but experts say the problem of the pudgy police officer is a little more complicated than that.

Overweight officers pack on the pounds largely because the nature of their job doesn’t allow for regular meals. They’re captured by the trap that a lot of us fall into: fast food grabbed at odd hours and wolfed down on the go.

Faced with a need to recruit more officers, the Los Angeles police department aided and abetted in recent years by relaxing its fitness rule for officers — originally a maximum of 22 percent body fat for men, 30 percent for women.

Now, it’s trying reform.

It’s hired a nutritionist.

Rana Parker jokes that she’s not “the food police.” Instead, she’s an educator and motivator trying to help officers keep fit. A fit crimefighter is a better crimefighter, able to chase down the bad guys. Even projecting a more competent and self-confident air as a result of good fitness might in itself be enough to make a bad guy think twice about throwing a punch.

The moral of the story: To take a bite out of crime, first take a bite out of an apple. Or an orange. Or an energy bar.

Class president, too

Jeff Greenwood was first in his class.

Then again, he was last in his class.

In fact, he was the only student in his class.

Opheim (Mont.) High School graduated just one student this year — Mr. Greenwood. Still, the school — which serves a small rural community just south of the Canadian border — drew a big name for its graduation ceremony. Gov. Brian Schweitzer was commencement speaker.

Principal LeRoy Nelson said he thinks one-person classes will become more common as enrollment drops at rural schools.

Last year, one other Montana school had one graduate. Mr. Schweitzer spoke there as well.

Thanks for the music

It was a free concert in thanks for a $4 million favor.

Grammy-nominated violinist Philippe Quint recently performed at a most unusual venue — the Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport.

He did it to thank a driver who found Mr. Quint’s 285-year-old Stradavari violin, which he had left in the back seat on a ride home from the airport last month.

Cabbie Mohamed Khalil found the instrument and returned it to its owner.