Catasauqua Police Chief Douglas Kish met with the public Feb. 21 at the borough’s ongoing monthly police meet-and-greet events. The latest event, Soup with the Smokies, was held at Bridge Street Family Restaurant, 215 Bridge St.

The genesis of the idea to meet with police officers came from Pastor Brian Riedy of Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church.

“We are always looking for ways to have the community involved, and having residents get to know the police better is a good idea. I heard about a similar program in Las Vegas and adopted it for the borough,” Riedy said.

The event was well attended. Part of it has to do with the hosts.

“We had our best-attended events at Pie’s On Pizzeria, Taylor House Brewing Company and here at Bridge Street (Family) Restaurant,” Kish said.

Holy Trinity helps sponsor the monthly event. At this session, Kish reminded everyone the police station in the municipal building has a safe room.

“The door is always open, so you can come anytime there is a threatening situation. No age limit. If you feel threatened, go there. The door can be locked from the inside, and you can pick up the phone to explain your situation,” he said.

Kish has been encouraging this safety feature. With the new municipal building, he was able to put the plan in action.

Kish also talked about the duties of the school resource officer. The officer was requested by the school district, but this was something advocated by Kish for several years. When school is not in session, the school officer is back on a beat in the borough.

“It helps our scheduling to have them back during the summer and the school resource officer knows most of the teenagers,” he said.

Peg those calendars for the next meeting, to be held 5-7 p.m. March 28 at Pie’s On Pizzeria, Front and Pine streets.