O.P.P. Community Officer retiring

Familiar face at schools, events

By Mark Ribble

After six years as the Leamington Detachment Community Officer, Constable Katherine Burt is retiring on Friday, July 7.

A familiar face to many in the Leamington and Kingsville communities, Constable Burt has spent the last 28 years with the Ontario Provincial Police.

Born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, Burt has a Masters Degree in social work and spent the first eight years of her career as a social worker, before joining the OPP.

Her first posting was in Prescott, Ontario, followed by a stint in the Orillia detachment before spending a couple of years as an instructor at the Ontario Police College. She had other stops along the way before coming to Leamington in 2017.

“My brother is a Windsor Police Officer and after he settled here, my mother also moved down this way to be closer to the grandchildren,” Burt told the Sun last week.

“They told me I would love this area, so I put in for a transfer.”

Since her arrival in the area, she has endeared herself to many people, particularly at the schools, where she is a familiar face to many students.

She says it’s been a rewarding six years.

“I love being able to portray someone in a uniform as friendly and approachable,” she says. “I’ve had positive interaction with many people in our communities.”

That personal touch has been the difference maker for Constable Burt as she has operated the Grade 6 V.I.P. (Values, Influences and Peers) programs in the local schools for the past several years, and has also spent time with the younger grades as part of her duties.

And her community imprint doesn’t stop at the schools.

She’s been a regular face at many of the Migrant Worker events over the years and participates in a lot of local festivals as the liaison between the OPP and the community.

As her 28-year career with the OPP winds down, she’ll spend the next couple of weeks continuing to bring a positive message to the community.

After that, she plans on keeping busy by doing some volunteering and will stay in the Windsor-Essex area and enjoy her retirement.

“I need to keep busy,” she said. “That’s the key.” Burt says she’s happy to be able to say goodbye through the local paper, noting that many of her acquaintances will otherwise wonder why she was no longer the go-to person for such events and programs.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to break some of the stereotypes surrounding police and provide consistency in being helpful to the community,” she adds. “It’s nice to let people know that I’m not going to be here in this role anymore.”

She also said she is going to miss the interaction.

“I appreciate and value the many people in the many roles I’ve crossed paths with,” she said. “I

wish all of them well in the future.”

Constable Katherine Burt, centre, on a recent visit to St. Louis Catholic Elementary School, is surrounded by St. Louis Grade 6 students Cristian Sagun, Mason Nehmetallah, Shannell Geggo and Minh Chau Pham, along with teacher Rosemary Pimentel. The students are part of the V.I.P. (Values, Influences and Peers) program that the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board runs along with the O.P.P.