Police, school step up

Dear Editor:Last week, Luis Au, a student at Warren High School, had his bicycle stolen out of the bicycle racks while he was at baseball practice. Normally, an incident report would be taken and the student would be informed if the bicycle turned up at some point. While gathering information about the student, his attendance record showed that he had not missed one class the entire year so far. It was incredible to think of his dedication to his education and we decided to look at his grades. It figured that he would have good grades based solely on his attendance, but a 4.167 GPA with multiple honors classes was extraordinary. This was an opportunity to show this young man that when you work hard and dedicate yourself, good things will happen to you. I called a friend over at the Downey Police Department, Cpl. Mike Pope, and relayed the story. Pope was impressed with the student's attendance and grades and offered to take the matter up with the Downey Police Officers' Association. A couple of days later, he called back to tell me that the association wanted to help the student by partnering with Warren High School to replace the stolen bicycle. Fortunately, when the situation was discussed with a few staff members, an anonymous donation was made on behalf of the school. Last Thursday, Cpl. Pope went to Russell's Bike Shop on Firestone Boulevard and purchased a new bicycle for Luis. The folks at Russell's went above and beyond and deeply discounted the new bicycle and gave Luis a free lifetime service plan. Luis was very humble when receiving the new bicycle and thanked everyone involved. He told us that his dad wanted to be there, but needed to stay at work. Luis told us that his dad had always told him that if he worked hard and stayed focused, he would be amazed at his good fortune. Luis said that he was going to continue to listen to his father and continue to work hard at school. Warren High School would like to thank the Downey Police Officers' Association, Cpl. Pope, and Russell's Bike Shop for helping a deserving student get back on track with a new bike. - John Haynes, Vice Principal, Warren High School ********** Published: March 20, 2009 - Volume 7 - Issue 48