6th-Grader Is Sheriff For A Day

Jakob Klemash-Kresge, 11, 6th-grade student at William M. Mer­edith Public School, won’t forget his Sheriff for A Day whirlwind stint with Sheriff Jewell Wil­liams.

For Jakob Klemash-Kresge, 11, a 6th-grade student at the William M. Meredith School, Sep. 19 was a day he’ll remember for a long time. That was the day he held down the office of Sheriff of Philadelphia for the day.

It was a whirlwind experience as Philadelphia Sheriff Jewell Williams exposed him to the variety and range of responsibilities under the umbrella of the Office of the Sheriff for the City and County of Philadelphia.

After a tour of the Office of the Sheriff at 100 S. Broad Street, Sheriff Williams took Jakob to the Sheriff’s Sale in progress at 3801 Market Street, followed by a surprise visit to Benjamin Franklin HS, Broad & Spring Garden Streets, where Jakob’s father, Raymond Kresge, teaches history.

Registering an eye-opening experience was stop at Juvenile Court at 1801 Vine Street, where he saw holding cells where juvenile defendants are detained while waiting to be called to courtrooms for hearings or trials. “It’s not a place I’d ever want to be,” he said.

From there Jakob, who loves baseball and plays in the Taney League, visited the Criminal Justice Center, where defendants are brought by Deputy Sheriffs via vans from jails around the city and the state. They were held in basement cells to await their hearings that day. Sheriff Williams explained to Jakob, Sheriff’s deputies also handle security at the CJC entrance where jurors, witnesses, lawyers, victims and their families, judges and their staff pass through metal detectors and security to enter the building.

Jakob and Sheriff Williams also visited a Courtroom in the CJC to spend a few minutes watching a trial in progress. “Deputies guard the courtrooms and escort defendants to and from their hearings,” Sheriff Williams told Jakob.

At the end of a very educational day, Jakob thanked Sheriff Williams, turned in his badge, hat and armband.

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