WAGNER - A Wagner student whose bicycle was recently stolen was given a surprise Wednesday afternoon.
MJ Provost, a student with special needs at Wagner Community School, is well-known by the police department, not because he is often in trouble with the law, but because of his "sunny personality and upbeat demeanor," according to Wagner Officer Brian McGuire.
So, when McGuire was approached by MJ's mom in a grocery store two weeks ago and was told MJ's bike was recently stolen, McGuire knew immediately he needed to do something.
McGuire said, after a few phone calls, the department got the bike from the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield.
On Wednesday, McGuire and fellow officer Jerry Renken went to the school, pulled MJ out of class and presented the bike to him in the principal's office.
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"He was really excited and he wanted to ride it through the hallways," McGuire said about the sixth-grade student.
The gesture was the first of its kind from the Wagner Police Department that McGuire can remember, though the department's staff members are no strangers to the community. Wagner PD participates in many area events and in August hosted a neighborhood night out event, during which officers gave tours of their squad cars and handed out T-shirts to residents.
"From the law enforcement side, it's good to be able to give back to the community when somebody needs something, especially in this town," McGuire said. "It's a good town to be around and it's fun to rally around them once in awhile."
And, it was proven to McGuire right away that helping MJ was not a waste. Thursday morning, McGuire talked to MJ's dad, he said, and was told that MJ was so excited to have the bike Wednesday, before he would do anything else after school, he had to have his dad hand wash it.
"I thought it was so funny and it just shows he does like it and will take care of it," McGuire said. "I have a special place for MJ in my heart, he's funny and makes me laugh, so doing this was a no-brainer, really."
