(Photo provided) Children enjoy an inflatable slide during a past Kick Off To Summer Picnic. This year’s event is slated from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 7 at the Wetzel County 4-H Grounds.

The Wetzel County Sheriff’s Department and the Center For Children And Families are joining forces to offer a free community picnic on June 7.

The event is dubbed the “Kick Off To Summer Community Picnic.

“Please join us for this year’s Kick Off To Summer Picnic,” the department notes. “Free for all Wetzel County students in Pre-K through 8th grade and their families.”

It will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 7 at the Wetzel County 4-H Grounds.

There will be a variety of activities and entertainment including inflatables, a rock wall, face painting, balloon art and dunk tank.

People can also enjoy snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy and prizes. On hand for the event will be the Wetzel County Animal Shelter, Wileyville VFD, the Wetzel County OES Communications Truck, Wetzel County Sheriff’s Department car demonstration, New Martinsville VFD and the smokehouse. Music will be provided by a DJ.

Julie Slie, administrative assistant with the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Department, said the sheriff’s department enjoys interacting with the students and seeing them have a good time.

“The picnic used to be something the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office did or was involved with years ago,” she said. The picnic didn’t happen for many years until our last sheriff, Mike Koontz, helped to bring it back when he was chief deputy in 2014. Sheriff Eric Daugherty, our current sheriff, has participated in the picnic for many years as a deputy, and wants to continue the tradition for many years to come.

“The Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office enjoys the opportunity to show the children of our county there are many things out there to do instead of getting into things that could send them down a ‘wrong road.'”

Slie noted the event will be held, rain or shine, with help from the Center For Children And Families.

“We work with The Center for Children and Families, which is a non-profit organization with several locations in Wetzel, Tyler and Pleasants County, to make all of this happen,” she said. “We would not be able to put this all together without the generous donations and help that we receive from many businesses and people from throughout Wetzel County. We appreciate you all.”

Headquartered in New Martinsville, the Center For Children And Families’ mission is “to provide programs and services that support and strengthen families through interagency coordination, collaboration and communication.”