The Bartlesville Police Department has launched a new program pairing officers with senior military veterans in the community for a monthly lunch.

A veteran himself, BPD Sergeant Jim Warring said he put the program together to give back to those veterans that have served. He said this is a way to acknowledge veterans and their service to the country. This also creates an opportunities for support and community service.

Noticing the longest conflict the United States has been in with the Middle East, the Vietnam War and other wars, Sgt. Warring said people need to do more for veterans. The Senior Vets Program is his way, he said with a chuckle, of seeing if he can get a potential movement started.

The program can revolve around coffee too, Warring said. Lunch, he said, is normally a good time for everyone to meet.

Sometime Sgt. Warring thinks that they are losing the technique or the art of sitting down with others and enjoying a meal. That is another reason they picked the lunch hour for the program; they want to bring the art of communication back to the table.

Officers are set to rotate lunches with veterans who reside at Tallgrass Assisted Living Center. A private room was used for the launch of the program. Sgt. Warring said the residents at the Tallgrass Assisted Living Center were happy to see them and that the program was well received.

Now that the word is out, Sgt. Warring hopes the program continues to fall into place like it has been.

Sgt. Warring said he hope the program will expand in the near future to include other retirement facilities and emergency personnel. He said the goal is to get all retirement facilities on board while having a large group of police, fire and ambulance personnel "make the rounds" once a month to meet with veterans.

Other facilities have already been reaching out to Sgt. Warring. He said he has May covered and that he looks to have a year scheduled out and a large pool of personnel to pull from. June, July and August are still on his list to fill.

For more information or to participate in the program, you can send Sgt. Warring an email. His email is jdwarrin@cityofbartlesville.org.

Sgt. Warring said only positive things will come out of this program moving forward.