Town by Town: Slide Into Summer, summer reading, and police ice cream truck

(WGGB/WSHM) - Western Mass News is taking you town by town to Wilbraham, Springfield, and Chicopee.

Kids in Wilbraham got a chance to hang out with firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and other first responders Tuesday at the Wilbraham Slide Into Summer Safety event at Spec Pond.

The event is designed to foster the relationship between the children in the community and their local first responders and to get summer safety tips.

Also included in the fun-filled afternoon on the last day of school were features like water slides, a splash pad, a dance floor, and some ice cream.

Town by town also took us to Springfield where the summer reading challenge began Tuesday and goes through August 26th.

This summer, your child can join the Springfield City Library’s reading club to read, get rewards, enter a raffle for prizes, and more.

If they read at least 20 minutes a day for 30 days, they have a chance to win the completion prize.

You can log your reading daily using Beanstack Online or the Beanstack mobile app.

Finally, town by town took us to Chicopee where the Chicopee Police Departments had a new ice cream truck.

They visited Chicopee Comprehensive Tuesday and handed out ice cream to the graduating preschool class.

Chicopee Police spokesperson Officer Travis Odiorne said that the department bought the truck from a Belchertown resident.

So far, the department has been giving out ice cream at field day events for Chicopee schools and they visited the Chicopee Boys & Girls Club, as well, for a safety event,

The truck also made an appearance at Chicopee City Hall for an event last week.