The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Ten-year-old Kaylee Coleman, of Dayton, is one of nine children, from around the Walla Walla Valley, taking part in the Walla Walla Area Crime Watch Chief for a Day program.

All of the children have been matched up with actual police chiefs, sheriffs, fire chiefs and Washington State Patrol chiefs, and will participate in the Walla Walla National Night Out activities on Aug. 2.

Kaylee has been matched with Superintendent Don Holbrook from the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

On the morning of July 14, the "Little Chiefs" and their parents met the "Big Chiefs" for photos, and then attended a swearing in ceremony at the Walla Walla Police Department by retired Judge Donald Schacht. Then they enjoyed a free celebratory lunch, courtesy of Smith's Family Restaurant in Walla Walla, said program advisor Vicki Ruley.

Then the "Little Chiefs" got to shoot water out of a firetruck at the City of Walla Walla Fire Training Facility, she said.

A special part of Kaylee's training took place at the Washington State Penitentiary, where she got to go up in one of the control towers, and hang out with Superintendent Holbrook.

Kaylee's mother, Becky Gibson said, "She wore him out!"

At the penitentiary Kaylee was presented with a Pokemon quilt made by William Rogers, an inmate at the penitentiary, Gibson said.

"She was so excited about it," said Gibson. "The day before, in the car, she looked at me, and asked me if I had everything she needed for Tuesday".

Gibson said she first heard about the application for the Chief for a Day program from Roberto Mendiola, her supervisor at the penitentiary where she works as a classification counselor.

Because the family lives in Columbia County, Gibson checked with Ruley to see if Kaylee qualified for the program in Walla Walla. She did, based on her mother's employment at the penitentiary and on Kaylee's developmental disabilities.

The Chief for a Day program is a way to honor children with developmental disabilities, or life threatening illness, according to Ruley.

Kaylee has multiple developmental issues, with palsy on the right side of her body, congenital heart issues, and she is deaf as well, said her mother.

Kaylee is facing her fifteenth surgery, this one to repair her left ear drum, she said.

Open heart surgery to repair holes in her heart, and to address a growth near the left ventricle has been postponed for now, Gibson added.

In the meantime Kaylee has been receiving therapy at St. Mary's Hospital in Walla Walla, to help with swallowing, so that she can be weaned off a feeding tube for liquids.

"Being able to drink, versus from a tube, is a big step," said Gibson.

Kaylee is now walking without her walker, and she will enter the third grade this fall at Dayton Elementary School able to drink on her own, with a little supervision, Gibson said.

"Kaylee is happy and well loved," said her mother.

"Special needs kids don't get the same recognition normally developing kids get. They are each fighting their own battles. This is a way to honor these kids, and be a part of their day," said Ruley about the program.

As the Washington State Penitentiary Superintendent for a Day, Kaylee will participate in the 10th annual Walla Walla National Night Out activities in Pioneer Park, which includes riding in the Walla Walla emergency services parade. She will be decked out in full regalia in her Washington State Penitentiary Supervisor uniform.

Kaylee's mother said that seeing the children in their uniforms was truly inspiring.

Walla Walla Area Crime Watch is a non-profit organization that supports crime prevention in the Walla Walla Valley. This is the fifth year for the Chief for a Day program, which began in 2011, according to WWACW.