Winnacunnet students give North Hampton Police patrol car a new look

NORTH HAMPTON — Fortune 500 companies spend billions on marketing, branding their companies with logos and slogans that convey the image they want to convey.

This is what the North Hampton Police Department had in mind after a difficult year when they asked to modernize the appearance of their vehicles.

Last September, North Hampton Police Chief Robert LaBarge addressed the city council and told members that his officers “despised” their dull black patrol cars.

“I don’t want to say they hate them,” LaBarge said at the time, “but they don’t like them.”

LaBarge suggested starting a new chapter and helping the graphic design students at Winnacunnet High School develop a new cruiser design.

After getting the green light from the city council, LaBarge headed to Hampton and found a sympathetic ear in Donna Couture, director of extended learning at Winnacunnet High School. She sent out a message to students to gauge their interest and luckily 12th-graders Chloe Marx and Kaleb Joiner took on the task.

Joiner was interested in just such an adventure.

“I really wanted to do an ELO (Extended Learning Opportunity) project,” Joiner said. “I had heard so much about it from other students. And the way Ms. Coulture and Mr. Long run it is great. It provides learning outside of the classroom and I liked the community engagement aspect it offered.”

Marx was impressed by her interest in art and the opportunity to work on a real project.

“This was a really great opportunity,” Marx said. “Not only did we help the community, but we also made an idea a reality.”

Chris Cassamas, who supervised the two students on this project that took almost an entire school year, has been a graphic design teacher for 19 years and immediately recognizes that this was not as easy as it sounds.

“I’ve been in the design industry for a while,” said Cassamas. “I knew this project was huge. It’s an extremely demanding process to develop a concept and get it ready for print. The kids put in a lot of hours, most of them in their free time. It required a lot of dedication and they handled it perfectly.”

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From design to press to cruiser

Everyone admits that there were some difficulties along the way, such as LaBarge having to be convinced that his desire to incorporate an ocean wave into the design was not feasible.

But as a team and with a willingness to start from scratch several times, Marx and Joiner were able to develop a working model with the help of Cassamas and two local companies.

Cassamas said the seniors added various aspects to the project with help from Rose Dow and Crystal Dawn of Coastal Speedpro in Pease, as well as Rick Woods, president of New England Vehicle Outfitters in Newmarket.

According to Cassamas, Marx got the team started with her artistic drawings, and then Joiner computerized the design using software and provided the technical details needed to get it to print.

After that, Speedpro and NEVO brought reality to bear, Cassamas said, explaining to the students – and LaBarge – that some things look good but just don’t work for a run or the dimensions of a Cruiser. Speedpro’s job was to take the design and turn it into decals on its large presses, and NEVO’s job was to put those on the Cruiser.

Dow explained exactly what kind of designs can be turned into stickers, which can then be printed at professional wide format printers like Speedpro, which works with numerous companies.

“Chloe and Kaleb did a lot of watching and listening,” she said. “And then they started asking questions. They had to start from scratch, but they did it.”

The students then discovered the intricacies of applying printed decals to the Ford Explorer Interceptor SUV used by North Hampton, said Woods, who outfits emergency vehicles from Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire.

“I gave them constructive criticism,” Woods said. “They were willing to listen, adapt and live with it.”

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The wait for the new Cruiser design was worth it

It took longer than expected, but the students are excited about the process and the people who taught them and gave them the opportunity to interact with their companies.

Success doesn’t come overnight, the students said. Success is a path to it.

“We knew it wouldn’t be perfect the first time,” Joiner said. “And I’m glad about that. Success comes with time.”

“I’m happy with it,” Marx said. “I got more than just experience out of it. I would recommend (expanded learning opportunities) to others.”

LaBarge is very pleased with the whole thing and believes that the efforts of many have resulted in an attractive, functional and modern cruiser that is praised by all.

“This is their design,” LaBarge said. “It’s more visible, it increases safety, it gives us a new look and it improves our image. I know it’s the best looking police car ever.”

Aside from art and marketing, LaBarge says the design is safer because it includes headlight-reflective strips, making a black patrol car more visible at night, especially when police officers are parked on the side of the road and assisting others.

Unfortunately, however, only one of the city’s five patrol cars carries the department’s snazzy new look, LaBarge said. To ease the burden on taxpayers, he is seeking grants and donations to cover the $2,500 cost per patrol car before the other four are put into service.

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