Bangor Police Sergeant Tim Cotton Honored As Humor Writer

The Bangor Police Department's Facebook page has received national recognition and, now, so has the man who writes all those hilarious posts!

Sergeant Tim Cotton is a man with a great sense of humor, and a knack for marketing. I mean, he recovered a coworker's stuffed Wood Duck from the trash and made it famous by naming it 'The Duck of Justice.' A few posts on the department's Facebook page and, suddenly, people were showing up at the Police Department to have their picture taken with the Duck. I've even had my picture taken with it!

But it was a post just recently that brought an award to Cotton by the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop. Cotton gave advice, in his own funny way, to Mid-Atlantic states that were about to be hit by a huge snowstorm. He offered tidbits like stocking up on Cap'n Crunch instead of bread. And inviting your neighbors in so you can hole up in one location (but hide your valuables first!).

The Writer's Workshop, which is run by the University of Dayton (Bombeck's alma mater), honored Sergeant Cotton with the 'Humor Writer of the Month' award for February. Wow! I can't think of anyone who deserves it more. I mean, Cotton has taken what should be a boring police page and made it a destination. People check out the page on a regular basis, just to see what Tim will say next!

For anyone not familiar with her work, Erma Bombeck was a humor columnist for decades, until her death in 1996. She used to write a column entitled 'Jelly Side Down' that I read religiously as a kid.

Congratulations to Sergeant Tim Cotton and the Bangor Police Department! We're proud to have you representing our community!