Citizens Academy concludes with successful first outing

Attendees heard from UCSO partners first, including Blairsville Police, Union County Schools Police, the Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Georgia State Patrol, and later from Union County Fire and E-911.

People also learned about all the different areas within the Sheriff’s Office, with instruction by actual deputies assigned to each division. The knowledge imparted ran the gamut from criminal investigations to scams, narcotics, patrol, crimes against children and beyond.

Tours played a central role in the academy as well, particularly at the Union County Jail, Fire Department, the new E-911 Center and Courthouse. And participants got live demonstrations of equipment, like drones and distraction devices, and even spent time with a DNR K-9.

On the final night, attendees were treated to a delicious dinner catered by Jim’s Smokin’ Que before wrapping up the academy with discussions about four other areas of law enforcement under UCSO.

Sgt. Jamie Campbell and Deputy Nicholas Jones talked about courthouse security; Lt. Julio Cruz discussed Civil Service; Sheriff Shawn Dyer spoke on Animal Control; and Capt. Daren “Bear” Osborn gave a presentation on monitoring sex offenders.

Debora Quigley of the Union County Sheriff’s Foundation summarized the LESS Crime Tax Credit and how people can donate to earn dollar-for-dollar income tax credits. The nonprofit was established to support UCSO by paying for equipment, training, public education materials, etc.

Deputy Eddie Henderson, who organized the academy and emceed each evening between Aug. 6 and Sept. 3, announced that the Sheriff’s Office is planning to start a new Auxiliary Program.

Auxiliary volunteers will not be deputized but will serve in support roles at public venues, such as traffic control during parades and festivals, and as “eyes and ears” in places like the Farmers Market and Meeks Park.

The program will be capped at 15 volunteers, all of whom will be subject to background checks, with preference for individuals retired from law enforcement and other first responder careers. Stay tuned for more information.

Resident Shirley Anderson thoroughly enjoyed her time at the Citizens Academy. No stranger to first response – she has Emergency Medical Services training and currently volunteers at Fire Station No. 2 – Anderson appreciated getting a deeper understanding of local law enforcement.

“It helps you learn how the county works with other departments – they work real well together,” Anderson said. “Some counties, you don’t see that, but our people all work together for the same cause.

“Like when there’s a wreck, we all show up and do our job. There’s no argument about who is in charge. We just work together to get it done and go on. And we look after each other, too.”

The academy will return, and Anderson recommends the experience to anyone, as does Richard Brown, who said he appreciates the “understanding and education” he received from the Sheriff’s Office.

“I enjoyed touring the jail and new 911 Center, checking all that out and seeing how things are run,” Brown said regarding his favorite aspects of the academy. “I’ve actually been letting people know about it at work, and they said they’d be interested.”

Sheriff Dyer ended the night with appreciation of his own, both for his dedicated staff who helped make the very first academy possible and for all the attentive participants, and he let attendees know that he hoped they would stay in touch down the road.

“If there’s anything that me or my staff can do for y’all, please come by and see us,” Dyer said.

Keep an eye out for future Citizens Academy signups, as the sheriff plans to host the class at least once a year moving forward.