Rabun Co. Sheriff’s Office holds Inaugural Junior Deputy Program

School may be back in session in Rabun County; however, a few students took the opportunity during summer vacation to learn about the Rabun County Sheriff’s Office through the inaugural Junior Deputy Program.  It took place July 15-19, allowing students to experience what local law enforcement is all about, explains Rabun County Sheriff Chad Nichols. “We did our first Junior Deputy Program this summer. Our School Resource Deputies (SRD) did it, but it was a week-long course and it being our first year, last summer actually Deputy Darnell went down to Banks County and maybe one other county just to kind of see what they did down there.  So, she came back and kind of developed the program for us and we teach C.H.A.M.P.S., which is through the Sheriff’s Association in fifth grade. So, she had anybody interested do a little essay of some sort and we just took basically the ones that had completed the C.H.A.M.P.S. for the first go around. We had around five or six in our first little group, so it was good and they were kind of the guinea pig group. But it went well, the children, I think, liked it, the parents enjoyed it, and the School Resource Deputies did too.  It was a good week and I swore them in at the end as Junior Deputies. Then we took them up to the Fun Factory after their hard week because they had them there every day and did a little PT in the morning and then did whatever from going to the jail to the courthouse to acting like they were stopping cars. So, we tried to give them vast subjects of what we do out here as deputies in Rabun County. Who knows maybe that will blossom into a little spark inside of them to maybe want to be a deputy here, stay here, and serve the community as well.”  Rabun County School Resource Deputies showed students everything that the sheriff’s office is mandated to do as well as other responsibilities performed. Topics ranged from patrol functions, courthouse security, jail procedures, investigations, and the K-9 unit. The participants also visited Rabun County EMS, Rabun County Fire Services -Station 1, and Rabun County 911.