by Olivia P. Tucker
Intern Reporter
School safety is on the minds of the police departments of Austin, Scottsburg and the Scott County Sheriff as the school year quickly approaches.
Sheriff Jerry Goodin said that he wants people who may threaten the schools to know that there will be resistance.
Goodin said that there are School Resource Officers (SRO) from the county sheriff’s department at Vienna-Finley, Johnson and Lexington Elementary.
“We went above and beyond on offering their training,” said Goodin about all of the deputies having knowledge to make schools safe.
He said, “One of the main things we wanted to do was, obviously with me being from an education family, we must do all we can to keep our schools safe. We have got to create an environment that is safe for our children.”
The sheriff said that not only do they have to maintain a safe environment for the children but they also need to maintain it for the parents so that they feel assured that their kids are safe.
If parents see anything that concerns them, Goodin said that they should not hesitate to call him or any other law enforcement officers.
“Working together is what is going to keep our children and our community safe,” said Goodin.
Scottsburg City Police Chief Scott Zellers said that the Scottsburg Police has a six-year agreement with Scott County School District 2 to have SRO in Scottsburg Elementary, Middle and High Schools. He added that the SROs have a good relationship with the students and staff of the schools.
Zellers said he was a former SRO for the 2001-2002 school year for Dist. 2 when there was a three year federal grant given to provide SROs in schools. In recent years, Dist. 2 showed concerns for school safety and brought the SRO program back to what it is today, he said.
The Scottsburg City Police department has also conducted active shooter scenario training with the high school. These scenarios allow officers to experience if there is a shooter in the school, Zellers said.
The SRO at District 2 also has a collapsible automatic weapon they are trained to use if there is a threat that is to occur on the school campus, the chief said.
Austin City Police Chief Shawn Hurt said that the police department has been working with Mayor Roger Hawkins and Scott County School District 1 safety team on improving safety at the school. Hurt said that the officers walk through the schools to familiarize themselves with the school layout, classrooms and student gathering areas.
Hurt said that he has been in contact with the Indiana State Police to set a time when scenario training can happen for Dist. 1. He is currently waiting on confirmation on when that type of training can be scheduled.
“I have spoken to school officials,” said Hurt, “and do know, we are going to try to work together to do some sort of training with the safety plan with teachers and possibly students.”
Both SROs at Austin are also familiar faces to the staff and students at Dist. 1, said the police chief.
Hurt added, “ It does weigh heavy on my mind, the mayor’s mind, the school system’s mind. We are doing everything in our power to make sure that the kids are safe and the kids are our number one priority.”
Both chiefs of police said that EMA has access to the schools’ cameras and can provide live updates to the officers on duty of what is happening if there a situation is to occur.
The officers and deputies who are at the schools are Shilow Hurt at Austin Elementary, Lonnie Noble at Austin Middle and High School, Justin Cheatham at Scottsburg Elementary, Joe Nickelson at Scottsburg Middle School, Rodney Watts at Scottsburg High School, Joe Johnson at Vienna-Finley Elementary, Jessica Dickey at Johnson Elementary and Rick Barrett at Lexington Elementary.
Joe Smith, who helps Dist. 1 with safety planning said “(The school district) has school safety plans in place and we work with all of the public safety agencies in the county on a regular basis. We review and modify these plans annually.”
(Editor’s Note: We contacted leaders at Scott County School District 2, Crothersville Community Schools, and the Crothersville Police Department for comment on their school safety efforts, but the newspaper did not receive a return call or email prior to the press deadline.)