school resource officer Archives

Anderson County Deputy Kim Lay named SRO of the Year

Posted at 3:16 pm April 16, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Kim Lay has been named School Resource Officer of the Year for Anderson County Schools by The Education Foundation of Clinton City and Anderson County Schools. (Submitted photo)

Lay is a 16-year law enforcement veteran, and she has served as a school resource officer, or SRO, for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department for the last eight years.

“She is truly a dedicated, experienced law enforcement professional,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Council to discuss Rails to Trails, school resource officer program

Posted at 11:39 pm April 13, 2018
By John Huotari 2 Comments

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above in December 2016. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss a part of the Rails to Trails program, which could convert a former railway in central Oak Ridge into a bicycle and pedestrian greenway, and the current status of the city’s school resource officer program on Tuesday.

The discussion of the design and acquisition process for the CSX Railroad railway, which is no longer being used, will be led by Jon Hetrick, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks director, and representatives from Morton, Thomas, and Associates of Kingsport, Tennessee.

The discussion of the current status of the city’s school resource officer program will be led by Oak Ridge Police Chief James Akagi. [Read more…]

Deputy goes ‘above and beyond’: Replaces student’s lost items on Safety Patrol trip

Posted at 5:16 pm June 5, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Shawn Bannach and Norwood Elementary School Student on Safety Patrol Trip June 5 2016

Anderson County Deputy Shawn Bannach went above and beyond for a Norwood Elementary School student on Sunday, replacing her lost gift bag items during a AAA Safety Patrol Trip in Washington, D.C., school officials said. (Photo used with permission of Norwood Elementary School)

Note: This story was updated at 4:15 p.m. June 6.

“We had a student very upset because she waited in line for over an hour at the National Zoo to buy a stuffed animal, a mug, and a tumbler on our AAA Safety Patrol trip,” Norwood Elementary School said in a Facebook post. “She lost her gift bag and asked Officer Bannach from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department to please let her know if someone turned it in. The next time we saw him, he handed her a bag with the items she had lost.”

Bannach had gone and bought the same things at the gift shop, the school said. [Read more…]

Student lights desk on fire; RMS bomb threat appears unfounded, ORPD says

Posted at 3:34 pm May 8, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

James T. Akagi

Note: This story was last updated at 3:58 p.m.

A 16-year-old student at the Alternative School used hand sanitizer and a lighter to ignite another student’s desktop on Wednesday, authorities said.

Students extinguished the fire, and the suspect was arrested at the Alternative School on Thursday. He was processed at the Oak Ridge Police Department on aggravated arson charges and taken to the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Facility in Knoxville, a press release said.

In a separate incident, authorities determined that a report of an alleged bomb threat at Robertsville Middle School on Monday was unfounded, and no criminal charges are expected.

The ORPD said the desk was set on fire just before dismissal at the Alternative School on Wednesday. The Alternative School is next to the Oak Ridge High School and on the same campus. Staff at the Alternative School notified School Resource Office Sherrill Selby about the incident via e-mail. [Read more…]

Guest column: School safety update

Posted at 12:40 am March 27, 2014
By Trina Baughn Leave a Comment

Trina Baughn

Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Oak Ridge Schools and the Oak Ridge Police Department (ORPD) last August, a number of significant safety improvements have occurred within our schools including physical security upgrades, leadership adjustments, and increased police presence.

As you may know, this time last year, we had only one School Resource Officer (SRO) covering our entire school district. Now we have two full time SROs, two Support Services Unit (SSU) officers manning satellite offices, and the Adopt-a-Cop program, which provides officer time in all of our schools via daily check-ins. A third satellite office is in the works as ORPD Chief Jim Akagi and Superintendent Bruce Borchers are presently working on stationing an SSU officer at Robertsville Middle School.

Chief Akagi recently invited me to join our SROs on a walk-along at the high school to personally observe the impact of these changes. He also encouraged me to tag along with our S.W.A.T. team during a threat assessment exercise. I took him up on both offers and, as a result, am sharing what I learned. [Read more…]

Charges pending against juvenile who attacked several officers, police say

Posted at 6:01 pm March 6, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Charges are pending against a 17-year-old male student who allegedly created a violent disturbance in an Oak Ridge High School classroom on Thursday morning, fled the campus, and then attacked several officers trying to make contact with him in a parking lot across the street, authorities said.

The high school staff reported the classroom disturbance to Oak Ridge Police Department school resource officers at about 8:01 a.m. Thursday, a press release said. The student was located in a parking lot across the street from the high school. [Read more…]

Charges pending against ORHS student who assaulted officer, police say

Posted at 6:59 pm March 4, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Charges are pending against an Oak Ridge High School student accused of assaulting an officer and classmate on Monday, authorities said.

An Oak Ridge Police Department press release said School Resource Officer Michael Swigert saw the 17-year-old male involved in a disturbance with a high school staff member at about 2:13 p.m. Monday. The staff member said the unruly boy had just assaulted a 17-year-old female classmate, the release said.

“Officer Swigert attempted to contact the student, who refused to comply with the officer’s commands and continued to create a disturbance, yelling, slamming doors, and knocking over a floor sign,” the press release said. “When Officer Swigert ordered the student to cease his actions, the student again refused to comply and assaulted the officer.” [Read more…]

New SRO approved at Oak Ridge Schools, could start Monday

Posted at 12:51 am January 14, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council voted 5-1 on Monday to approve a move that allows another school resource officer, or SRO, to be added to Oak Ridge Schools.

Note: This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 14.

The Oak Ridge City Council approved a move on Monday that will add a second school resource officer in the city’s schools, and the new SRO could start Monday.

The new SRO is Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Michael Swigert. The current SRO is Officer Sherrill Selby.

It’s not as big a step as some officials had proposed during the past few years. There have been various proposals to have a total of three SROs, including one at each of the city’s two middle schools, or even more, perhaps one SRO at each school. The discussions seemed to gain urgency after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle. [Read more…]

City move could add another police officer to Oak Ridge Schools

Posted at 2:38 pm January 8, 2014
By John Huotari 5 Comments

The number of reported crimes is down at Oak Ridge High School since police officers were given office space there in August, and a move recommended by city administrators could add another school resource officer in the Oak Ridge school system.

It’s part of a program to improve student safety and use law enforcement to reduce unacceptable student behaviors, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Police Chief Jim Akagi said.

Oak Ridge Schools now have one school resource officer, or SRO. There have been discussions about adding more officers, especially since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, but funding has been an obstacle.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council will consider a resolution that would allow the Oak Ridge Police Department to hire an extra police officer, exceeding its authorized personnel staffing levels, in order to assign an existing police officer as an SRO. There have been proposals to add more—in December, City Council member Trina Baughn proposed one at each of the city’s two middle schools—but Watson and Akagi are recommending one additional officer now. [Read more…]

City officials clash over Secret City Festival spending costs

Posted at 11:33 pm December 12, 2013
By John Huotari 14 Comments

Rick Springfield at Secret City Festival

The Rick Springfield concert at the Secret City Festival in June was the largest ever for the annual festival, an organizer said.

Debate over the costs of the Secret City Festival—and whether the city can afford a $160,000 “party” every year—was briefly renewed again on Monday.

The sometimes-rancorous debate came up as the Oak Ridge City Council considered whether to approve two resolutions laying the financial foundation for the June 2014 festival.

Early in the debate, Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn moved to reallocate the Secret City Festival money and use it instead for a school resource officer in each middle school, or two SROs total.

But Council member Charlie Hensley said Baughn was essentially asking the city to take money it would collect from festival sponsors and use it instead for SROs.

“I think that’s fraudulent,” Hensley said. [Read more…]

Two more police officers, sergeant stationed at ORHS, Alternative School

Posted at 12:22 pm August 21, 2013
By John Huotari 16 Comments

Three more Oak Ridge Police Department officers are stationed at Oak Ridge High School and Alternative School this year. The ORPD now has a school resource officer, a sergeant, and two non-patrol officers at the two schools.

Three more Oak Ridge Police Department officers are stationed at Oak Ridge High School and Alternative School this year. However, they are not school resource officers, or SROs.

For the past few years, the ORPD has had an SRO who works mostly at the high school. This year, though, a sergeant and two non-patrol officers are also stationed there and at the Alternative School next door, ORPD Chief Jim Akagi said Monday.

School officials had requested more SROs this year, following the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but funding has been an obstacle. While the new arrangement doesn’t add SROs, it will increase the police presence and visibility, Akagi said.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge students return to school, police enforce traffic safety; teachers, alumni welcomed

Posted at 8:52 am August 12, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools had a reception last week for new Superintendent Bruce Borchers, center, and Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak. Borchers started in Oak Ridge on June 18. Also pictured above are James Hundertmark, right, who became Robertsville Middle School principal on July 1, and Christopher Scott, vice principal of curriculum and instruction at Oak Ridge High School.

Most Oak Ridge students returned to school on Monday, and police officers started a back-to-school traffic safety campaign. It’s known as “Operation Safe Start” and will focus on drivers who illegally pass school buses, speed in school zones, don’t wear safety belts or fail to ensure that their children do—or commit other unsafe driving actions near the schools.

Students at Willow Brook Elementary School and the Oak Ridge Schools’ Preschool returned to school in July. Oak Ridge will use an alternative schedule during the first week of school. (See the Oak Ridge Schools’ website for more information.)

In Anderson County, students returned to school on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

The resumption of classes in Oak Ridge caps a week in which school officials welcomed back representatives of graduating classes from 1946 to 2013, held a reception for new Superintendent Bruce Borchers and Assistant Superintendent Chris Marczak, and together with the Oak Ridge Police Department, announced a new agreement governing school resource officers, or SROs. [Read more…]