SAV academy graduates volunteers for service

Graduating members of the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers of Green Valley Academy Class XLI took the oath of office Friday at Desert Hills Center after completing 25 days of comprehensive training.

Lt. L.T. Pratt, commander, PCSD Green Valley District, administered the oath.

A total of 15 Green Valley residents and six Sahuarita residents received certificates and badges or stars at the ceremony.

The 15 SAV members from Green Valley will serve as noncommissioned volunteers of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, capable of assisting deputies wherever needed.

The Sahuarita participants are members of the Volunteers in Police Service in the Town of Sahuarita, also know as VIPS.

Training in the academy covers various aspects of crime prevention, directing traffic, taking routine police calls, writing reports and learning a new language for communication, known as CODES, for use on police radios.

SAV graduates included: Jerry Belenker, Joanne Crouch, Richard Daidone, Natalie Hagberg, Ernest Hance, Dennis Henson, Joyce Hutchison, Joseph Hutchison, Becky Jones, Tom Kane, Travis Nevels, Richard Pack, Mary Lou Sampson, Larry Wise, and Wilma Wise.

This year, Bob Winfield of the Sahuarita VIPS took part in 14 days of training at the academy; Bob Aagaard, Katie Biggs and Richard Booth took part in 11 days of training and Jim Edwards and Jim Roy took 25 days of training.

To become an official volunteer of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and Sahuarita Police Department, members take an oath of office administered by a member of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The SAV unit of Green Valley totals approximately 120 members who, in addition to assisting the Sheriff’s Department, provide daily patrols of the Green Valley area, as well as many other crime prevention activities such as the neighborhood watch program, now known as Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods (GAIN).

Anyone interested in participating in the next academy should contact SAV at 351-6744 or pick up an application at 601 N. La Canada Drive. Anyone interested in joining VIPS in Sahuarita should call 648-7746.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740