The Junior Police Adademy fills up fast as Flomaton brings it back

Flomaton Police Chief Chance Thompson told members of the town council he is bringing back the Junior Police Academy this summer and said once it was posted on Facebook the class was filled in about an hour.

The academy was open for children ages 7 to 13 and Thompson said he had originally decided to limit it to 25, but ended up bringing in 39. The academy will be held from July 11 through July 15. He also said the academy is free for the students, but he is seeking donations from businesses and individuals to cover the cost. Businesses who donate will have their logos on the back of T-shirts the students will wear. To make a donation call town hall at 251-296-2431.

Thompson told the council the academy is designed to instill character building and team building tools to help them throughout life.

"I want to show the kids that we are their friends," Thompson said. "Hopefully some will want to become police officers. We want to build respect and character for them to take forward."

Thompson said he found records that Flomaton held police academies in the 1970s and 1980s but not since.

The academy will include rules and discipline, safety briefings, K-9 instructions, narcotic and tracking demonstrations, fingerprinting, scene photography, understanding the duties of dispatchers and 911 and more. He said officers with Alabama Game and Fish will take the group fishing one day and explain fishing laws.

Command post

Thompson also told the council Monday that the police department has received a mobile incident command center vehicle from the emergency management agency at no cost to the town.

Thompson said he is seeking grants to install the proper equipment to make the trailer a 911 communication center that could be used in the event town hall had to be evacuated from either flooding or a train derailment.