ROCKTON HAS NEW DARE OFFICER

ROCKTON -- Rockton students will see a new face Monday patrolling
their school hallways.

After nearly seven years as a school-resource officer and DARE
instructor, officer Dean Camacho is handing the reins to officer
Penny Cure. It's a move that works for both of them, Camacho said.

He is taking a position as a shift supervisor, and Cure has been
interested in the DARE position since she joined the department.

"She fits the mold," Camacho said of Cure. "It takes someone who's
pretty open and able to sway from being a street officer to taking on
a teaching and counseling role."

Cure has spent the last month training with Camacho, learning the
day-to-day basics of the position.

This year, the Police Department is expanding its DARE program to
kindergarten through eighth grade. DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse
Resistance Education, is a drug-abuse prevention education program.
It is one of the school district's most successful programs, and the
relationships that are built between students and police officers are
some of the most rewarding parts of the job, Camacho said.

Still, "it's time for the kids to get to know another officer," he said.

Cure grew up in Oak Forest, where she was a cheerleader and
competitive swimmer in high school. She earned a business management
degree from Robert Morris College, where she was an assistant swimming coach.

Cure was production manager of EMS in Palos Hills before joining the
Rockton Police Department in 2003.

When the school-resource position opened, Cure readily accepted. She
enjoys working with children, and she's interested in the
community-policing aspect of the job.

"You still have the police aspect of it, but I like the relationships
that you can develop with children. I'd like to be a positive role
model for them," Cure said. "It also helps kids to see police
officers in a different light. A lot of them perhaps just see what's
on TV, but I'm hoping they can see that we can laugh and have a good
time and also teach them some things."