OFFICER ENJOYING THE 'GOOD SIDE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT'

Dave Mason calls his job as a school resource officer "the good side
of law enforcement."

Mason, a 10-year Adams County Sheriff's Department deputy, started
the new job last fall in the Unity, Payson and Central school
systems. Working with students and staff during the school year was
a good experience for the Drug Awareness Resistance Education officer.

"Just being in the hallways, being a presence," Mason said of his
basic job description. "I'm on the good side of law enforcement. I'm
sure a lot of kids saw it at first as a negative, and I'm sure there
was some apprehension at first, but after a while I had kids coming
up and talking to me."

Regional Superintendent Ray Scheiter helped get state funding for
part of Mason's salary.

"He's a very professional fellow and he carries out his
responsibilities with great dispatch," Scheiter said of Mason. "He
is there to assure each student is safe, and that's what it's all
about -- to provide the best possible educational opportunities for
all children in a safe environment."

Scheiter said he pushed for the program because he saw how
successful the Quincy Police Department has been with its school
officers and the Quincy Public Schools security team. When the
position was created, Mason jumped at the chance.

"I've been the DARE officer for four years and I've always enjoyed
communicating and talking with kids," Mason said. "I had the chance
with this job to talk and interact with high school kids."

Mason worked on cases like bullying, assaults and batteries and even
a few drug cases with the West Central Illinois Task Force.

"I had a kid come up to me and tell me about some possible illegal
drug activity, and we started investigating," Mason said.

If an arrest needed to be made, Mason called in another deputy to
assist. In the mornings and afternoons, he parked his car in school
parking lots and did traffic enforcement.

Mason also worked with the newly formed Adams County Sheriff's
Department Special Response Team to map and videotape county school
buildings and prepare for various rapid response situations.

Scheiter said the area schools are working with the county to make
sure Mason's position is funded for the 2006-2007 school year.

"In this day and age, you never know what might happen," Scheiter
said. "It's important to have representatives of law enforcement
available to schools."

Scheiter added that school principals and staff were glad to have
Mason on the job.

"We are very appreciative of Dave and the job he did," Payson
Seymour Principal John Wallace said. "We've needed something like
this for a long time and I think the kids appreciated him being around."

Adams County Deputy Chief Fred Kientzle said Mason's job was to be a
proactive officer and provide education and support for the school
system. Mason is working this summer in the ACSD investigations department.

"We haven't had one complaint about the school resource officer
program," Kientzle said. "We couldn't have asked for a better person
than Dave to do the job because he's our DARE officer, and he's
really good with the kids."