Volunteer officers are making this town safer

SC DOT workers, Thursday morning, replace a sign at a crash scene where a Loris man died after being shot Wednesday night. Also replaced, earlier, was the light pole behind the sign. (Deuce Niven photo)

SC DOT workers, Thursday morning, replace a sign at a crash scene where a Loris man died after being shot Wednesday night. Also replaced, earlier, was the light pole behind the sign. (Deuce Niven photo)

Before McMinnville’s first Public Safety Unit was ever formed, the Standard thought it was a wise idea. Now that the unit is closing in on three months of operation, the newspaper has nothing but rave reviews for the all-volunteer group and the work its doing.

As reported in the story on the front page of today’s edition, the Public Safety Unit is a six-member group devoted to assisting McMinnville police officers. Group members don’t have full police powers – not by far – but they serve as extra eyes and ears of the community.

This has been especially helpful in patrolling the greenway, giving directions, and escorting funerals. These are chores that had previously fallen in the lap of police officers. They were also chores, as McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport appropriately put it, that don’t require “a gun-carrying officer.”

That’s where members of the Public Safety Unit have been able to make an impact. Since they began work the last week of October, the safety officers have escorted 44 funerals and directed traffic at 13 accidents. They have given 31 other escorts, mostly to out-of-town visitors who have no idea how to reach their destination.

The extra hands on deck have done exactly as they were intended. The volunteers lessened the load for the city police force, thus enabling lawmen to concentrate on more important duties, such as arresting criminals.

Said McMinnville Police Lt. John Morgan, “It’s freed up a lot of our time, and we look forward to having them around to work the ball fields in the summer. We won’t have to assign a guy on foot to patrol the Civic Center. That helps with our response times because it allows us to have more cars rolling on the roads.”

Added McMinnville patrolman Mark Mara, who is also the Public Safety Unit coordinator, “I know the officers I’ve talked to have been relieved because our workload has been reduced. It looks like we have found the right people because this is working.”

As with any organization, the success of the Public Safety Unit depends on the people who comprise the group. That’s why the Standard appreciates the determination and many hours of volunteer work that’s been logged by the Public Safety Officers: Allen Jaco, Ed Yager, Gail Campbell, Tommy Adams, Lester Cowell and Norman Elrod.

These are upstanding individuals who have donated their time and will continue to donate their time each and every week. As the community continues to grow, and tax dollars get spread thinner and thinner, the Public Safety Unit is doing its part to stretch our law enforcement funds. This is something we should all appreciate since it’s vital to keep every available officer on the street as long as possible.

It should also be stressed that this is another creative – and effective – method local officials have developed to make limited tax dollars go further. In this day when people demand services, but are adamant about keeping their taxes low, it’s the efforts of volunteers who are helping this become a reality.

The Standard thanks Public Safety Officers for the training and volunteer hours they have already contributed and the many more hours which are sure to come. You are helping make McMinnville a better, safer place to live and for that we are grateful.