October 4th Sherrif Meetze speaks to our club

Last Meeting
October 4, 2006
Reporter – Ervin Ott
President Molly called the meeting to order and Jim Jeffers provided the invocation. Sgt.-at-Arms, Harvey Hoots introduced our guests. We had a good turn out from the Interact Club. Lyman Whitehead provided us with some Health and Happiness.
President Molly announced that the Dictionary Project will take place next Wednesday, October 11th. The interact Club with be very active in the Dictionary Project this year and will receive some training by Rotary Club members in advance of the distribution.
Lyman Whitehead introduced our guest speaker, Sheriff James R. Metts. Sheriff Metts has the second longest tenure for a sheriff currently serving citizens in South Carolina. Just some of the honors he has received include The Order of the Silver Crescent, The Order of the Palmetto, Sheriff of the Year, and Practitioner of the Year. Sheriff Metts also led the effort to create Lexington County’s Criminal Domestic Violence Court.
The Sheriff primarily addressed issues related to school safety and gangs.
He expressed great concern for safety in our schools and suggested that the core of the problem relates back to the home. He predicted that school violence will escalate and that additional security measures will be needed in our schools.
HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR KID TODAY? Sheriff Metts believes that the # 1 thing parents can do to prevent gang involvement is show love for their children. He said that parents of children today can make the difference as to whether their children become involved in gangs, because children will get love and affection either at home or from some gang. The Sheriff has started a GANG UNIT. He provided some informational hand outs explaining gangs that can also be accessed on line at www.lex-co.com/sheriff. Sheriff Metts concluded his presentation by answering questions from club members.
The meeting was adjourned by President Molly.