With the new school year on the horizon, one law enforcement individual is excited to start his second year with a school-related program.

Jefferson Police Officer Mark Wolterman is the DARE Officer for the Greene County and Paton-Churdan School Districts. Following his first year with the fifth graders, Wolterman says he and the kids worked well together and was pleased with how the program went. He describes the one challenging part from last year that he believes has been rectified going into this year.

“Scheduling. Trying to figure out when classes are, trying to figure out when to get a hold of the principals (and) superintendents. But they have been so easy to work with. They’ve been making it very easy on me last year and this year. So they know after so many months I’ve got to go back onto nights, so they try to schedule the classes towards the end of the (school) day. They always make it very easy for me to do this.”  

Wolterman reminds everyone that the DARE program includes tips and strategies for the young participants to say no to drugs and alcohol. He describes his favorite part of being Greene County’s DARE Officer.

“Oh it’s just trying to see the kids going into the classroom and then, you know, that transitions into seeing the kids outside of the classroom. Being able to show them that we are more than just a police officer. They can come up to any one of us and come up to talk to us. And I think it’s just really showing the kids that.”     

Wolterman will be doing several DARE classes throughout the 2024-25 school year.