VGCC Graduates 15 Officers In Basic Law Enforcement
Fifteen new officers are trained and certified to fight crime after graduation May 11 from the 77th Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) class at Vance-Granville Community College.
Graduating were Ronald Adkins Jr. of the Youngsville Police Department, Nathan G. Brown and Donald A. Colbert of Youngsville, Reginald B. Norfleet of the Louisburg Police Department and Ronald C. Wood of Louisburg , Samuel Zuniga of the Franklin County Sheriff ’s Department, Anthony L. Holtz and Goble E. Lane of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, Gregory M. Williamson of the Granville County Sheriff’s Department, Daniel C. Parrott of Butner Public Safety, Billy Ivy of Creedmoor Police Department, Michelle Mancinelli of the N.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, Jonathan R. Collier of Henderson, Travis W. Lincoln of Wake Forest and Jason M. Shrader of Kannapolis.
The cadets completed 608 hours of classroom and practical instruction during that began in January. They passed weekly tests on what they had covered, and they had to pass physical fitness tests, driving and firearms qualifications.
Upon successful completion of the VGCC training, the cadets passed the North Carolina basic law enforcement certification exam, qualifying them to work as officers anywhere in the state.
The graduates selected one of their instructors, Sgt. Matthew Nies of the Henderson Police Department, to be their commencement speaker. A graduate of Penn State University, Nies instructed in several phases of the BLET training.
Nies told the graduates they had made a significant step and a commitment to what could be a rewarding career. “I’ve been pleased to see you come together as a group, and I’ve watched your law enforcements skills improve,” he said. “You have matured as people as well as officers.”
The speaker told the graduates, “Never forget that we all hold the key to success in our own hands. If you do this job correctly, there is nothing more noble that
you can do in your life,” Nies said.
Tony Pendergrass, law enforcement training coordinator at Vance-Granville, presented awards to the top performers in the class. Samuel Zuniga of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department took the Top Gun Award for excelling with firearms. The Academic Achievement Award went to Goble Lane of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department for achieving the highest grade average. Travis Lincoln of Wake Forest took the Physical Fitness Award for performing best in the physical training tests.
The next Basic Law Enforcement Training class will begin in August with Fall Semester. Now is the time for persons who are interested to begin the application process, Pendergrass said. For more information, contact him at (252) 738-3263.
Graduates of the 77th Basic Law Enforcement Training class at Vance-Granville Community College are, front, from left: Ronald C. Wood, Jonathan R. Collier, Jason M. Shrader, Gregory M. Williamson, Donald A. Colbert, and Tony Pendergrass, VGCC law enforcement training coordinator; second row, from left: Samuel Zuniga, Goble E. Lane, Ronald Adkins Jr., Daniel C. Parrott and Nathan G. Brown; back row, from left: Billy Ivy, Michelle Mancinelli, Travis W. Lincoln, Reginald B. Norfleet and Anthony L. Holtz.
