VGCC Graduates 79th BLET Class; 14 Certified as Law Enforcement Officers
The 79th Basic Law Enforcement (BLET) class at Vance-Granville Community College graduated 14 students who passed the state certification exam and are certified as law enforcement officers throughout North Carolina.
Danny Guin, VGCC Dean of Occupational Extension, congratulated the officers and welcomed the families and area law enforcement officials who attended the graduation in the Civic Center on May 24.
Guin pointed out that law enforcement training has come a long way since 1973 when the course lasted 42 hours to today’s 608 hours of classroom work, firearms, driving and physical training that are now required for completion.
Graduates of the 79th BLET class were Charles R. Bowes of the Person County Sheriff’ s Department, James G. Champion, Preston M. Davis and Donald W. Weaver of Butner Public Safety, Jason M. Brown, Brandy Elizabeth Mangum and O’Kelly Hall Safley of the N.C. Division of State Parks, Steven E. Hayes Sr. of the Granville County Sheriff ’s Department, Wayne A. Seaman of the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, Krista Elizabeth Herdmann of the Wake Forest Police Department, Richard B. Shearin of the N.C. Department of Revenue, Samuel Foster II of Louisburg, Leland J. Gadson of Person County, and Miguel L. Rosas Jr. of Durham.
Tony Pendergrass, coordinator of Law Enforcement Training at VGCC, said that 18 students began the class in January, and the percentage of starters who completed the training is the highest of any class in recent years. He told of how the state had made the course tougher. “Here at Vance-Granville, we have made it even harder than what the state mandates, to prepare you for the streets,” Pendergrass said.
Sgt. Matthew Nies of the Henderson Police Department, one of the instructors for the BLET course, was chosen by the class as its graduation speaker.
Nies said the graduates came into the class in January as individuals and have “become part of a large and distinguished family of law enforcement officers.” He praised the class as a hard-working and dedicated group of students.
Nies told the class of recently attending the retirement ceremonies for Inspector Bill Lilley of the Department of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Division. “Over his 30 years of service, Bill Lilley changed a lot of lives,” Nies said. “We all in this profession have that opportunity to change lives by helping others.”
Pendergrass presented awards to three graduates who excelled in different aspects of the training. O’Kelly Safley won the Academic Achievement Award for the highest average on the weekly tests given in the course. Richard Shearin won the Top Gun Award for scoring highest in pistol and shotgun. James Champion won the Physical Training Award for the top scores in physical fitness tests.
Vance-Granville Community College conducts Basic Law Enforcement Training classes twice per year. A day class and an evening class are scheduled to begin in August. The day class will begin Aug. 15 and end in December. The evening class will begin Aug. 22, meet from 6 to 11 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and on three Saturdays a month, concluding in May 2006.
Persons interested in attending either of these classes should contact Tony Pendergrass by phone at (252) 738-3263 or e-mail at pendergrass@vgcc.edu for more information, including entrance requirements.
Vance-Granville Community College graduated 14 state-certified officers from its 79th Basic Law Enforcement Training class May 24. The new officers are, front row, from left: O’Kelly Hall Safley, Brandy Elizabeth Mangum, Krista Elizabeth Herdmann, Donald W. Weaver and Leland J. Gadson; second row, from left: Miguel L. Rosas Jr., James G. Champion, Preston M. Davis, Richard B. Shearin and Samuel Foster II; back row, from left: Wayne A. Seaman, Charles R. Bowes, Steven E. Hayes Sr., Jason M. Brown and Tony Pendergrass, VGCC coordinator of Law Enforcement Training.
