Golf tourney raises funds to better protect area youth

The D.A.R.E. golf tournament returned to Sulphur Springs for the first time after eight years on Monday, according to Wade Sheets, Hopkins County Sheriff’s Investigator and president of the Law Enforcement Association. Golfers registered numbered 104 at the Sulphur Springs Country Club, and Deputy Steve Shing estimated 120 people took to the course.

The format was Florida scramble four-person teams. First place went to the Grocery Supply Company, comprised of Patrick Blanchard, Jay Misenheimer, Bobby Brown and Cord Burnet.

Second place went to South and Crouch Insurance, comprised of Tyler, Trayton, Turner South and Kaleb Brown. Trayton South recently placed ninth at UIL State for North Hopkins in golf.

Third place went to CATOCON with team members Jarred Pickett, Mark Morton, Josh Banta and Steve Crawford.

The winner of the longest drive contest was Slade Daniel, and the winner of the closest drive contest was Trayton South.

The Hopkins County Law Enforcement Association helped to organize the event. They also hold events such as Blue Santa, and the annual Sheriff’s Department Easter egg hunt as well as other community outreach events.

“It’s very important to me and very important to our agency to teach our kids everything we can and educate them about drugs and how bad they are,” Shing said. “We have a hard job as an agency and with our surrounding agencies to keep the crime down as much as we can. The money you [participants] have raised today will help continue that fight.”

“Y’all are doing a great thing for our children,” said Sheriff Lewis Tatum. “We’re going to take it to the next level with this funding. We’re going to also start teaching internet crimes against children.”

Since 1998, the Internet Crimes Against Children task force reports there have been over 800,000 reported sexual victimization against children acts that have taken place on the internet.

“I think that’s an up-and-coming battle we have to fight,” Tatum said.

Sheets says police want to be a part of the community out-of-uniform and participating in regular activities, like golf.

“We know that a lot of people only get to see us when we’re working a crash, when somebody’s been hurt real bad, or something bad has happened that they’ve had to call the police. It’s usually not a good reason that they have to see us,” Sheets said.

“We want to reach out and show people that we’re not just the guy that drives around in a police car,” he said. “We’re people just like everybody else and we want to make a difference in our community.”