STAFF REPORT

The Hays County Sheriff’s Office is searching for boys and girls, aged 9 and 10 years old, to become junior deputies.

Boys and girls who are well-behaved and interested in law enforcement are encouraged to sign up for the free Junior Deputy Academy, which lasts one week from 8 a.m. to noon daily, the sheriff’s office says.

In its 12th year, the academy is designed to introduce youth to the various aspects of the sheriff’s office and public service personnel. Students will meet patrol deputies, fire and emergency service crews, detectives and SWAT members.

They will also see a helicopter, tour the Hays County Jail and 911 communications center, watch a drug detection dog work, hear about Stranger Danger, and learn much more on how to make good decisions and help law enforcement, the sheriff’s office says.

Two Junior Deputy Academy sessions are offered this year and there is still time to sign up. The first will be from June 14-18 at Tobias Elementary School in Kyle. The second will be from June 21-25 at the Wimberley Veterans of Foreign Wars building on Jacob’s Well Road.

Applications are available at the offices of elementary schools in Hays, Dripping Springs and Wimberley. For more information contact the Hays County Sheriff’s Office at 512-393-7373.