These youngsters attending the Junior Deputy Boot Camp in Manchester got the puzzle pieces just perfect and the message just right as again, Sheriff Kimmy Rogers repeated his anti-drug message to the county’s youth. (Photo by Austin Rust)

By Austin Rust-

A crowd of nearly 100 people met at 11 a.m. each day from May 30 to June 1 in Manchester for the first Adams County Junior Deputy Boot Camp program held this summer.
This program, for children ages 5 to 14, included an obstacle course, team-building exercises, life skills lessons, archery, visits from the local fire department and EMS, a presentation on Ohio wildlife history, and advice from law enforcement officers on safety.
According to Dee Rosselot, an employee at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, and an organizer of this year’s event, “We mostly discuss choices and consequences, but we throw in a little bit of everything – life skills, safety, laws of the land, discipline, and respect.”
“Team-building is all about teaching them that they have to work as a team to get the job done sometimes,” Rosselot said. “You want to surround yourself with a team. Surround yourself with a good team that makes good choices.”
“We try to teach a lesson every day on life skills,” said Tony Watson, pastor of the Manchester Church of the Nazarene. “One of those was a take on the Good Samaritan. When people won’t help somebody, we can. We can always help people, and we encourage the kids to do that.
T-shirts given out at this year’s event are printed with the motto: “Help one person every day.”
Bill Wickerham, Wildlife Specialist of the Ohio Soil and Wildlife Conservation District, gave presentations throughout the day to speak with children about Ohio’s wildlife history.
“I’m here to talk to these young ones about all that we have here in Ohio,” said Wickerham. “The different mammals and birds, some that have been extirpated, that is, they’re gone from the state – and some that are extinct, like the passenger pigeon. But black bears are now in Ohio, and there are bobcats, otters- a lot of diversity in Adams County.”
Mr. Wickerham brought pelts of various mammals for the children to see and pass around.
Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers and Lt. Randy McElfresh from the Ohio State Patrol were also present to teach children how to be safer in their homes and in their community. Children were taught how to ride a bicycle safely, for example, as well as how and where to cross the road.
“You should not talk to a stranger,” said Lt. McElfresh in another lesson. “Turn around, run, and find an adult to tell them what’s happened.” The children were also told to always wear their seat belts while riding in a car, to discourage distracted driving, and to never touch a firearm.
Sheriff Kimmy Rogers told the children to never pick up a seemingly-abandoned backpack, because it could be a portable meth-lab full of dangerous, combustible components.
“You may think you’re doing the right thing by taking it to the Sheriff’s Office,” he explained, “but it could explode as you’re carrying it.”
He also warned children to never touch any coffee filter found lying on the ground, because if it was used to make meth, dangerous chemicals could be absorbed into their skin through contact.
“There’s a lot of stuff that kids don’t think about,” Sheriff Rogers added. “They’re used to seeing backpacks at school everyday, (so) they don’t think about meth labs in a backpack.”
A major goal of the program is to teach children that the police are approachable.
“We try to get to know all the kids in the community,” Rogers said. “We’re just trying to show them that we’re regular people like anyone else and warn them about the dangers of drug use.”
Future programs are set to be held at the following dates and locations: In Peebles, the program will be held at the Peebles Church of Christ in Christian Union from June 13- 15. The next program will then be held in Seaman at Church 180 from June 27- 29 and the final program will be held in West Union at the Adams County Fairgrounds, Aug. 8- 10.

As part of his presentations to the boot campers in Manchester, Wildlife Specialist Bill Wickerham brought pelts of various animals for the campers to see and pass around. (Photo by Austin Rust)