This past Thursday, I was able to participate in the City of Conyers Annual Volunteer Recognition Celebration. This is a chance for the City of Conyers to show appreciation to those individuals who volunteer their time to assist and support the operations of the city. There are currently eight sworn officers who have volunteered over 3,000 hours during the course of calendar year 2011. I was honored to present the 2011 Conyers Police Department Reserve Officer of the Year Award to Ted Trammell and the 2011 Conyers Police Department Reserve Distinguished Service Award to Paul Beatrice.

I also would like to announce that Conyers Police Department Explorer POST 2222 recently attended a competition in Pelham, Ala., on Feb. 18. There were two teams that competed during this completion. Team A consisted of Kashawn Lenhard, Valentina Radovanovic, Will Treadwell, and Joseph McClarin. They took first place in the "Domestic" scenario. The evaluators stated that they were extremely impressed by Team A's handling of their scenario. Team B consisted of Jonathan Bruce, Maria Brannon, Brandon Oglesby, and Devante Portundo. This was the first competition for these new members, and they took third place in the "Burglary" scenario. The competition evaluators were very complimentary of both groups from the Conyers Police Department Explorer POST. Team members were escorted by advisors Sergeant Travis Quimby, Sergeant Peggy Dunn, Officer John Bruce, Officer Eliasar Gonzalez, and Officer Patrick Warren.

We are currently accepting applications for both the Reserve Officer Program and the Explorer Program. If you are interested, more information can be found at the police department's website www.conyerspolice.com or you can call (770) 483-6600.

We are currently accepting applications for the Citizens Police Academy that is scheduled to start March 20. This course will meet weekly from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings for 10 weeks. There is no cost to participate, but you must complete an application and return it to the Conyers Police Department by March 14. Applications can be printed from the Conyers Police Department website at www.conyerspolice.com , and they can also be picked up at the Conyers Police Department Headquarters Building located at 1194 Scott Street, Conyers, GA 30012. For more information, call (770) 483-6600 and speak to Officer Debbi Krisher or Sergeant Peggy Dunn.

This past week, the Conyers City Council recognized city employees who had perfect attendance for calendar year 2011. Members from the police department that reached this goal were Daniel Drummond, Gary Hegwood, Officer Eliasar Gonzalez, Officer Scot McGinnis, Officer Brandon Mowrey, Officer Everett Searcy, Officer Travis Smith, Detective Juan Morales, Corporal Chad Sims, Sergeant Peggy Dunn, Lieutenant Tanya Perry, and Lieutenant Ryan Peterson.

Recently, Sergeant Clay Ivey received his Associate's Degree of Applied Science in Criminal Justice from Columbia Southern University while Major Mike Waters and Sergeant Guy Sanders both received their Master's Degree in Public Administration from Columbus State University. I am extremely proud of these individual accomplishments.

I also want to extend my congratulations and appreciation to Court Services Clerk Dawn McAfee and Reserve Officer Paul Beatrice for achieving five years of service with the City of Conyers.