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Janie Schutz

Wadesboro Police Chief

Hello Wadesboro once again! I have just completed week 5 here at the FBI National Academy and I can honestly say, I’m glad it’s done. The schedule here has called for long days and I make the nights long by working on the various papers that are due for the classes. I finished some big papers in Intelligence Theory and Application and in my Media Relations class. Both have taught me some things about Wadesboro and I’m ready to implement a few changes when I come back. Yes, I used that word “change” and I realize that many times people don’t like the idea of change, but I promise these changes won’t be too painful.

This week also saw us completing the fourth big Challenge Run. It was a 3.1-mile run that is lovingly referred to as “Lion’s Leap.” I finished in a great time for me of 32 minutes. Now I know some of the guys in my department might be laughing at the time, but I promise, for me it is quite an accomplishment. This next week, we will be running the “Munchkin Run,” which will be 4.2 miles. Though I don’t see myself ever really liking to run (I find myself getting bored), I do feel great in doing something I have never done before. By the way, no iPods while running here, so your mind has to find other places to go and I have found that chewing gum while running long distances is helpful. Just a heads up on that.

When the week started to finish up, the weekend was just beginning to ramp up. I got on a bus at 5 p.m. on Friday night and headed to New York City. The Academy plans this trip every session and, because it is so popular, you get picked to go by a lottery system. I got lucky this time! We of course saw some sights famous only to New York but we also had some very teachable moments as we spent time at the NYPD Headquarters. I sat in the Special Operations room that was used to coordinate all the various emergency management operations right after the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. A very sobering moment, I can tell you that. We had presentations on how New York City PD handles a lot of their issues, including seeing how there camera system works around the city. The Special Ops Center consists of a very large room with television screens that cover every inch of every wall! From this room’s vantage point, every hot spot in the city can be seen remotely. In big events like New Year’s Eve on Times Square, a center like this is paramount to have. We also visited Ground Zero where the Towers fell. We laid a wreath to remember the over 3,000 Americans that lost their life that day. This hit home the hardest to me knowing that our country is not immune from terrorist attacks. Here is where I pray for knowledge and diligence in the way every police officer does their job every day, whether it’s here in Wadesboro or in places like NYC. By the way, the bus trip was quite eventful in that our bus hit (or the semi truck hit) each other on I-95 heading north. I knew I wasn’t exaggerating when I saw that semi coming close enough to my side of the bus that I could touch it. The bus’s outside mirror got messed up but thank goodness nothing else. A very uncomfortable moment to say the least!

Week 6 is under way and I feel good about where I’m at as far as the workload goes. I do think though that there are some officers here that might need to consider buckling down and getting some school work done. Thank you all once again for your support and your prayers. I have heard from a number of you and it’s a good feeling. Peace be with all of you in your daily lives and I look forward to being back in Wadesboro soon!