Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DAVENPORT - Lincoln County Sheriff's Office deputy Dain Harden has officially been hired as the local school resource officer. His hire was approved by the school board Monday, Aug. 21.
Harden, originally from Kellogg, Idaho, has been with the Sheriff's Office since Nov. 2017.
The process of hiring a school resource officer has been in place since the departure of school safety officer Mike Jacoby at the end of last school year. The desired presence of an officer was heightened by multiple bomb and violence scares and hoaxes within the school district in the last 12 months.
"With the last year of bomb threats, I know a lot of people are really glad we have something like this in the community," board chairman Garrett Husky said.
Harden will be stationed in the school district during the school year and will serve as a patrol and marine deputy during the summers.
"I hope (students) don't see law enforcement as someone bad who shows up when their parents are fighting," Harden told the school board Monday. "I want it to be if we do have to show up, we have that personal relationship...being able to engage with the kids is awesome."
The school district will pay 75% of his salary and benefits and the county will contribute 25%, Sheriff Gabe Gants said. Harden will remain a Teamsters Union member as a deputy.
As a patrolling officer, Harden will have authority to make arrests and do investigations if he has a warrant. Other formal school discipline will need to be handled by school administration, Gants said.
Ironically, Gants was the last school resource officer the district had. Gants left the position in 2012.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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