Ten new deputies graduate from the state academy

Ten new Oconee County deputies were among the most recent graduating class of the state justice academy. Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said it’s the largest number of new graduates at one time in Sheriff’s Office’s history. The new graduates represent the Sheriff’s Office regaining its strength in certified officers from a drain that resulted from the county expanding its number of school resource officers. The county added nine new resource officers in response to public concerns in the wake of incidents of school shootings, including a 2016 shooting at Townville Elementary in bordering Anderson County. Most of the new resource officers were pulled from existing manpower, Crenshaw said, “And we’re glad to be back up to strength.”