Staff Writer

Sept. 21, 2000 10 PM

The sight of Troy police officers has been commonplace on the Charles Henderson High School campus over the past week.

In the very near future the person in that uniform will be permanently assigned to that location.

Receipt of over $80,000 will put a Troy Police officer on the high school campus for three years.

Last week, the Troy Police Department received word it would be awarded an estimated $83,550 over a three-year period for a Cops in Schools grant.

Community Oriented Policing Services grants are administered by the United States Department of Justice, which awards these grants as "continued community policing efforts" across the nation.

Troy Police Chief Anthony Everage said he is pleased with the opportunity and the grant money will be put to good use on the city schools’ campuses.

Sgt. Benny Scarbrough, public information officer for the department, said the full-time officer will primarily be at the high school, but will also visit the middle and elementary school campuses.

The police department applied for the grant in June with the full support of Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford and city council members.

After what happened on the CHHS campus last week, Lunsford said the city was going to find the means to put an offer at the school even if the grant wasn’t awarded.

According to TPD and school officials, a student was leaving school around 2:30 p.m., Sept. 14 when she was reportedly attacked at her vehicle. The number of assailants and any identity of those involved in the incident are unknown. School officials and the police department are continuing their efforts to investigate the matter.

"I think it will be extremely beneficial for security in the schools," Lunsford said of having a full-time officer assigned to the schools. "It’s something that’s been needed."

For him, security is the number one priority, but he also hopes the officer "will be a benefit all around."

Although Everage would not comment on the particular incident at the high school, he did say security on the campus has always been something his department took seriously.

Having an officer on campus full-time is part of the effort to protect the students.

"We cannot take matters of this nature lightly," Everage said regarding safety on school campuses.

Although no officer has been hired, yet, the department hopes to place someone in the very near future.