GLENN HEIGHTS – The City of Glenn Heights’ inaugural Public Safety Academy graduation ceremony was held last week with eight students receiving their completion certificates.
The free Public Safety Academy classes offered residents a multi-departmental look at the inner workings of the city’s public safety procedures over a period of eight weeks. The classes included four weeks of law enforcement and four weeks of fire department and EMS.
Glenn Heights Director of Public Safety/Interim City Manager Keith Moore said, “This is an exciting time for us, it was the inaugural class, and we are getting to showcase what the police and fire do for our citizens.”
Student comments ranged from Lee Salazar’s, “I think it was great and very informative. It showed an average citizen like me how the departments function and how to utilize what we have here” to Tina Johnson’s, “It gave me an insight of the day-to-day operation of the entire scope of the city. The biggest thing I took away is it gives me a new appreciation for what the guys and ladies do for the citizens of the city.”
Several students mentioned the academy provided them with a deeper understanding of how tax dollars are used. The students also enjoyed seeing the city’s new facility.
Student Juan Acosta added “It makes me proud to live here” while student Susan Rascon commented, “The class was exceptionally fun, and it went too fast!
Future Public Safety Academy classes will be held on an annual basis and include a classroom setting, and safe hands-on explanations.
It is the hope of the Public Safety team that the graduating students will be interested in taking their knowledge one step further to consider joining the city’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.
“The students were able to see the hands on, day-to-day, of what the police and firefighters go through, and it helps them better understand the funding through their tax dollars. It is not always what you see on television, so this is a huge benefit to our citizens,” Moore concluded.
About the City of Glenn Heights: The City of Glenn Heights was incorporated in 1969 and is located along IH-35 East. A hospitable, business friendly and rapidly growing community divided between- Dallas and Ellis counties, Glenn Heights has a total area of 7.2 sq. miles.
