OC Sheriff’s Office sponsoring Church Safety Seminar

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is sponsoring a Church Safety Seminar on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the Walhalla Civic Auditorium, explains Public Information Officer Jimmy Watt. “The seminar begins at 6:30pm and no registration is required. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office encourages pastors, church security teams and anyone interested in developing a church safety plan to attend. However, all citizens are invited to attend as a personal safety plan can be adapted to any venue. The seminar will focus on how to handle active shooter situations as well as how churches can organize church safety teams and guidelines for churches in regards to parishioners carrying a concealed weapon on church campuses. There will also be time for questions to be asked in regards to safety issues related to churches.” “The Sheriff’s Office has offered and provided security and safety training for houses of worship for the last several years but with recent public venues being targeted that have included attacks on innocent victims at churches, there has been increased requests for additional training from several churches in our county,” says Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “In our continuing efforts to be proactive, we want to provide our citizens and area churches information that increases their safety and security.” The training is expected to last approximately one and half hours. For more information, citizens can call Captain Ken Washington or Sergeant Mike McGowan at 864-638-4117.