The population of Cullman County continues to grow, but that isn’t stopping the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office from getting to know county residents. 

Sheriff Matt Gentry spoke about his office’s community outreach efforts at the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce’s Morning Blend at Rumor’s Deli on Wednesday. 

He said the Sheriff’s Office does not solely belong to him or his deputies, but it belongs to the people of Cullman County and his office’s success or failure depends on how they work with the community. 

Gentry said the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office answers around 48,000 calls per year, and is responsible for covering every part of the county excluding the city of Cullman and Hanceville. 

To help deputies cover that much land, substations have been built in Baileyton and Good Hope, and another is under construction in Crane Hill.

The substations help improve response times and allow deputies to spend more time in their areas of coverage instead of having to frequently travel back to the main station in Cullman, Gentry said. 

“The substations give us an opportunity where we never who have to come out of our areas,” he said. 

Gentry said he expects deputies to know the people in the communities that they serve, and encourages them to stop and introduce themselves to county residents if they have a chance.

Cullman County residents can also get to know their deputies and learn about the work that they do through several programs that the Sheriff’s Office offers.

Throughout the year, deputies host women’s self-defense courses and firearm training courses for anyone who wants to learn how to safely handle guns, Gentry said.  

He said the Sheriff’s Office is about to graduate the fifth class of its Citizens Academy, which is a nine-week course that lets anyone in the community learn more about a deputy’s job and acquire a better understanding of what they do in their communities. 

The Sheriff’s Office also graduated its second Youth Leadership Academy class in July. The Youth Academy lets students from around the county take a 40-hour summer course that teaches them about leadership through guest speakers and team activities. 

The response from the first two years has been very positive from students, and the lessons learned show students how to be successful leaders later in life, Gentry said. 

“It’s just a real good course,” he said.

Gentry said the biggest community event of the year for the Sheriff’s Office is their annual rodeo, which takes place every December and attracts thousands of county residents. 

Along with the competitive rodeo that took place over two days, last year’s rodeo allowed more than 1,100 special needs children to get a taste of rodeo events like calf roping and steer wrestling and spend time with the competitors. 

Giving those children an opportunity like that is a blessing for everyone involved, Gentry said. 

Using the money made from the rodeo last year, the Sheriff’s Office donated $500 to all 31 schools in the county that have special needs children, for a total donation of $15,500, he said. 

The county is experiencing a lot of growth right now, and law enforcement will need support to make sure they can keep up with the growing number of people who are moving into the area, he said. 

Gentry said it was up to his office and other law enforcement to make sure that Cullman County remains a safe place to live to ensure that people will continue to want to move here. 

“If you don’t have a safe community, you’re not going to have economic growth,” he said. 

 

Tyler Hanes can be reached at 256-734-2131 ext. 138.