HOUSTON COUNTY: On Thursday evening Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza, Chief Deputy Jeff Carlisle, Major Bill Rafferty, and the Captains of the Sheriff Department recognized the men and women of the Sheriff Department and some community partners.
The event was held in the beautiful event venue, THE FORUM. Dothan Commissioner and Mrs. Dave Stock, along with several sponsors, funded the event. The event recognized the sworn law enforcement officers, the corrrections officers, civilian members of the department, along with life saving awards within the department and outside the department. A delicious meal was served by Kelli Woodham ( do not know the name of the business ). A very organzied serving that got people through the line quickly.
RSN will print of list of each person recogonized and the award presented. The picture video represented most everyone who was presented awards.
Some awards included, Lt. Bobby Hopkins – he was off duty at Wiregrass Commons Mall when gunshots rang out. Lt. Hopkins ran towards the gunfire in the Mall when there was a shoot out. Several deputies, a civilian nurse, and Rehobeth Fire Chief were recognized and presented awards on their quick water entry and rescue of a man who his vehicle flipped into a creek on Highway 231 South. The combined forces entered the water, quickly removing the accident victim and initiating life saving measures. This is just an example of some of the many people recognized last evening.
Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza hopes to turn the event into an annual one. Sheriff Valenza has stated the success of the agency is only because of the men and women within the agency. As Sheriff, he just leads the department, it is the members of the department which are the boots on the ground. And those boots range from the law enforcement officers, communications staff, corrections staff, clerical staff, reserve Deputies, and everyone up and down the ladder of the department. Sheriff Valenza values everyone within the department and the contributions they make to serve and protect.
