More than 1,000 Catoosa County sixth-grade students from Lakeview Middle, Ringgold Middle and Heritage Middle schools took part in Careers on the Move at the Colonnade Nov. 2. The annual event is sponsored by the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.
"We want to expose students to career opportunities," said Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce Education Committee Chair Dr. Ginger Mathis, of Georgia Northwestern Technical College. "Students go to each station to find out about careers. They learn that they need math and science in the work field."
Professionals in attendance represented the Georgia State Patrol; Angel EMS; U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Ringgold Telephone Company; Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force; Little Debbie; Georgia Northwestern Technical College's commercial truck driving program; the Air National Guard and Channel 3 Eyewitness News.
Georgia State Patrol's Cpl. Kris Hemphill told students about the importance of staying in school, staying off drugs and doing the right thing. He is a 1990 graduate of Ringgold High School and joined the Georgia State Patrol 18 years ago. He said to be a peace officer someone must be at least 21 years of age and train for 33 weeks. Hemphill patrols Catoosa and Whitfield counties.
"I concentrate on speeding, seat belts, red light violations and crash investigation," said Hemphill, who drives a 2008 Dodge Charger. "We only investigate traffic crashes. I have a laptop with traffic crashes and incident reports in my patrol car. I have a radio, lights, radar to measure speed and digital cameras. My car is an excellent pursuit vehicle. It registers 160 miles per hour."
An undercover representative of the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spoke to students telling them they must have a four-year degree to join the ATF. He said there are 26 ATF trucks and 250 crime scene members. He said students interested must perform well in English, computer skills and science in order to join.
The ATF regulates the machine gun industry and firearms and assists the Drug Enforcement Administration and Secret Service in handling violent crimes. To learn more about the ATF, visit http://www.atf.gov/.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force's Meth Incident Response Specialist Bob Nettles told students to never try meth and what to look out for. He said Tennessee ranked No. 1 for meth cases in 2010 with 2,086 meth labs seized.
"The affects of meth cooks can hurt," said Nettles. "In Tennessee we have a lot of meth trash."
He said an obvious piece of trash to avoid is a drink bottle with a tube coming out of the top. He said do not to pick it up and contact the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force.