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At the recommendation of Sheriff Hammonds, I recently downloaded the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office app. It’s the first app I have ever downloaded.

I didn’t even know how to download it until a sheriff’s officer showed me how to do it at the job fair at the civic center. I have a bunch of apps that came with my phone but rarely use them. My phone is mostly used for texting and phone calls.

Now that I know how to do it, I can download other apps if I want to. My neighbor has one that tells you what a plant is when she takes a picture of it. Being a gardener, I might get it. Apparently, there are many good apps out there.

I’m slowly starting to understand why they call them smart phones. I know how to use various computer programs fairly well but am technology weak. I depend on my daughter when I have a problem.

The Sheriff’s app provides notifications of weather emergencies, law enforcement emergencies, road concerns, drug busts and news that is critical to the community. Links to Beaufort County public and private schools are also included.

The Sheriff’s app is another important achievement by Sheriff Scott Hammonds and the Sheriff’s Office. Since being sheriff, Scott has started many new initiatives.

Bringing the school resource officers (SRO) back into the Sheriff’s Office will be at the top of the list of accomplishments. This was one of Scott’s primary campaign promises. I understand he has 12 SROs ready to go and just a few things left to work out with the schools.

Opening of a substation in Aurora is a key accomplishment. The eastern part of the county on the Aurora side of the river is getting needed law enforcement attention.

Holding town hall meetings throughout Beaufort County communities is a benefit to all citizens. Sheriff Hammonds and his staff are able to communicate all the services the Sheriff Office provides and citizens have the opportunity to ask questions. The town halls have helped tremendously to bring law enforcement and the citizens closer together.

Beaufort County has added a K-9 patrol unit. The two dogs, Athos and Tinnus, are sworn deputies. K-9’s are trained to assist law enforcement officers. Both K-9’s are exceptional at sniffing out drugs. They are also certified to track and locate suspects or find missing people.

If there’s one thing that society is plagued with, it’s drugs. Deaths occur each year in Beaufort County due to drugs. Anything which can be done to eliminate drug distribution in Beaufort County should be considered and implemented.

Leaving criminals guilty of distributing or selling drugs in jail indefinitely would not bother me. I congratulate the efforts and arrests made by the Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Hammonds and his staff should be proud of their accomplishments thus far. Being proactive, positive, involved and listening to the citizens they serve leads to better things. The sheriff appears to be working on a program of continuous improvement of the Sheriff’s Office and the services they provide.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and former Beaufort County Commissioner.