In this May issue of my monthly column, I would be remiss if I did not mention one of the greatest accomplishments of my adult life. On May 5, my wife Tanyia and I celebrated 25 years of marriage, and I am happy to announce that we have both signed up for 25 more!

This year, May will be a very busy month for the St. John Sheriff’s Office. First of all, across the country, we celebrate National Law Enforcement Week in the month of May.

During the second week of May, any officers fallen in the line of duty in the past year have their names added to the Law Enforcement Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.

St. John Parish currently has eight names on that wall, and we pray never to add another one. On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office will hold a candle light vigil on the front lawn of the Percy Hebert Building at 7 p.m.

At that time we will honor and remember not only our own brothers fallen while protecting and serving St. John, but all officers around the country who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the people they serve.

On Tuesday at 9 a.m. we will have a dedication of our newly constructed, state of the art dog kennel used for housing our K-9 officers.

The kennel has been named in honor of Jeremy Triche, one of the last officers fallen in the line of duty in St. John Parish. Jeremy served as a K-9 officer for SJSO.

We expect his family and friends to be present and the public is invited to attend this dedication.

Following the dedication on Tuesday, I am very proud to announce the St. John Sheriff’s Office will hold its first ever Inmate Re-Entry Program Graduation.

I instituted this program at the Sheriff’s Office in an effort to decrease recidivism.

If inmates have training and skills when they return to the community, they are less likely to return to a life of crime.

The program, named “SJSO Opportunity Now,” differs from the traditional re-entry program because it is a collaborative effort between St. John Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services and the Louisiana Department of Corrections to provide work-readiness, job placement and other self-sufficiency services to qualified inmates.

Yes, May will be a very busy month for us! I hope that you see the efforts of the St. John Sheriff’s Office as a team, working hard to make our parish a better place to work, play and live. God Bless St. John.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre can be reached at sheriff@stjohnsheriff.org.