McClain County Sheriff Deputies Doug Gilleland and Brian Young both recently  completed an intensive two week D.A.R.E. training program.

Gilleland and Young were among 27 other officers from Kansas, Nebraska, Arizona, Alaska, Missouri, New Mexico, Colorado and California.

Deputy Gilleland, who is the Blanchard School Resource Officer, was named the top student out of the 29 in the class.

Deputy Young is the SRO at Wayne.

Sheriff Landy Offolter is a huge supporter of the D.A.R.E. program and the effects it has on the youth of our county.

“We look forward to its continuation and growth in the schools of our county,” Offolter said.

The new D.A.R.E. officers will head back to their communities on a mission to change the mind-set and potentially the lives of precious children.