Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center announces December graduates

HUTCHINSON -- Twenty-two graduates were honored Dec. 17 in ceremonies at the 4-H Encampment Building at the Kansas State Fairgrounds after completing a basic training program at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) near Hutchinson.

The graduates, who began their 14-week training Sept. 7, represent 19 municipal, county and state enforcement agencies. They received certificates for course completion and certification from the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training. The course fulfills a state-mandated requirement for law enforcement training.

The KLETC is a unit of University of Kansas Continuing Education. Established in 1968 as the central law enforcement training facility for the state, KLETC is at a former naval air station near Yoder in southern Reno County.

KLETC directly trains the majority of municipal, county, state and tribal law enforcement officers in Kansas and oversees the training of the remaining officers at seven certified academy programs operated by local law enforcement agencies and the Kansas Highway Patrol.

About 350 officers go through the 14-week basic training program annually at the center, which offered continuing education and specialized training to more than 2,500 Kansas officers last year. Funding is generated from court docket fees from municipal and state courts.

Twenty-one graduates gave permission for their names to be released. Those graduates, their positions and their 19 law enforcement agencies by county are:

BARTON COUNTY
From Great Bend
Road Deputy Nick Holzrichter, Barton County Sheriff's Department

BROWN COUNTY
From Holton
Patrol Officer Melissa A. Kendrick, Holton Police Department

BUTLER COUNTY
From Rose Hill
Patrolman James B. Hagman, Rose Hill Police Department

CHEROKEE COUNTY
From Columbus
Patrolman Justin Noel, Columbus Police Department

CRAWFORD COUNTY
From Frontenac
Police Officer Gary Goddard, Frontenac Police Department

DONIPHAN COUNTY
From Elwood
Officer Jeffrey Dean Smith, Elwood Police Department

FINNEY COUNTY
From Garden City
Patrol Officer Wesley D. Brungardt, Garden City Police Department
Patrol Officer Jeff Draper, Garden City Police Department
Officer Wayne Robinson, Garden City Police Department

FRANKLIN COUNTY
From Ottawa
Police Officer Jacklyn Jaykus, Ottawa Police Department
Deputy Sheriff Joe Sutton, Franklin County Sheriff's Department

GEARY COUNTY
From Junction City
Police Officer Nicholas Blake, Junction City Police Department

HARVEY COUNTY
From Hesston
Police Officer Gary Benjamin Strout, Hesston Police Department

LINN COUNTY
From Pleasanton
Police Officer Steven M. Vinson, Pleasanton Police Department

RENO COUNTY
From Hutchinson
Patrol Officer Jason Hedges, Hutchinson Police Department

RILEY COUNTY
From Manhattan
Police Officer Bradley W. Ingalls, Riley County Police Department

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita
Officer Marie Stahlecker, Wichita State University Police Department

SHERMAN COUNTY
From Goodland
Deputy Sheriff Jason Showalter, Sherman County Sheriff's Department

STEVENS COUNTY
From Hugoton
Police Officer Angela McAllister, Hugoton Police Department

WYANDOTTE COUNTY
From Bonner Springs
Police Officer I Matthew Kennedy, Bonner Springs Police Department

From Kansas City
Park Ranger Wayne Ryan Cooley, Wyandotte County Park Rangers