You will notice the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office’s new vehicle, the one that will be used by a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officer. How could you miss it? It’s a bright red sport utility vehicle (SUV) and tagged with amazing artwork. The design was done by TNT Graphics of Huntingtown. The artwork was rendered by Korrie Smith, a student at Calvert Middle School (CMS). On Thursday, Oct. 24, Calvert County Sheriff Mike Evans [R], along with four DARE officers, conducted a brief ceremony in the parking lot of CMS. Evans offered his “Sheriff’s Salutes” to both Korrie and the owners of TNT Graphics. 

 

Evans said when the SUV was initially procured it was intended to be his vehicle. However, since it was red, it was decided that the DARE fleet would be doubled (there is one other DARE vehicle used by the sheriff’s office).

The sheriff’s office decided to have a contest to see who could come up with the best artwork for display on the vehicle. The contest was open to all Calvert County Public Schools’ sixth-graders. Korrie Smith, who was a sixth grader at the time she did the artwork—this past January, had her rendering judged tops out of 15 submissions.

Korrie said it took her two days to draw the winning submission.

“I liked hers from the very beginning,” said Dfc. Mark Robshaw, who taught Korrie in the CMS sixth-grade DARE program. “She’s very artistic.”

Korrie, along with her family and CMS Principal Bruce Hutchison looking on, accepted her plaque and pin from the sheriff.

Drug dealers, not taxpayers, paid for the new vehicle and the design work. The money was seized by police during drug arrests.

Robshaw, who has been using and will continue to use the red SUV in his facilitation of the DARE program, said motorists do not always slow down for the DARE vehicle, figuring it must be a commercial vehicle or is driven by someone from the sheriff’s office who does not have arrest powers. 

“It [vehicle] supports the DARE program,” said Robshaw, who added the SUV is still a police vehicle and the officer driving is charged with upholding the law.

–>