Skills for life

Students gathered in the auditorium of Sundance High School last week for a morning spent learning how to protect themselves in an active shooter situation. Led by Deputies Jory Tadlock and Cody Lenz, Critical Incident Response Training (C.I.R.T.) is intended to offer a life skill that will help kids protect themselves both at school and out in the world.

C.I.R.T was introduced to the community last year as an adapted and locally tailored version of ALICE training. This previous curriculum is proprietary and had become expensive, which would have required the Crook County Sheriff's Office to begin charging for classes – something Sheriff Jeff Hodge was unwilling to do.

The new program still focuses on methods to protect yourself in an emergency, but adds elements such as tactical evacuation and techniques to fight back.

"Added security measures that the school district has implemented in the last year and the training that the Crook County Sheriff's Office is providing to each school in the district once per year will enhance the ability for the students and staff to react to and survive an emergency," says Hodge.

"The C.I.R.T. training is a life skill that not only pertains to school incidents but includes surviving and reacting to incidents outside of the school atmosphere also."

Students are not the only members of the community who can take advantage of this training.

"The Crook County Sheriff's Office provides this training to businesses and communities and have tailored classes for each," says Hodge.

"If you are interested in having a class, you can contact the sheriff's office."