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Graves Schools Hires KSP Retiree Jonathan Grant

Graves Schools Hires KSP Retiree Jonathan Grant
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By Paul Schaumburg, Graves County Schools
Jul. 27, 2015 | MAYFIELD, KY
By Paul Schaumburg, Graves County Schools Jul. 27, 2015 | 06:39 PM | MAYFIELD, KY
The Graves County School District has announced the hiring of a second school resource officer: Kentucky State Police veteran and retiree Jonathan Grant.

The district initiated the process of creating and implementing its own police department more than eight years ago, after the Graves County Sheriff's office provided school resource officers for several years.

"I started working here in 2007 and that process already had begun then and has since been completed. The name of the department is the Graves County Schools Department of Public Safety," said veteran SRO John Cavin, who will team with Grant. "I am happy to say that it now employs two sworn and experienced police officers in the state of Kentucky!"

Cavin continued, "We have the same authority as any other police department in the state. Now, with Jonathan Grant coming on board, it's going to help me tremendously. The safety of the students and staff is paramount. That is the main goal of this department. We want to make sure they can come to school to learn and to do their work without worrying about their safety. It's going to be different and for the better in having two officers. We're here for the students and the parents. If parents have concerns, we want them to bring those concerns to us."

A native of Ohio County, Grant was graduated with honors in 1990 from Ohio County High School. He then earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in security and loss prevention and a minor in general business from Eastern Kentucky University. He was named top senior in the College of Law Enforcement, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

The Kentucky State Police hired him as a cadet trooper in April 1993. Upon completing the rigorous 22-week training academy, the KSP assigned him to the Mayfield post. "So, it was at this time that my wife, Michele Grant, and I moved from Ohio County to Mayfield," he said. "The first ten years of my 20 years of KSP service, I worked as a trooper in Graves, Fulton, and Hickman Counties. During those years, I worked in patrol and in the driver testing section of the KSP."

During his 11th year with the KSP, he was promoted to sergeant and was assigned to the driver testing section of the KSP. He spent the next six years as the regional supervisor over Kentucky's 25 westernmost counties. He supervised civilian license examiners and administered driver tests.

In his 17th year with the KSP, he was promoted to lieutenant. "My first assignment as a lieutenant and final assignment with the KSP was at the Mayfield post," he said. "I was assigned as the investigative and administrative lieutenant. In that role, I was responsible for all investigative and administrative personnel at the Mayfield post and I served as the assistant post commander."

In August 2013, Grant retired from the KSP with 20 years of service. "It was at this time, I took several months off from work, so I could spend more time with my family, which now included 'My Three Sons.' During my KSP service, Michele and I were blessed with Hunter, 18; Trevor, 15; and Mason, 12, all three of whom attend Graves County Schools."

Grant said, "I am very excited about my new position as school resource officer within the Graves County Schools' Department of Public Safety. I am however, not the first of my family to be employed by the school system. My wife, Michele, has worked as an elementary school teacher at Wingo for the past 17 years.  I am very much excited about being able to work in the same system as my wife. I am also going to enjoy the benefit of working around all three of our sons. Hunter and Trevor attend GCHS and Mason attends Wingo."

He continued, "During the 22 years I have lived in Graves County, I have been very involved with the Graves County School System. As a trooper, I taught the Drug Abuse Resistance Education or DARE program and the Net Smartz internet safety program in nearly all of the elementary schools. As a civilian, I coordinated and coached little league basketball and football at Wingo Elementary. I have also taught at Wingo, GCMS, and GCHS as a substitute teacher."

Grant concluded, "I certainly feel blessed to have been able to work for the Kentucky State Police, one of the premiere law enforcement agencies in this great country. Now I am blessed, yet again, to be able work for the Graves County School System, one of the premiere school systems in the state. In my role as one of two resource officers that now make up the Public Safety Division of the Graves County Schools, I am most looking forward to serving the students and staff!"

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