Staff Writer

Public safety officers who work with Sammy Smith say the department isn't just losing a fellow lawman, it is losing a valuable liaison with the Union County School District.

Smith is retiring on Dec. 19 as a reserve officer with the public safety department and from his job as truancy officer with the schools. He was honored on Dec. 2 during a Christmas party for officers and volunteer firefighters.

Capt. Freddie Gault said anytime officers had a question about a student who might have been involved in a crime they would go to Smith for information.

“He has always been our go-to guy if we needed help in the schools,” Gault said.

Gault said Smith's children are a tribute to him and its obvious they admire him- both chose jobs in or related to law enforcement. Smith's son, Kevin, is a deputy with the Union County Sheriff's Office. His daughter, Michelle Shugart, is victim's advocate for Union County.

David “Tubo” Owens, retired longtime animal control officer who now works as property maintenance inspector for the City of Union, said he has known Smith all of his life - they grew up in the same church and Smith was his school bus driver. He said Smith's word means something.

“You could take what he said to heart,” he said. “If he said it, he meant it.”

Retired Union Public Safety Department Chief Russell Roark, now a county deputy, said Smith was a member of the first reserve officer class, which formed in 1981. Roark said Smith has always been dedicated to law enforcement.

“We wish him well in retirement,” Roark said. “He has done an outstanding job for public safety.”

Chief Sam White of the public safety department said Smith will be missed.

“He's had a remarkable career with the school district; he's retired from the National Guard and he's about to leave it all behind,” he said. “We thank Sammy. We thank his family for all the support they gave to allow him to participate in the reserve program.”

Capt. Greg Pickens said Smith fits the description, “A friend indeed,” perfectly and has been an asset as a reserve.

“If you needed something, all you had to do was ask for it from Sammy and it's done,” Pickens said.

Capt. Tony Gregory, City of Union fire commander, also has known Smith for many years. Gregory joined the reserve program in 1983 and prior to that also worked in the school district with Smith.

“We wish him the best,” Gregory said. “He has given his all.”

Smith said he was very humbled by the kind remarks made about him. He said he will miss his jobs, but now is the right time to retire. He said his wife, Mary Ellen, promised to buy him a boat if he retired, and she did. They both like to fish and they enjoy their grandchildren, Taylor and Garrison.

Smith, 61, was hired in 1971 as a security guard for Union High. He spent 24 years in the National Guard and has two years of active military duty, including a year in Vietnam.

In 1981, Eddie Harris, who was then training sergeant for the public safety department, told Smith that a reserve officer program was being started and he wanted Smith to join. There were 10 people in the first class, which met three times a week for several months. Staff from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy came to Union and administered the test. The officers were sworn in at the Welcome Grill and treated to supper.

Since then, Smith has put in at least 20 hours a month assisting the department on top of his other truancy duties. He often filled in if a shift was short of officers, helped out during community events like parades and football games and assisted officers on calls during storms when burglar alarms were activated all over town.

Smith said folks can plan on seeing him in his reserve role at least one more time - he plans to work the Union Christmas Parade on Dec. 14.

“I have worked the Christmas Parade for 27 years,” he said. “It signals to me that Christmas is here. It's just a joy to see the kids and the adults and the expression on their faces.”

Over the years, there has been nothing more satisfying than helping someone, Smith said. He recalls times when lost children were reunited with anxious parents. He remembers a time when he unlocked a car door for a tired mother laden down with Christmas packages and trying to look after three children, including a baby in her arms.

“We unlocked it and she stood there and cried,” he said.

Smith said when he went to work as a reserve officer, he thought being an officer was just about putting lawbreakers in jail.

“That's part of it, but there is still more good than bad out there and you have to take the bad with the good,” he said.

Smith said the part of his truancy officer job he will miss the most is interacting with the children. He said he appreciates the cooperation he was always given by fellow citizens.

“I would have business people call and say, ‘You didn't hear this from me, but there are some children out here who I think need to be in school,'” Smith said. “I would go pick them up. If children are in school, they are not shoplifting or breaking in houses. At least if they are in school, we have got them so many hours when we can keep an eye on them.”

Over the years, Smith said he has had former students tell him they wished they had listened to his advice about staying in school. Many say that they have gone back and obtained a GED.

“Teachers can't teach them if they are not in school,” he said. “Truancy is not about discipline. It's not about how many kids we can take to Family Court. It's about getting kids in a desk where they can look a teacher eye to eye so they can be taught.”