A new training center for local North Carolina law enforcement and emergency workers is in the works. The effort is being spearheaded by Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson, who has been discussing the project since 2002.
“I can tell you all the fire chiefs in the county are on board with this,” said David Leonard, Alamance County fire marshal and emergency services coordinator.
While Johnson acknowledges that the training center is still in the “very, very early stages,” his vision is to construct a facility for LEOs and emergency workers on an 87-acre property next to the Alamance County Landfill near Saxapahaw.
Johnson wants the training facility to have a rifle and pistole range, as well as a driving track, a tower for firefighter training, an obstacle course and classrooms. Additionally, Johnson wants the facility to train 911 dispatchers and police and firefighters from neighboring areas.
Johnson has been talking to Alamance Community College President Algie Gatewood about having ACC teachers handle the training and talking to local fire chiefs about how the facility he imagines would work for them.
Alamance Community College currently has instructors that teach basic law enforcement training, but Johnson thinks they can do better.
“BLET is just that: You’re just getting the basics,” Johnson said. “I want enhanced training.”
