Encouraging the youth of Kosciusko County to be their best is the purpose of a book distribution under way by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine plans to give a copy of "Be The Best You Can Be" to every fifth-grader in the county within the next two years. Rovenstine said he plans to personally present each of the students with a copy of the book and, possibly, read an excerpt from it.

The hard cover book is emblazoned with a gold sheriff's star and includes letters of support from influential celebrities, such as Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Jim Davis, creator of "Garfield."

Readers are presented with stories about situations that they could face in their formative years. The stories tell how the characters take the high road and choose to do the right thing in the face of adversity and challenge the readers to do the same.

Review questions at the end of each of the four short stories in the book help the reader think about the consequences of the actions of the characters as well as themselves. Each story also has a character statement about the morals in the story.

For example, in "Tommy's Big Play," Tommy must make a decision about the group of boys he hangs out with and must balance his actions with the responsibilities he has at home, school and on the basketball team.

The character statement at the end of that story: "Sometimes it is in accepting the consequences of our mistakes that we learn how good we can be."

After completing the book, students are asked to fill out a survey and return it to their teacher, as well as send a thank-you note to the sheriff's department acknowledging they've read the book. Parents also are asked to comment on the book via a postage-paid postcard included with the distribution.

The books were purchased with proceeds from the inmate commissary fund. The fund can be used for several purposes, including crime and gang prevention. [[In-content Ad]]