Three more merit deputies have been hired for the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office.
At its meeting on Thursday, the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Merit Board approved the hiring of Brandon Ewing, Adam Behnke and Bradley Gonzales.
The KCSO also provided some additional information on each new hire following the meeting.
Ewing is from Akron, graduating from Tippecanoe Valley High School. He previously worked as a correctional officer in the Kosciusko County Jail, starting there in 2022.
He finished jail training and the reserve academy course.
Ewing has one son and is studying at Indiana Tech.
Behnke comes from Culver and is a Culver High School graduate.
He studied psychology and English at Purdue University. Behnke graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in 2018, is instructor-certified and has spent five years in law enforcement.
He's married to Sandy, and they have a son and daughter.
Gonzales is from Columbia City. He graduated from Fort Sumner High School in New Mexico, with his parents still living in that state.
He has an associate degree in criminal justice from Ivy Tech Community College.
The board also heard officers Brette Stamper and Dan Buell would be moved off their probationary statuses.
Both had been officers with other agencies, known as laterals, and have been with the KCSO for at least six months.
KCSO Patrol Commander Lt. Mike Mulligan vouched for Stamper's and Buell's good conduct.
"Brette's doing really good stuff with the detectives ... and Dan's working the road like he never really missed a beat," said Mulligan. "They are where they should be and above."
The board also heard Camp HERO went well.
The KCSO's annual camp for ages 8-13, which teaches kids about the roles of first responders, was last week at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.
Smith said he enjoyed seeing the "smiles on the kids' faces and (them) learning about different aspects of emergency services."
"I can't say enough about (camp organizer KCSO Cpl.) Justin Smith and his efforts and his crew and all the volunteers that stepped up to make it such a success," said Smith.
In response to a question, KCSO Public Information Officer Sgt. Doug Light said there were about 40 more kids this year who attended camp than last year.
In other business, the board:
• Heard a former officer from Wabash County, Nick Brubaker, was hired to work with the county's sex offender registry.
• Heard from KCSO Chief Deputy Chris McKeand that officers were working special patrols monitoring safety around school buses.