LA GRANGE — It’d only be cliché if it weren’t so often true — Terry Avery is here for the kids.
A 17-year veteran of the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, Avery is the North Lenoir High School resource officer. He said the best part of his job is watching students cross the stage at graduation, and knowing what it took to get there.
“When you start dealing with freshmen, and you watch them go through the 12th grade and graduate, there are some you pulled to the side and said, ‘Look, maybe you need to settle down a little bit,’ ” Avery said. “They took time to listen to you, and then they graduate and come back and say, ‘I appreciate you talking to me,’ — that’s been gratifying for me.”
A 1987 graduate of North Lenoir, he’s been at the school as an SRO since 2008. Avery started out with the LCSO in October 1995, thinking it was a good career. Though he wanted to be in law enforcement, he didn’t know if the move would work out in the end, but it has. Avery said that he feels privileged to have served under Sheriff Billy Smith for the past 17 years and enjoys working with the sheriff’s office.
Avery added that one of benefits of his current assignment is being able to see students regularly and lend a hand, with the main goals being a resource to the students, their parents and keeping the school safe.
“It’s good experience being a resource officer, because you get to see kids on a daily basis, to see what they go through, as far as peer pressure, first-hand,” Avery said. “And, you get to communicate with them and the parents, also.”
When a large fight breaks out, like one did at North Lenoir earlier this school year, the SRO is tasked with bringing on others to assist and restore order.
“If you have a large fight like that, you have to get all the resources available, that means — immediately — staff, patrol units that are available to assist you to bring the situation under control and safe,” Avery said.
Quelling the situation is only the beginning, however. Handling juvenile crime, or violations of school policy, results in necessary differences from an average deputy’s patrol duty. Everyone is involved in the process.
“You have crime here, also, but you’re dealing with juveniles. You’re not dealing with adults. So, you have to take that into consideration,” Avery said. “When you’re dealing with juveniles, immediately, parents are involved.”
He added that it’s best when parents are involved following an incident.
“If it doesn’t meet the level of a crime — a policy violation at the school, you’re always dealing with the parents, also,” Avery said. “A lot of time when you’re on patrol, and you’re dealing with adults, you’re just dealing with them. If they’re 16 or older, and they break the law, they go to jail. You’re not necessarily dealing with the parents then.
“Here, you have more of a family-based situation.”
Avery’s been married to his wife for 19 years, and has two sons, 21 and 16 years old. His oldest son studies criminal justice at Lenoir Community College.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at WolfeReports.
