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At the Board of Commissioners tonight, Sept. 1, Calhoun County Sheriff Steve Hinkley recognized two retirements from the Sheriff’s Office, as well as the growth and success of the Battle Creek Area K-9 Training Program.
Deputy Guy Picketts and K9 Tuco are retiring and were recognized with a proclamation read by the Calhoun County Commissioners. Deputy Picketts is retiring after nine years of service with the Sheriff’s Office, and before that 14 years with the Springfield Police Department. K9 Tuco is retiring with him at age 9, after more than 500 deployments, over 200 arrest assists, and countless public demonstrations for schools, assisted living facilities, and youth programs.
Deputy Picketts carried through his career a passion for strengthening and expanding the K9 program in Calhoun County. He was instrumental in improving training opportunities for local K9 teams, especially with the development of the Battle Creek Area K-9 Training Program. He developed training opportunities in our community that welcome K9 teams from the largest agencies across the state. Also, as a K9 officer since 2013 in Calhoun County, he noticed inefficiencies in the way calls for K9s were handled and worked with local agencies on interlocal agreements that would allow “on-call” K9s from any county agency to respond to a call. This increased the success of K9 teams in Calhoun County overall.
At the Commissioner’s meeting, Sheriff Hinkley also recognized Honor Credit Union with a plaque for its commitment to supporting the Battle Creek Area K-9 Training Program. Without its financial and institutional support, the strain on the Sheriff’s Office budget to sustain this programming would be immense. Honor Credit Union has been a partner and strategic ally which led to years of successful fundraisers and offering advanced-level training for regional K9 teams.
The partnership between Deputy Picketts and Honor Credit Union has developed into a network of successful, efficient, and productive K9 teams in Calhoun County. Sheriff Hinkley would like to thank Deputy Picketts, K9 Tuco (and K9 Turbo before him) and Honor Credit Union for their unwavering support over decades to improve our K9 teams and ultimately offer greater service for the people of Calhoun County.
Photos above of Deputy Guy Picketts at a youth demonstration, and K9 Tuco in both photos.
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