HAHNVILLE – The St. Charles Sheriff’s Office ceremoniously presented a series of awards to its finest citizens and officers for their contributions to law enforcement, granting a department-wide certificate for the 2005 deputy of the year to the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office.

Roughly half the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office staff risked their lives through Katrina’s unyielding destruction without any communication to the outside world, selflessly disregarding their own well-being to assist devastated residents throughout the Gulf Coast.

&#8220If the community needs a hero, let them recognize the 150 souls who sat quietly in the hospital, the jail, the fire station, EOC and headquarters and blindly waited their fate,” Sheriff Greg Champagne said. &#8220We, all working together, emerged into the light of post-Katrina and collectively brought this parish back to life.”

The Special Investigations Division claimed the 2006 deputy of the year award for arresting 700 lawbreakers and bringing forth 1,800 drug related charges by working in conjunction with the patrol department. Several Special Investigations Division personnel were deputized by the DEA in major cases, and helped seize more than 60,000 tabs of ecstasy, valued over $500,000, in the largest bust of its kind in the southeast.

The seven members of the special investigations division include Lt. Roddy Landry, Lt. George Breedy, Sgt. Wayne Joseph, Detective Marlon Shuff, Detective Lonnie Senior and Detective David Ehrmann.

Other notable recipients include Lt. Drauzin Kinler, Detective Donald Smith and Detective Lonnie Senior for their distinguished service and citizens Robert Baldwin, Roland David, Frederick Kober, Kristin Olivares, Brad Bourgeois, Leslie Bourgeois and Kayla Kempff for extraordinary assistance to law enforcement.

The St. Charles Sheriff’s Office presented letters of commendation to Lt. Mark Candies, Sgt. Michael Folse, Corporal Richard Oubre, Deputy Derek Pertuis, Deputy David Ehrmann, Deputy Gregory Cali, Kathy Walker, Deputy Trisha Bergeron, Deputy Frank Decorate and Corporal Mark Beard. Achievement awards were presented to Administrator Wayne Lee, Sgt. Olga Fourroux, Deputy Dale Cambre, Gery Gaubert, Shane Folse, Cary Armand, Lt. Roddy Landry, Lt. George Breedy, Sgt. Wayne Joseph, Detective Marlon Shuff, Detective Lonnie Senior and Detective David Ehrmann.