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LAPLACE — St. John Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre, School Resource Officers Lt. Chasity Sanford and Sgt. Larry Williams recently visited with students participating in the Super Heroes Involved in Nonstop Education or SHINE program at LaPlace Elementary School.

Sheriff Tregre and several of his officers will be visiting students in the SHINE program through June at schools throughout St. John Parish.

Sheriff Tregre talked about enhancing life skills to be a productive member of society. Since keyboard skills are essential in nearly every career, Sheriff Tregre encouraged students to improve their typing speed and accuracy. Also, employers often want workers who can speak another language besides English. Therefore, Sheriff Tregre said it’s important for students to become proficient at speaking a foreign language, perhaps, Spanish.

Sheriff Tregre also told students that most inmates lack a high school diploma. “Education is the key to success,” Sheriff Tregre told students. He stressed that students need to work hard in school and keep improving themselves.

Lt. Sanford and Sgt. Williams also talked about bullying and bullying prevention. They reminded students that with cell phones and IPads, they can easily get involved in various types of messaging that can affect their personal lives as well as their school lives, especially when it comes to bullying one or several of their classmates online.

Lt. Sanford and Sgt. Williams also touched on the dangers of alcohol impairment. They led the students through a Fatal Vision impairment goggles simulation, a hands-on prevention tool that allows people to experience with a sober mind what it’s like to be under the influence of alcohol. Several students volunteered for the demonstration, and they were able to experience how alcohol impairs a person’s balance, vision, reaction time and judgment. Wearing the special goggles, the students discovered how a simple activity such as walking a line can become difficult and how susceptible they are to potentially dangerous consequences of impairment. Some students wobbled as they attempted to walk.