Former Jasonville Police Department Chief Jim Gadberry has stepped down as the city’s street superintendent to get back to his roots in law enforcement and his priority, serving children.

Gadberry has served the City of Jasonville as a police officer since 1991, five of those years as chief. When taking the role of street superintendent nearly three years ago, he stayed connected to the department as a reserve. He’ll soon be back to working with children as he’s taken a role of school resource officer at Sullivan Middle School, which is part of the Southwest Sullivan Community School Corporation.

“I missed interacting with the kids. I had built a big relationship with the kids in the community and realized that one day without explanation to them I was gone,” Gadberry said. “Whenever out in public or in a store, the kids would still yell out my name or come up to me to say hi and I realized I had left a void not only with them, but also within myself.”

Gadberry said he’s looking forward to creating new friendships and earning trust with the kids in the Southwest Sullivan School Corporation.

Gadberry’s years of experience make him a great fit for a school resource officer.

“I’ve made the kids a priority since day one of my career. I’ve done my best to show the kids that police are not scary, but that we’re in fact approachable and there for them. Those old enough will remember when part of my routine patrol was armed with a bag of candy to hand out,” Gadberry said. “I’ve made myself accessible through safety fairs, group functions, school functions, scout organizations, pre-schools and daycares. I’ve played in splash pads in full uniform on hot sunny days, I’ve been in dunking booths, had a pie in the face and played basketball on a donkey. Everyone knew that if you attached ‘it’s for the kids’ I couldn’t say no,” Gadberry said.

This new chapter in his life is something Gadberry is looking forward to.

“I’m looking forward to this new chapter, thanking all who have gotten me this far and for those in the Southwest School Corporation for giving me this opportunity to finish out my law enforcement career where I belong, with the kids,” he said.

While he will be employed outside of the City of Jasonville, Gadberry plans to stay heavily involved in his hometown.