Instructor’s Note Is Fare Warning to Snacking Cadet

At the start of the 74th Sheriff’s Academy, Cadet Gary Shults, 30, was told by his training officers that he needed to get in shape, watch his diet and lose a few pounds. So when Deputy Jack Strumsky caught Shults eating French fries in the cafeteria at Southwestern College early in the academy, he wrote Shults a personal message:

“Obviously, you’re not taking this program or your career seriously enough. You just had a nutrition class and you still bought those filthy things. . . . This job is a dedication to a new life style . . .

“I predict that with your present attitude you will gain weight at a phenomenal rate and be a danger to yourself and your partners. I won’t have it. Correct this attitude if you care. If you don’t, do law enforcement a favor and leave.”