Electra Has Two New Police Officers

Chief Johnny Morris says applications to fill several positions on the police force came from all over the country.

But he says the two new faces that are now on the force were born and raised right here in Texoma.

For Officer Matt Wood, working in the town of Electra brings a different kind of excitement.

On January 15th, the Vernon native left the Balch Springs Police Department and came back to Texoma as a full-time officer.

"I was tired of the big city. It takes you 30 minutes just to go down the street. Here, it's more... it's nice. You can see stars at night," Officer Wood says.

But Wood isn't the only new face electra residents will see patrolling around town.

Around the first of the year, Gary Ellis, who works as a Kennel Master at Allred Prison, was hired as a part-time Electra police officer.

Although both hires have law enforcement experience, both are currently undergoing training to become certified.

"We still have our field training officer program which is about 12 to 16 weeks long. They are both still in training so we're still working 12 hour shifts between the officers I still have cause when they're on field training they have to ride with someone," says Electra Police Chief Johnny Morris.

On this day Officer Wood is working traffic for a funeral.

It's a first for him but he says it's something he welcomes over the demands of working in the Dallas area.

"There, you were going from call to call to call. So you were being reactive. Here you can be more proactive. You can get out of the highway. You can monitor traffic. You sit here.. and make sure nobody's breaking into somebody's house. You can actually get out and do more community driven policing,"Officer Wood explains.