Dougherty County Sheriffs Office hosting community cookout

ALBANY — As a way to help bring the community together, the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its annual community barbecue Saturday.

The sixth annual event is set for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Robert Cross Park, located at 3500 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Admission is free, as are the food, games and activities.

The annual cookout was started after Sheriff Kevin Sproul was elected sheriff and wished for a way to build a better bond with the community. It started at Carver Park with a few people who were able to get their hands on some extra food.

Since then, it has rotated to various parks around Albany.

“It was (meant to be) an informal type of session where they could talk to (us) and ask questions,” Sproul said.

At the Robert Cross location, several acres will be available for participants to run around in. There will also be opportunities for people to fish in the pond and ride on horseback, and there will also be some bicycles raffled off, Sproul said.

Many of the questions Sproul and his staff are asked often revolve around who handles what service, and those exchanges help both sides.

“It benefits not only the community but the Sheriff’s Office to help us assist as best we can,” Sproul said.

The entire Albany and Dougherty County communities have been invited to come out and enjoy the activities and fellowship, including churches and civic groups to help keep the lines of communication open.

“The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office is an office of the people,” the sheriff said. “If you are not happy with what you see, let us know. If you like what you see, let us know that, too.”

That can be particularly important during a time that trust in law enforcement is relatively low.

“We do care and want to serve this community as best we can,” Sproul said.

A golf tournament in April, and public and private donations help to pay for the cookout. The sheriff said it has gotten “bigger and better” each year, with 500-600 in attendance last year. Participants have an opportunity to meet people within the agency who are not always visible.

“This will be a great time to do that,” Sproul said.

The contact for the event is Lt. Terron Hayes, who can be reached at (229) 344-4363.