At Chardon, we have had an on duty police officer, or a School Resource Officer, that is with us almost every day. Some love him, some don’t know him, and some hate him! Our officer at our school is Officer Mike Shaw, and he’s more than your average cop.

Mike Shaw has been an officer of the law since 1994. He worked in Mentor full time, then moving to Madison, and finally ending up in Chardon in 2004. For 10 years, Shaw served our community, and when the job opportunity to work at the school opened up, he took it. He has a girlfriend of seven years named Christi, who is a veterinarian, and a son named Mikie, who will be 12 this year. Shaw enjoys traveling, and especially going on vacation. He has been out of the country many times, to places like Mexico and Grenada, where he enjoys laying in the sun, and catching some rays.

Officer Shaw’s duty at the school is to enforce the law as well as educate. On a regular day, you could catch him watching the school camera footage, or patrolling the hallways. Recently, Shaw has been going into the junior classes to talk about texting while driving, and the new laws behind it. He also goes down to the middle school to talk about internet safety, as well as talks to our health classes about the negative effects of cigarettes and prescription pills. If something illegal at the school happens, then he’s your guy. Luckily, there have rarely been illegal incidents here; only the rare cases of trouble makers bringing cigarettes or other substances to school, or fighting.

Officer Shaw himself stated, “Police work is a job unlike any other. I would rather be at home than at work, but the fact that this is the job that I come to, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else for a living.” He was asked what other job he would do if it was not police work, and he said “I like working with crash reconstruction, and that would be something that I would do when I retire as a police officer, but other than that, I’m stuck to the uniform and badge like a fly on glue paper.”

There is one group, known as the most elite nonexistent club in existence, which boasts the highest exclusivity of members. Of course, this group is the Shaw Shack. They are featured in the year book, so yes, it actually is a club. Its officers are Stephanie Ferrante, Marty Keppler, Mike Chauby, and Lisa Poyar.

Stephanie said, “It’s a fun way for students to get together and better the school.” They don’t have any meetings, but they have made an impact. The Shaw Shack was the only group to complete a whole giving tree back in December. They also raised some money for Jeremy’s kids. The Shaw Shack is a club that all students should consider, because it is a whole new experience, and run by Officer Shaw himself.