FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Almost 100 green shirts filled classrooms, and hands and questions filled the air at Fairhope Intermediate School on Aug. 4, but school didn’t begin until Monday….

During the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Shining Star Camp third session, kids learned about safety and saw glimpses into the roles of public servers — law-enforcement officers teamed with service and businessmen and women as they worked to bridge gaps between authority figures and children.

 BCSO Dep.  Jeffrey Spaller said the activities for 8- to 13-year-old kids was specially designed for students’ ages and needs.

 “We try to catch kids at an early age where decision-making is critical,” he said. “We want their first contact with law enforcement to be a positive one.”

 “Law enforcement is a noble and honorable profession that they shouldn’t be scared of.”

 Children visited a variety of workshops and participated in hands-on activities.

Baldwin Electric Membership Corp.’s Melissa Vaughn used a model with hot dog stick figures to show children how down power lines could “cook” them.

 Alligator Alley Owner Wes Moore told children how to react if they encounter wildlife. He brought stuffed displays and a live alligator for children to touch.

 Baldwin County Corrections Sgt. Kim Close, Officer Kendrick Banks and other members of the Special Operations Response Team from the Baldwin County Corrections Center showed children a variety of law enforcement tools — enabling them to try on handcuffs, sit in a restraint chair and don vests and shields.

 “Have you ever heard of a SWAT team?” Close asked the children. Hands went up and as voices proclaimed recognition.

 “Well a Special Operations Response Team is the SWAT team inside the jail,” she explained.

 Spaller said officers want to warn children about things like synthetic marijuana and social networking before it’s too late.

 “We want to give them choices and help them make a positive, informed decision,” he said with resolve.

He also said that building trust is key.

 “If you tell a child that if you drink one beer, you’ll die, and he drinks one beer and doesn’t die, he won’t believe you,” Spaller explained. “We didn’t want this to be a daycare; we wanted it to where when kids leave here, they’re constantly telling the parents about law enforcement.”

 In another classroom, Daphne Police Sgt. Robin Snider placed beer goggles on children as they attempted to walk a straight line. The “field sobriety tests” left youngsters drunk with laughter.

Communications Officers Kevin Davis and Travis Townsend taught children how to phone in emergency calls and about the different codes dispatchers use.

 Children experienced the gamut of safety lessons during the camp, Spaller said.

“We just want them to make positive decisions in their personal lives,” he said, “and be promoters of positive choices for others.”