10/18/2006

Getting to Know - Dale Smack

By Dolores E. Pike

There is no one who knows a community better than the person who was born and raised there and lived there all of his life. His family and friends are there. His concerns are for the welfare of that community and reflected in the manner and means of his involvement.

And so it is with John Dale Smack, 3rd, born and raised in Berlin and now living in Snow Hill with his wife Sheryl. He is a 1984 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School (SDHS). His mother, Leola, is retired from teaching in Worcester County schools for 35 years and his father, John, has been a county school bus driver for 45 years.

A member of the Worcester County Sheriff's Department for 18 years, Lt. Smack is a visible presence in the county. At one time he was a physical education substitute teacher at SDHS and also worked as assistant coach with the junior varsity basketball team. Today he concentrates on appearing in the high schools where he talks to students about the dangers of drinking and driving. He paints a clear picture of how alcohol affects the body and what reactions it will produce when a person gets behind the wheel of a car.

It brings a smile to his face when Lt. Smack speaks about going into the elementary schools to talk to the little kids. "I went into a classroom and a child came up to me and said, 'My daddy is a police officer.' Now I'm talking about a second or third grade student, a little kid, and he was able to tell me the make and model and how many rounds his father's gun held. It was a Beretta that holds 15 rounds and then the boy said ‘I'm not allowed to touch it.'

"I think the whole presence and size of a police officer in uniform (standing there beside) a child that is maybe three feet tall, causes him to look up and see that presence. And then the questions come out, 'Is that a gun?' and ‘do you have a dog?' We give canine demonstrations to some of the grade schools," said Lt. Smack. He noted that, among his other duties, he oversees the canine unit which has three German Sheppards and one Springer spaniel that is used solely in sniffing out bombs and guns.

Being in law enforcement has been Lt. Smack's goal since high school days. Upon his graduation from SDHS he enrolled in Wor-Wic Community College, taking criminal justice courses. Then he became a seasonal police officer with the Ocean City Police Department and was hired as a deputy by the county sheriff's office at the end of the summer.

For 16 years Lt. Smack has been a member of the SWAT team, which is a voluntary commitment, and he currently oversees the team. There are eight members plus himself and the team responds to a critical situation with no less than six members. If there are less than that number available, a call for an assist will go out to another team.

According to Lt. Smack, his wife accepts the life of being married to a law enforcement officer but, "…her main concern is me being on the SWAT team."

This duty sometimes impacts his personal life, being called away from dinners in an emergency situation. "One night it was my birthday and we were having a birthday party at my mom and dads house. Everybody was around singing happy birthday to me and my pager went off. The team was being called out," he said.

Enjoying a close relationship with his family, including his 13 year old son Brandon, Lt. Smack looks forward to family cookouts when his younger brother Kevin can be there and his older sister Velda and her husband Patrick Henry, well-known in the area for his artwork, can be there.

And his family is solidly behind Lt. Smack as he strives to serve the county in yet another capacity. He is on the November ballot as a candidate for judge of the Worcester County Orphans' Court. As to how he will manage wearing "two hats" if elected, he said, "The orphans' court meets only once a week and I would adjust my schedule of days off and take that day to sit on the bench."

The days have been long and busy for Lt. Smack but he thrives on meeting people as well as working under Sheriff Charles Martin, who, he feels, has "really instilled integrity and professionalism into the office." As for relaxing between now and November, well, he could check Sheryl's list to see what jobs she has lined up for him or he could play a video game. Sounds like a tough choice.

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