By Sara Ballenger

Los Altos Police Officer John Korges has been a familiar face to the children in the Los Altos School District working as the leader of the police department’s Canine Unit and bringing his four-pawed partner, Gerry, a German shepherd into the classroom.

He and Gerry will be stepping back into the classroom this fall as the department’s new school resource officer.

Korges replaces Officer Mark Laranjo under the department’s two-year assignment policy. Laranjo is now assigned to the night shift, according to Police Chief Don Johnson. Korges has been with the LAPD for seven years.

6-year-old Gerry took an early retirement from the department this spring due to a degenerative kidney condition and a knee injury.

Korges was able to keep Gerry; and although he has formally retired as a police dog, Korges hopes to integrate him into programs at the schools.

“Gerry is a great segue with kids,” Korges said. “I am a large uniformed person and can be intimidating. Kids love animals; and let’s face it, when you see dogs, you want to pet them; when you see a cop, you want to run. We can still benefit from the relationship that Gerry builds with our youth.”

Korges said his goal as school resource officer is to create an environment that allows the teachers to teach and the students to learn and to help students make good life choices they choose on their own.

Korges has begun working with Officer Susan Anderson on launching an Internet safety education program in the schools and community this fall. About 100 percent of classrooms in Los Altos are connected to the Internet, Korges added.

“There is a seedy side to the Internet,” Korges said. “People will give out information on the Internet that they wouldn’t necessarily give over the telephone. We have to protect our youth and our parents.”

Korges and Anderson host community forums on Internet safety.

“We have two presentations we are working on, one we present to children and the other we present to parents,” Anderson said.

Part of the presentation for children includes a cartoon that depicts a young girl typing a letter to someone online she thinks is another girl her age. In fact, as the cartoon shows, it is an older man typing a sympathetic message back.

“The scary thing is that pedophiles can get to children. In our presentation for parents, we include statistics and data to give parents an idea of what their children can come across on the Internet,” Anderson said.

Both Korges and Anderson recognize the value and neccesity of the Internet, especially in Silicon Valley, but want people to use it responsibly.

As the school resource officer for the next two years, Korges will get the opportunity to talk to students about a myriad of issues ,including drunk driving, bicycle safety, emergency preparedness and drug use.

“I am really looking forward to this position,” Korges said. “I embrace and love this community and am excited about helping the youth. The beautiful part about it is that you get to change lives.”

For more information about the department’s Internet safety program, call Officer Susan Anderson at 947-2698.