MEXICO — Rachel Averill of Mexico and Brittany Gaudet of Rumford, members of the Mexico Police Department Explorer Post, recently completed a weeklong training class at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy at Vassalboro.

The two attended the intensive criminal justice training course from June 20-24, Mexico police Chief James Theriault said.

The pair received special distinction at the academy’s commencement by being chosen to participate in the Explorer flag honor guard.

The Explorer program at the Vassalboro academy mirrors the same training that Maine law enforcement officers undertake but in a much more condensed time frame, said Sgt. Roy Hodsdon of the Mexico Police Department and adviser to the local Explorer Post.

The Mexico Police Department Explorer Program, as with other Explorer Posts throughout the country, is open to young men and women ages 14 through 20. They must have completed eighth grade.

The Explorer Post Programs provide educational training for young adults with the objectives of law enforcement. The program provides career orientation experiences, leadership opportunities and community service activities.

Nationally there are more than 33,000 young adults and more than 8,200 adult volunteers participating in the Police Explorer Programs.

Recently, the Mexico Explorer Post acquired a Humvee from military surplus, which the local Explorers have been employing in various public service/law enforcement activities.

For more information on the Mexico Police Department Explorer Post, contact Sgt. Hodsdon at 364-5686.

In other news, the department was granted approval by the Board of Selectmen to purchase a new 2011 Dodge Charger police cruiser.

“We should have the cruiser around mid-September,” Theriault said Friday.

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