Hometown Hero: Sgt. Bennie Noel, Dublin Police Department

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Sgt. Bennie Noel, Dublin Police Department

By DAVID SWEARINGEN
TheFlashToday.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: Residents of Erath County are very fortunate to have many men and women who make living here safe, many of whom are volunteers. They are Hometown Heroes! These people keep us safe and we owe them our thanks and our respect.  THANK YOU!

DUBLIN (January 27, 2017) – Sgt. Bennie Noel has served the residents of the city of Dublin as a Dublin Police Officer for 21 years. Currently he serves as a SRO (School Resource Officer), FTO (Field Training Officer), and a MPO (Mental Peace Officer). 

Bennie Noel was born in Dublin in October 1957, but has traveled and moved a lot between then and now.  As a child, his family moved several times and Noel has lived in several places both in and out of Texas.  At the age of 18, in 1976, he returned to Dublin to stay with his wife, Sandra.  Bennie said he received an award (a commemorative coin) for a Bicentennial Essay he wrote in 1976 that is still on display at the Dublin High School. Bennie and Sandra went on to have five kids and seven grandchildren.

Noel has had a number of occupations in his lifetime including hot shot truck driver, dairy farmer, peanut farmer, oil field worker, concrete worker, and he helped to build numerous houses in the area.  He owned and operated his own dairy, the Bennie Noel Dairy, in the 1980’s.  

At first, Noel thought he might want to be a veterinarian, but after participating in a police ride-along with a friend, Allen Dore, he started thinking about becoming a police officer.  In 1983, Noel graduated from the Tarleton State University Police Academy and began his career in law enforcement. For several years, he worked on his dairy and as a hot shot truck driver while also working as a Dublin Police Officer. Noel’s father was a police officer in Ranger, and his great, great-grandfather was a constable in Erath County and the same grandfather was even involved in the construction of the first Dublin Jail, which was located behind the old Dr Pepper Plant at that time. 

Noel said back in the 1980’s, the Dublin Police Officers ran the ambulances and served as firefighters as well.  He said the ambulances even had the Police Badge Decal on their sides and the wording “Police”.  He said during bad weather (snow and ice), they would often patrol the streets in the ambulance because it was safer and they might need it.  

Most days, Noel works around nine hours, sometimes a little longer.  But said he can be called into work at any given time, if he is needed.  He enjoys serving the people of the community and working with the kids so the SRO (School Resource Officer) is a great fit for him.  Noel’s motto is: “Think before you react.”  Which, is very good advice for anyone, especially in these times.    

Noel has been working with and around children for a large portion of his life.  He has served as a Boy Scout Leader from 1991 to present.  The first year a boy is eligible for scouting is when he is in the first grade.  At this point, they are called Tiger Cubs.  Noel became a Scout Leader with a group of boys when they were in the first grade and stayed with them as their leader until they were young adults. He said he has six scouts who started with him in Tiger Cubs and made it all the way to the level of Eagle Scout, which is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program.  As a Scout Leader he has spent a lot of time leading the boys along their scouting path with several other prominent Scout Leaders from the area including David Cleveland, Pat Leatherwood and Les Zimmerman.  

In his spare time, Noel enjoys working out, collecting arrowheads and collecting toy tractors.     

The Flash Today staff would like to thank Sgt. Bennie Noel for his service to the people of the community!

2 Comments

  1. I am very proud to know Bennie . Thanks to him for all the service through the years . Dublin is lucky to have Bennie and Sandra .

    Your friends ,
    Larry and Pat Hammett

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