OPINIONS WELCOME.

team members gather at a Lewisville Fire Department scuba pool for class. Lewisville is home to one of the country’s more-sophisticated dive teams, due to the proximity of Lake Lewisville, Bragg explains. Dive officers are learning to use new equipment including surface-supply air tanks, which, compared with scuba tanks, will allow longer dives, and a communication box that allows divers to speak with and hear an operator on land. Until now, communication between diver and his colleagues on the boat and shore has been conducted via a coded system of rope pulls — one pull means, “all is well” while three means, “we found the body,” for example.

Before applying to Dallas’ dive team, an officer must be, at minimum, an International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD)-certified rescue diver. Police divers-in-training then follow a strict curriculum of schooling and certification that is in line with national standards.

Every dive-team member learns every position.

“Everyone knows every step of every operation,” Bragg says, “and it has to happen the exact same way as it will in the field.”

The team formed less than 10 years ago and operates on a limited budget. “We are not a dedicated unit so we get about $5,000$7,000 of the SWAT budget and beg for grants and money,” Bragg says. Over the years, usually through grants or donations, they have acquired advanced equipment, but they cannot dive with new gear until they are properly trained and certified to use it. So they continually are brushing up on their skills and learning new practices.

“The dark side of why we have to do all this training is that [police departments nationwide] have killed so many divers,” Bragg says. “The last thing I want to do as a dive team commander is send a live person after an inanimate or lifeless object and lose him. Guys have been hurt. One of our dive captains had a lung embolism that ended his diving career. We do everything we can [to narrow every chance of injury], even though sometimes you can do everything right and still have something go wrong.”

Bragg lifts his pant leg to reveal a severe burn-like scar, the result of a cut that became infected in contaminated water.

BRYAN’S HOUSE

3610 Pipestone & 802 S. Beckley / 214.559.3946 / bryanshouse.org Bryan’s House is a nonprofit childcare facility that provides care and early childhood education for children who have special medical needs who are ages 0–5-years-old. At Bryan’s House families can find a safe and nurturing environment for their children, as well as social services to help them find resources they may need to care for their children. It is NAEYC Accredited and participates in the Texas School Ready Project. Volunteers are also always welcome.

CLAIRE’S CHRISTIAN DAY SCHOOL

8202 Boedeker Dr., / (214) 368-4047 / clairesdayschool.com At CCDS, we encourage a child’s sense of exploration and discovery in a loving, nurturing, and safe environment. We offer a parent’s day out program with a play-based curriculum fostering socialization, motor skill development, and an introduction to academics for children aged 4mo – 3yrs. Our preschool for children aged 3-5 further develops these skills, along with a more focused approach to pre-math and prereading. At CCDS, we have developed our own science, math, and reading enrichment classes to ensure kindergarten preparedness for every child. We make learning fun!

Highlander School

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com

Founded in 1966, Highlander School offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. Small class sizes help teachers understand the individual learning styles of each student. Give us a call for more information.

Lakehill Preparatory School

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep. org Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

Spanish House

5740 Prospect Ave. & 4411 Skillman / 214-826-4410 / DallasSpanishHouse.com

Spanish House is a Spanish immersion school with two Lakewood locations for children ages 3 months - Kindergarten. We offer half-day and full-day programs, with extended care available from 7:30am - 6:00pm. We also offer after-school and Saturday classes for PK and elementary-aged students, both onand off-site. Additionally, we have an adult Spanish program for beginning, intermediate and advanced students.

ST. CHRISTOPHER’S MONTESSORI SCHOOL

7900 Lovers Ln. / 214.363.9391 stchristophersmontessori.com St. Christopher’s Montessori School has been serving families in the DFW area for over a quarter of a century. We are affiliated with the American Montessori Society and our teachers are certified Montessori instructors. Additionally our staff has obtained other complimentary educational degrees and certifications, including having a registered nurse on staff. Our bright and attractive environment, and highly qualified staff, ensures your child will grow and develop in an educationally sound, AMS certified loving program. Now Enrolling.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

The Winston School

5707 Royal Lane Dallas, Tx 75229 / 214691-6950 / www.winston-school.org If your bright child struggles with things like Attention and Concentration, Executive Functioning and Dyslexia, The Winston School may be able to help. The Winston School has a robust academic program which prepares a student for college while at the same time developing the whole child. We understand bright children who learn differently and recognize their unique gifts and talents. Celebrating and validating these assets with our students enables them to discover who they are, and empowers them to be consistently successful. The Winston School brings hope for today and a road map for tomorrow. Open House: October 16th from 9-11 am.

White Rock North School

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas / 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com

6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Character-building and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and state-of-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

Yorktown Education

5170 Village Creek Drive Plano, 75093 972-733-0800 YorktownEd.com Yorktown

Education is an independent, academically challenging private school for grades first -12. With a customized “Do What You Love” curriculum, students are educated with higher standards at earlier ages. Education is based on performance and not on age or grade levels. Yorktown graduates are in the top 1% of the country for SAT & ACT results and have a 100 percent college acceptance rate, with an average of over $100,000 in college credit and scholarships. Enrolling first through 10th grade for the 2014-2015 school year. Parent tours and student visits are available. Please visit Yorktown’s Open House at 6 p.m., October 21 to learn more about Yorktown’s unique and proven educational experience.

Zion Lutheran School

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 58 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.

69% of our 200,000+ readers with average income of $146,750 want more info about private schools.

A non-profit childcare facility providing Early Childcare Education

• Provides Early Childhood Education to children with special health care needs, ages 0-5

• Family support services such as Financial Education and Parenting Classes bryanshouse.org

Since 1988, Bryan’s House has been providing children and families in our community with a continuum of care.

214-559-3946

The psychological demands of police diving, one could argue, are as grueling as the physical requirements.

Senior diver John Boucher is smoking a cigar. He says he finally quit smoking cigarettes, but he still likes the occasional cigar, and sometimes a drink or two, to help quiet his mind, especially after a tough underwater search.

“The worst, for me, was the first body I personally found. It was a few years ago at Lake Ray Hubbard. Party Cove. The guy jumped off a boat and never came up. I was the second diver and I found the body. When I touched it, at first I thought it felt like a roll of carpet. Then I realized it was the kid. There was an initial rush of anxiety but then the training kicks in and you go right into action.”

Sometimes, due to the darkness, divers experience what they call “mind monsters” that is, the anxiety and dread that threatens rational thinking, Boucher says. Only a large dose of mental toughness can slay these beasts.

Usually, because of their high levels of skill, experience and training, divers like Boucher are able to launch into action even in the face of horrific circumstance — this Dallas dive team has located a murdered baby, drowned children and a bucket containing a human head, to name a few particularly disturbing cases, and all of these operations were handled perspicaciously and by- the-book, Bragg says.

Sitting at home, alone with his thoughts after long hours in dark waters looking for a body or a murder weapon, however, Boucher sometimes feels haunted.

“I’ll tell you, it messed with my head,” he says recalling the drowned man at Lake Ray Hubbard.

Like war buddies, divers often turn to one another for support.

“There are always two divers that bring up a body,” Boucher says. “That night we texted each other back and forth.” It doesn’t take much, he says, because each understands what the other is feeling.

Captain Jack’s worst day has to be the day, last May, when the dive team got the call about former assistant police chief Greg Holliday.

“Greg was a friend,” Bragg says. “I worked with him for 35 years. That’s about as close as you can get to having to look for your own family.”

Holliday, 63, had been missing for days. Police, in a Critical Missing Person alert stated that Holliday was possibly suicidal.

Bragg’s men, along with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department divers, found Holliday’s body, with a self-inflicted gunshot to his head, in a shallow creek near the Preston Trails Golf Club.

“Of course every guy out here has a different worst day, but I’ve gone through some of our police photos from that day, and you can see the stress on our guys’ faces. That day was hard.”

“The police department has psych [-ological counseling services], but this work is not typical,” Bragg says. “Regular patrol officers, they don’t really understand exactly what our guys go through.”

Several members of the team concur that the bonds they share among themselves are therapeutic.

“We are all friends. They have to be comfortable with and trust the other guys they are down there with,” Bragg says.

“Body recovery is stressful,” Boucher says, “and you get home and try to talk to your girlfriend about it, she doesn’t want to hear it. So you text the guy who was [on the job] with you. That’s sometimes how you get through the night.”

PRIVATE DONATIONS Captain Jack Bragg says he works hard to secure grants and donations and that the team frequently borrows necessary equipment from Dallas Fire-Rescue or from other nearby departments such as Lewisville. He says private donations — which go directly toward purchasing equipment and training that makes public-safety diving more effective and less dangerous — are always welcome. For more information, email jack.bragg@dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us.