At their age?

Whoever thought you'd have to tell an 80-year-old to behave?

The Highway Patrol apparently has joined Hugh Hefner and Anna Nicole Smith's late-husband among octogenarians who were having too much fun. So it must have seemed to patrol leaders like a good time to reflect on past, um, accomplishments.

Following disclosure this week of a Highway Patrol sergeant's dismissal for having a drunken sexual encounter with the wife of a trooper under his command, administrators sent an e-mail to all employees Wednesday.

Reminding the recipients that this year is the 80th anniversary of the patrol's founding, secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Reuben Young and patrol commander Col. Randy Glover urged troopers to remember that their on-duty and off-duty behavior reflect on the force as a whole.

As we celebrate and reflect on the organization’s many accomplishments, we ask you to remember that everything we do, whether on- or off-duty, is a reflection not only on our organization, but also on those who have gone before us.

Let us always seek to honor their legacy and the reputation of the Patrol with our actions. In the final analysis, we are all public servants and we must answer to the citizens of North Carolina.

The full e-mail is available after the jump.

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State Highway Patrol Employees, This year the North Carolina State Highway Patrol celebrates its 80th anniversary. Although our duties and responsibilities have increased over the years, our primary mission remains the same.

While providing safety and enforcement of our traffic laws, we continue to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of everyone who travels on the state highways. One day after the NCSHP was activated; Patrolman George I. Thompson was killed in a traffic collision while traveling to his duty station. Since then, 60 members of the NCSHP have lost there lives in the line of duty.

The NCSHP currently has more than 1,800 uniformed personnel and 300 civilian employees. Our retirees, who have given so much of their lives to the Patrol, now number in the thousands. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is a proud organization that has always maintained high standards.

Our status as one of the country’s best law enforcement agencies is well deserved, but often scrutinized. It is easy for the entire organization to be judged by the acts of a few, so each and every one of us owe it to our fellow troopers to be morally and ethically beyond reproach.

Over the last eight decades our accomplishments have been many, and every day we continue to save lives and make our highways safer. As we celebrate and reflect on the organization’s many accomplishments, we ask you to remember that everything we do, whether on- or off-duty, is a reflection not only on our organization, but also on those who have gone before us.

Let us always seek to honor their legacy and the reputation of the Patrol with our actions. In the final analysis, we are all public servants and we must answer to the citizens of North Carolina.

Governor [Beverly] Perdue has made it clear that she will accept nothing less than a state government that operates with the utmost transparency and accountability to the people and the Patrol is no exception. We ask you to join us in committing to these same ideals. If we continue to work hard, stay committed and do what’s right, the State Highway Patrol will continue to build on its 80 years of distinguished service and leave a lasting legacy of excellence and devotion to duty.

Thank you for your service, stay safe, and keep up the good work!

Respectfully,

Reuben F. Young Secretary

Colonel Wm. Randy Glover