CHRONICLE
4 I The Lovell Chronicle I March 22, 2012
Sheriff outlines policy on coverage;
family riding in vehicles
To Gary and Cindy Thoreson-
parents to Gus and Cole Thore-
son-and owners of T&T Tack,
Lovell, Wyoming:
I put this pen to paper and
start over, again and again, try-
ing to find the words or appre-
ciation and heart felt gratitude,
from the pit of my stomach and
the depths of my heart. And still
words cannot give justice to the
greatfulness I have for two young
cowboys.
Two young men raised with
ctiaracter, manners and calloused
hands, their hearts as true as
their hands. Hands that build
fence and hold a rope of strong
horses. Hands that picked up two
little girls and carried them across
deep snow and safely to a warm
pick-up. Helping me to keep Mi-
chael warm, supplying blankets
and literally the coats off of their
backs.
These boys were raised with
decency and honesty, character
and integrity. Their greatest gift
was love. Every one of these quali-
ties radiated one cold and windy
night. I want to tell you the kind-
ness and the genuine spirit these
boys have, boys that are now men.
There are people that come
and go in our lives, some that are
honest and some that are not,
some we easily forget and some
we never will. I want you to know
I saw each of their spirit over and
over again. Honesty and care, men
of integrity and truth as it was
simply told through their eyes. I
write this letter to you because
God gave these boys to you and
they reflect values you instilled in
them. Thank you for raising two
great men.
Love and thank yous,
JoDawn, Jacqueline and
Aspen Leonha dt
Dear Editor:
I would like to inform the pub-
lic about a few of the issues raised
in a letter to the editor in last
week's paper.
I worked for or with the Big
Horn County Sheriff since 1978.
Since 1978 most, if not all, of the
five Big Horn County Sheriffs
have allowed and actually encour-
aged the officers to take family
members in the patrol vehicles.
While working for the Big Horn
County Sheriffs Office from 1979
to 1990, when I did forest patrol
it was common for me to take my
family with me during this duty.
There were many other events
and situations where I took fam-
ily members with me while in
my patrol vehicle with the sheriff
aware that this was being done.
One of the other issues that
seemed to bother the author
of the letter was the Big Horn
County van that's parked in
Lovell at one of the employee's
homes. This employee of Big
Horn County has special train-
ing in crime scene investigation
and evidence handling. She has
been at several crime scenes in-
volving the Lovell Police Depart-
ment and she has given valuable
assistance in finding, collecting,
documenting and storing of evi-
dence for our department. From
finger prints, gunshot residue
and numerous other evidence is-
sues she has done an outstand-
ing job. The reason she has a Big
Horn County van at her home
is because when she is called
upon to help at a scene in Lovell,
Deaver or any other commu-
nity, it wouldn't make sense to
have to drive her personal ve-
hicle to Basin, get the van and
drive back to Lovell to the scene.
Numerous times she is off duty
and is called out to assist at the
scene and she never complains
about losing valuable family time.
She is a valuable asset to all of
Big Horn County and having the
van available when needed saves
a lot of wasted driving time when
responding.
Recently, we completed the
process in having the dispatch
centers in Basin and Lovell gain
the capability to answer all calls
and paging for each other. This
means to the public that if one of
our dispatch centers is either ex-
tremely busy, has a power outage
or has to be evacuated, service to
the citizen goes uninterrupted.
Sheriff Blackburn and his staff
have been instrumental in getting
this completed to the benefit to all
the citizens of Big Horn County.
The working relationship be-
tween the Lovell Police Depart-
ment and the Big Horn County
Sheriffs Department has never
been better. Sheriff Blackburn
and his staff go far beyond what
is expected to make sure this re-
lationship stays intact. From as-
sisting officers responding to
calls, transporting prisoners and
helping at crime scenes, Big Horn
County Sheriff Blackburn and his
staff can always be counted on
when needed. I have had numer-
ous calls where Sheriff Blackburn
has responded to the scene and
usually is the last one to leave.
He gives leadership, professional-
ism and compassion when dealing
with stressful situations to both
the citizens and other emergency
responders:
Anyone that is in a public po-
sition knows that being a target
for criticism is just part of the job
and we all accept this fact. But
what I wanted to let the citizens
of Big Horn County know is that
Sheriff Blackburn and his staff
are dedicated law enforcement of-
ricers that take pride in serving'
the citizens of Big Horn County:'
Sheriff Blackburn and his staff
are doing an outstanding job for
our county and have my full sup-
port.
Nick Lewis
Lovell Chief of Police
Dear Editor,
I would like to address whoev-
er shot our family dog and threw
her in the canal.
Sadie went missing Tuesday,
March 13. We do not know how
she got out of our yard nor how
she came to be dumped ten miles
from home. Thanks to some very
nice people she was found just
outside of Byron, in the canal,
near the cemetery.
On Thursday the 15 we
brought her body home. I went
to pick up four kids from school,
and had to tell them this horrible
news. We came home and buried
her together.
I will never be able to put into
words how devastating this has
been. Sadie was my baby, my con-
stant companion. She pulled me
through some of the hardest trials
of my life. We played, cried and
grew together. Our favorite thing
to do was sit together under our
favorite blanket.
I would like for you to know
that you have literally brought
me to my knees in grief. I do not
understand how or why someone
would do something so cruel and
heartless. You have succeeded in
devastating a whole family, as
well as ruining small ones' inno-
cent outlook.
So congratulations. I sure
hope it was a good time for you.
If anyone knows anything about
this, please contact us. We would
really like to know who did this
and why-307-250-1487.
The Tina Nicholson Family
Dear Editor,
This is in response to Barba-
ra Anderson's letter in last week's
newspaper.
We are fortunate to have the
employees who are currently work-
ing in the Big Horn County Sher-
iffs Department. Their career is a
passion for them and they strive
to make our community a better
place. They keep their vehicles
and equipment readily available
24 hours a day in order to respond
quickly to emergency situations.
The "driver of the van" often
works out of the office in the An-
nex in Lovell. She purchases sup-
plies for the Department at busi-
nesses in Lovell. She assists in
more aspects of the Department
than there is space here to list.
She (as well as all law personnel)
has missed many familyevents be-
cause she has been called out, of-
ten with little or no sleep, to take
care of someone she does not know
who has been a victim of a crime or
an accident.
You may see her vehicle at any
time in any town in the county if
her services are needed. It is ob-
vious your "snooping" came from
unreliable sources and you should
be extremely embarrassed by your
behavior. You only have to contact
the Department with your ques-
tions and concerns and they will
be very open to you.
The "driver of the van" is lucky
to be alive after being hit head on
by a drunk driver. Even though
she was badly injured, she went
to the aid of the drunk driver un-
til emergency medical person-
nel arrived. Contrary to your un-
informed statement, she was the
only person in the vehicle. Because
you only "snooped" for selective in-
formation, you did not care to find
out that the 14-year-old van with
over 200,000 miles was not re-
placed at taxpayers' expense, but
was repaired with little or no cost
to taxpayers.
The Sheriffs Department and
its Search and Rescue squads
do a lot of business with grocery
and convenience stores on both
ends of the county. When you see
a marked vehicle there, they are
supporting local businesses in-
stead of taking our money out of
the county. Again, you were igno-
rant of the facts before making as-
sumptions.
Ironically, the first person you
will call if you need help are the
same ones you have been malign-
ing. What makes them so great is
that they will treat you with dig-
nity and respect even if you have
not earned it.
Joan Nixon
Lovell
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
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Published every Thursday
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Editor and Publisher: David Peck
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Dear Editor:
As the sheriff of Big Horn
County, it is my responsibility to
listen to citizens' concerns. I wel-
come the opinions of others, as it
gives me perspective and input in
making policy for our county.
Too often people "snooping"
do not get all the facts.
The following facts may help
this matter come to light.
*Big Horn County has limit-
ed resources, including the num-
ber of patrol deputies for public
safety.
*When I became sheriff 24-
hour coverage in the county and
seeing deputies out and about
were big issues.
-By expanding our services to
24 hours, Big Horn County depu-
ties have done a tremendous job
reducing drunk driving, which has
in turn reduced our state highway
death average, making roadways
safer for citizens. Since this pa-
trol change, Big Horn County's
solve rate on burglaries has risen
to around 70 percent, one of the
highest in the state.
.Expanding to 24-hour cov-
erage without increasing officers
created a burden for visibility
during daytime hours. Two dep-
uties have also left the street to
serve in the school. Actually, we
have increased services with few-
er personnel.
Regardless of whether my
deputies or I are on duty or not,
we are always on duty! Having
patrol vehicles allows immediate
response, saving valuable time
when minutes count. I won't list
all the examples of how off-duty
deputies have saved lives by be-
ing with their equipment and
arriving on the scene of a crisis
prepared; however, it is a consid-
erable list.
Phone calls start at my house
around 6 a.m. and continue into
and during the night. People ap-
proach me at the grocery store,
restaurants, church, school activi-
ties, and other public forums with
cases, concerns and requests.
This is exactly how approachable
I expect my entire staff to be. If
the public has this access to their
law enforcement "off duty" then
law enforcement should have the
tools to do their job off duty.
The price the county is paying
for access and visible patrol is not
wages but fuel; a very good trad-
eoff for Big Horn County in spite
of rising fuel costs.
Dear Editor,
Regarding the proposed sixth-
cent addition to the sales tax in
Big Horn County: In its March 8
edition the Chronicle ran the fol-
lowing headline---"Greybull asks
for support on sixth-cent sales
tax."
This might lead some to be-
lieve that the Town of Greybull
is asking everyone in the c6un-
ty to pay for its swimming pool
while non-residents of Greybull
would receive nothing in return.
This is simply not true. A sixth-
cent tax will provide Big Horn's
towns of less than 1,000 popula-
tion with a rare opportunity---an
outright grant of money for a ma-
jor project(s).
Unlike many State and Fed-
eral aid programs this money
would NOT be a loan. No five-
figure "matching money" would
be required. Further, grants to
Big Horn's small towns, under
a sixth-cent tax, would be made
without regard to population.
Without population being fig-
ured in to the size of a grant ALL
of the county's nine towns are on
Letters to the editor
The Lovell Chronicle welcomes let-
ters from its readers and will make every
effort to print them. Letters longer than
400 words may not be printed. Letters
must be signed and include the address
and telephone number of the writer,
Unsigned letters will be discarded. Writ-
ers are limited to two letters in any 30
What better use of our vehi-
cles than to be seen in a school
zone with a marked unit so other
motorists in the area will check to
see that they are driving safely.
When I see a light bar or
marked unit the first thing I do
is unconsciously tap the brakes
and check my speed, seat belts
and signals. In that moment, I
have been visibly reminded to re-
check my driving and that stays
with me for some time. Tell me as
a reader and citizen you don't do
the same thing.
As for the matter of family in
the vehicle, I encourage it with
liability waivers. I feel that in a
world of increasing animosity to-
ward the profession of law en-
forcement, it is good for youth to
see us as human beings trying to
help others, not as the black ski-
masked door-breaking thugs so-
ciety has begun to perceive, even
though that approach is some-
times mandatory.
The only way to change where
our country is headed is to begin
at home with a thing called the
golden rule. What better place to
start than with our children. Be-
ing sheriff or a deputy is a life-
style, not an 8-5 job. Fuel is a
small cost so the community has
better access to my staff. I con-
sider it money well spent. What's
best for Big Horn County is not
always what's popular for the na-
tion or other government entities.
I get it that government has got-
ten too big; I'm trying to balance
this. I am not afraid to paddle my
canoe upstream alone if needed.
Additionally, the deputy in
question saves the library and
the county a tremendous amount
of time and money by transport:
ing books, l cen. S¢ platess d ocu:
ments back and forth almost daily.
While I welcome input, often
the input I receive is from people
who have an axe to grind because
my staff and I did our jobs, as we
are expected to.
Regardless, I'm glad to set the
record straight and I will continue
to maintain open communication.
The high road is not easy, how-
ever, winners take action and los-
ers blame others. I will continue
to serve and work to balance an
ever-darkening world with a posi-
tive "Mayberry" attitude. Com-
passion does not mean weakness
and we stand ready to respond.
Ken Blackburn
Big Horn County Sheriff
equal footing. Each of the six Big
Horn towns with populations un-
der 1,000 could, in theory, receive
a grant of an equal, or larger,
amount than Lovell, Greybull or
Basin.
In my view a sixth-cent tax,
and the projects that could be
funded by this tax, see Big Horn
County as a single living and
growing community, what bene-
fits one town can have a positive
effect on the county's other eight
towns.
Would those who oppose this
tax prefer to see the opposite--
a Middle Ages environment in
which Big Horn's nine towns are
all walled-off fiefdoms who look
upon each other with distrust?
Such an attitude would be a dis-
service to the well-established
spirit of neighborliness the people
of Big Horn County have demon-
strated time and again.
Attend the next council
meeting in your town. Voice your
support for the sixth-cent addi-
tion to the sales tax.
Jack Cordner, mayor
Town of Frannie
day period.
All letters must conform to the law
of libel and be in good taste. They may
be mailed to The Lovell Chronicle, Box
787, Lovell, WY 82431, or delivered to
our office at 234 E. Main St., Lovell. A
strict 1:00 p.m. Tuesday deadline will be
enforced.
