STORY — Does the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office have a ride-along program? Is Sheriff Allen Thompson the chief public safety official in the county? What is CodeRED?
These questions — the answers to which are yes, no and a countywide telephonic emergency alert system — rang out in the Story Woman’s Club Wednesday night as SCSO officials engaged about two dozen Story residents in a community outreach event.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges in organizing community outreach events, Thompson explained to the group his office hopes to put on one such event every three months, roving throughout the county and listening to residents from Story, Dayton, Ranchester, Clearmont and the other small communities the sheriff’s office serves.
Undersheriff Levi Dominguez said the reasoning behind these events is simple: “If we don’t know what’s going on, we can’t assist.”
Because the SCSO patrols 2,500 square miles, Dominguez said they rely on residents across the county to report suspicious circumstances to the sheriff’s office.
Dominguez said also these outreach efforts allow residents in communities across the county to meet with law enforcement officials and establish relationships with them. The three uniformed deputies present at the event were also Story residents, Dominguez explained, allowing Story locals to associate an individual from their community to a countywide law enforcement agency.
“It builds trust with the community,” Dominguez said of the event.
As Story residents snacked on cookies and sipped coffee, Thompson, Dominguez and the deputies explained essential elements of their work at the sheriff’s office. By statute, Thompson explained, the sheriff is tasked with four primary duties: operating a jail; civil and criminal process service; courtroom security; and keeping the peace. This last responsibility involves enforcing state law throughout the county, including in Story.
The SCSO officials answered residents’ questions and discussed trends in the sheriff’s office’s recent enforcement efforts. They informed residents of emergency preparedness plans and the many county agencies involved in those plans. They offered simple crime-deterrence advice, like asking residents to lock their home and car doors, while reminding residents there are relatively few incidents in Story.
Some people in attendance came to support the sheriff’s office and local deputies.
Story resident Kristen Weber said she came to the event to support the sheriff’s office, to show her appreciation of their presence in Story.
“Thanks for being around because I sure feel good when I pass [one of SCSO’s trucks] on my way to work,” Weber told the deputies in attendance.
Sally Huggins-Johnson, a lifelong Story resident, came to support her daughter, Heather Watt, one of the local deputies at the event. In addition, Huggins-Johnson said she came to learn what questions people had about SCSO’s services in the area. Story is changing, Huggins-Johnson said; more young families are moving into the area.
Others in attendance came to voice their comments directly to the sheriff, an elected official. Norman Feck, another Story resident, was concerned when he learned Thompson had announced his candidacy for county commissioner the same day as the outreach event. So, Feck came to discuss his perspective with Thompson directly.
“I talked to him as a sheriff,” Feck said of his opportunity to discuss his concerns with Thompson.
Ultimately, Dominguez said he hopes these outreach events will allow people across Sheridan County to do precisely what Story residents did Wednesday night: to express gratitude, to voice their concerns, to learn more.
“We want to make sure that we’re providing the service that they…expected of us,” Dominguez said.
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February 11, 2022 at 12:45AM
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Sheridan County Sheriff's Office hosts community outreach event in Story - The Sheridan Press
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