There was some very good news at Tuesday's board of director's meeting. Boone County Sheriff Duane Wirth attended and gave a great presentation, commenting on the new spirit of co-operation between the Sheriff's department and our public safety department, board, and management. He specifically said he wanted to give a "pat on the back" to Dave Kaske (public safety chief) and the force in general. There will now be meetings between Dave and the sheriff's department monthly for co-ordination and he offered training as needed. He also indicated any time we wanted someone from his department to attend a meeting here just let him know and it would be done. It felt like the dawning of a new day.
Sheriff Wirth then stayed for questions from the attendees. Many questions were asked and he was very open in his answers. He stressed the importance of neighborhood watch and vigilance by the community. You could tell he meant it. He invited any complaints about service or deputy conduct to be called in to his office. He wants us to all work together in this effort.
Mark, Deputy Chief of our public safety, introduced two new officers, both of whom have law enforcement background, one being a retired officer having held many police positions. A couple great additions to the group.
Now the best news of all.......the board of directors announced starting May 28 we will have police patrols supplied by the sheriff every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from seven p.m. until two a.m. through Halloween. This patrol will be specifically for our association and is in addition to our current patrols. Sheriff Wirth will be supplying the patrol at his cost, totaling $21,250.00. The cost for this is already covered, taking all but $1,500 of it from the public safety budget and the rest from the contingency funds in our budget. In other words, no cost to our association that is not already in our current fiscal year planning.
There is a lot more good news to cover from the meeting. The public part of the meeting lasted over four hours. More to come here tomorrow.
Remember these comments are from personal notes and are to be considered such, not official minutes. Every effort is made for accuracy but read the board's finalized minutes for confirmation.
Ken Dillenburg