Dear Editor,

I have never written a letter to the Editor before, but find I need to express to the public how I see the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department from the inside.

I spent my career in the private business sector and, like many, was concerned about the stereotypical “government job.” I found the Sheriff’s Office to be a breath of fresh air when I found it being operated like any professional business.

I am a relatively new employee, thus I feel as though I am seeing the situation through open eyes. One of the first instructions when I started was “You will do your best to assist anyone who walks in the door or who calls even if it does not fall into our jurisdiction. We are to make the effort to send them in the right direction, find a phone number, or whatever it takes to help.” I was impressed with that attitude from a government agency, and that is what I have seen happen, and that is what we do with the thousands of calls and requests received at the jail this year. We just completed a review of patrol reports to date and recorded over 7,400 categorized calls, and that doesn’t even include the hundreds of calls that do not require written reports. You may not always hear the answer you think you should have, but we do respond. We do not make the laws – just attempt to enforce them.

I am involved with revenues and am pleased that because of new programs that have been implemented and grants that have been obtained over the last several years, we will have received over a million dollars in nontax revenue by the end of the year. This has enabled us to move into the 21st Century with the most updated, safest and best prepared department Garfield County has ever had.

During the “2002 summer of hell” with all the fires and mudflows, I saw people working hour upon hour and willing to keep on going. From the top down always the attitude was unselfish and giving. I am still impressed with the action and the response of this fine group of people when there is an emergency.

The patrol staff, the detention staff, and the administrative staff are a dedicated group of people who day-in and day-out under stressful conditions continue to maintain a sense of humor and continue to perform their jobs with untiring dedication. Obviously, we are not perfect, but we are giving it our all.

We make maximum usage of our resources, and yet as with firefighters, law enforcement agencies, and other county entities, are often underappreciated.

Thank you,

Lynda White

Glenwood Springs