Help has been there

St apl es In t he S ept. 1 8, 2008, copy of the Staples World, there was an article addressing the need for an additional police officer for the city of Staples. In that article was a quote from Police Chief Kyle Huber. The exact wording in the article was:

"We don't get any help from anybody." Saying that a report of a break-in, a domestic or a sexual assault at Long Prairie will find the Long Prairie police responding and a county sheriff's deputy as well. That is seldom the case in Staples, at least without the county deputy driving several miles in order to assist. "We do not get any help from anybody. We don't get that help."

In the April 23, 2009, copy of the Staples World, there was an article entitled "Police assists backed by chief." In that article was a quote from Council Member Stan Carlson. The exact wording in the article was:

"Stan Carlson, a council member, said he had no trouble with the department giving assistance to other departments. But he wondered if Todd County especially, benefitted from having Staples officers to respond to county calls. "They're depending on us to provide an inordinate amount of backup to them but they don't provide that for us. Perhaps it behooves them to make some sort of contribution for that."

This article indicated that the Staples Police Department assisted the Todd County Sheriff's Office 52 times in 2008. The sheriff's office truly appreciates their assistance. What the article does not state is that the Todd County Sheriff's Office assisted Staples PD 73 times in 2008. Incorrectly, the article states that "they (Todd County Sheriff's Office) don't provide that for us."

In addition to those 73 assists, the Todd County Sheriff's Office has taught D.A.R.E., Drug Abuse Resistance Education, in the public and parochial school ever since 1989. This program requires a large amount of time and the DARE Officer typically teaches the same lesson in four separate classrooms. The program is nine weeks long. The sheriff's office has always provided an extra officer to the city of Staples for the Railroad Days dance. We also recently provided an officer to cover the city while police officers were in training.

Personnel from the sheriff's office frequently will sign criminal complaints for the Staples Police Department. By signing these complaints, the Staples officers do not have to drive to the county or city attorney's office in Long Prairie.

Staples is the only city in Todd County where the sewer alarms come directly to the sheriff's dispatch. Additionally, our dispatch typically takes power outage calls for the City of Staples. In one major storm, dispatch took in excess of 100 calls advising that the power was out in Staples. This can be a huge distraction to the dispatch center during this type of weather emergency. The City of Staples previously paid a dispatch fee to help offset some of these extra dispatch duties. The City of Staples no longer pays that fee.

Geographically, Staples is in a location on the border of our county. Because of the location, the Todd County Sheriff's Office does not always have a deputy in or near Staples and we are not always available to assist. Our services have always been available to the City of Staples and our services will continue to be available.

Law enforcement is about working together. We need to rely on each other in order to get the most effective results possible. The Todd County Sheriff's Offi ce will continue to assist all law enforcement agencies in the county.

Sheriff Peter J. Mikkelson Todd County Sheriff's Office