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ONONDAGA COUNTY, N.Y. — For government, it was close to light speed. Just two weeks after voters said yes, Clay’s Police Department is no more. Its officers have been absorbed into the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department.

“Obviously, the townspeople wanted the merger to go through, and the change, as we saw by the vote. I’m excited to start a new career with the Sheriff’s. It presents new opportunities for me,” said Deputy Justin Siddall.

“There’s a lot of behind the scene things that have to be done in any law enforcement agency. And to make this transition work, we’ve had to do a lot of training and transferring. A lot of transfer of records. Warrants issues that had to be clarified. A number of things that had to be done,” said Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh.

“I have always believed that if you’re respectful of the voters and you give them all of the information that they will come down on the right side. And this really is the right thing for this community,” said Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney. While this merger in the town of Clay is complete, county officials say it has set a tone for the rest of the county. The possibility of further consolidation of services, across the board. They’re waiting to see who moves next.The merger brought 16 new members to the county sheriff’s department. The only member of the Clay Police Department not making the change is Owen Honors, the town’s public safety commissioner, who is retiring after 50 years in law enforcement.The campaign had, at times, been intense. The town argued that at a time of economic pressures, a town police department was no longer necessary and that there would be savings from having the Sheriff’s department take over. The police union argued that, in the long run, savings would not be as great as officials claimed and that the town would lose some of its police protection. In the end, the argument of town leaders prevailed.

“This police merger is a marriage of a good idea and a public willingness to embrace it. It demonstrates that change can occur and it doesn’t have to filter from the top down,” said Damian Ulatowski, Deputy Clay Town Supervisor.

With growing concerns across New York over sky high property taxes, it’s a movement that could spread far beyond Onondaga County.

A Limestone County woman who was traveling U.S. 72 East near the Madison County line Sunday stopped because she thought a dog and goat on the side of the road might be injured.

But little did she know that neither the goat nor dog was hurt, but she was about to encounter a problem with the goat.

“It jumped up on her car and scratched it up,” said Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely. “I’m told that she had a pretty nice Toyota Camry. When our deputy arrived on the scene she had a hold of him and he was standing on the car.”

Deputy Ron Crouch grabbed the goat by the horns and pulled him off the vehicle and stuck him in the back seat of his patrol car, the sheriff said. The dog then jumped in the back seat with the goat.

“Ron brought them both back here to the jail and he said he got some weird looks from people who noticed this goat in the back seat of his patrol car,” the sheriff said.

“No one has called yet to claim him and if we don’t get a call on it, we are going to eat that goat,” the sheriff said. “We’ve got him up now at Lt. Randy Bates’ place.”

The dog was taken to a shelter.

Blakely says he’d like to hear from anyone missing a goat or a dog.

BELCHERTOWN - By a 5-0 vote the selectmen last night approved the plan to equip police officers with Tasers which has been proposed by Chief Francis R. Fox Jr.

“It adds another means for an officer to protect himself, the community and the assailant himself,” Selectman Ronald E. Aponte said just before the vote.

Aponte said Fox has developed a good policy for using the Taser only in situations where someone is assaulting and posing a threat to the officer or a member of the community.

Fox said they would not be used to stop someone fleeing.

Fox said he will be able to purchase five Tasers for his department and the computer software needed for tracking their use for about $4,000. He said he will be able to use a $3,400 grant and money in his equipment budget.

Training will be provided by Belchertown Patrolman Edward H. Oey, who is a certified instructor for the Taser, a weapon produced by Taser International Inc., of Arizona, which fires probes that delivers a 50,000-volt charge, incapacitating a suspect long enough for police to put the person in custody.

Selectman Alfred J. Roccanti commended Fox for researching the use of Tasers and taking the initiative to bring them to the Belchertown department at a time when very few police departments in Western Massachusetts have done so.

Massachusetts requires cities and towns to provide training, update their protocols on use of force and obtain approval from the executive secretary of public safety and security before equipping police with Tasers.

There are 42 communities in the state that have been approved, including Greenfield and Deerfield.

Deerfield Police Chief Michael J. Wozniakewicz called them a good tool for preventing injuries in situations where there is combative behavior. He said his officers have been carrying Tasers since January but none have been used in that time.

Northampton Police Chief Russell P. Sinkewicz said that working with his command staff and defensive tactics instructors he investigated equipping his department with Tasers but decided not to.

“It was basically a cost-benefit analysis,” Sinkewicz said. “This is a community-by-community decision. After quite a bit of evaluation, we decided it was not the way for us to go.”

Holyoke Police Chief Anthony R. Scott said, “Each department has to weigh the pros and cons. I just don’t think we need them in Holyoke.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Monroe County sheriff’s new car might not be ideal for chasing down fleeing suspects, but it gets about 45 miles a gallon.

Sheriff Jim Kennedy and two other department administrators started driving Toyota Prius hybrids after the cars arrived last week.

The sheriff’s new car isn’t much different from a standard Prius. It has the department logo on the side and will get an interior light bar.

The idea for the hybrid came from County Councilwoman Jill Lesh, who is a member of the southern Indiana county’s fleet financing subcommittee.

“When she first broached the idea, I was skeptical,” Kennedy said.

But he said that rising fuel costs make the hybrids a good addition to the department’s fleet.

Hybrids offer better mileage than comparable gas-only cars by switching to an electric motor whenever possible.

Chief Deputy Scott Mellinger will also use one of the cars, while the third car will be assigned to one of the department’s process servers.

While it would be impossible to switch all department’s squad cars to hybrids, Kennedy said changes will have to be made to deal with high fuel costs.

“American police will grudgingly change, but it will change,” he said.

No one has given Kennedy a hard time about the new car, except some Indiana sheriffs he recently saw at a convention. His own deputies have seemed impressed.

“Some of them want to drive it, but I won’t let them,” Kennedy said.

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The outgoing Madison County grand jury noted significant improvements of the work of the officers of the Richmond Police Department Thursday in its final report.

During the January-June term, the grand jury met 19 times and heard more than 175 criminal cases investigated by Madison County law enforcement agencies.

“While previous grand juries have been critical of the (Richmond Police) department, we have no such criticism to make,” the report states. “The work of the detectives has been excellent. We thank Chief Larry Brock for his leadership of the department and commend him and all the officers and personnel of RPD for their efforts in correcting the problems encountered by previous grand juries.”

A grand jury report in July 2007 also commended the department for their improvements.

However, a December 2006 report by the grand jury listed multiple problems they observed in cases brought by Richmond police, including “incomplete investigations with insufficient follow-up work; bad judgment; procrastination; poor communication between officers and poor preparation.”

“The consequences of these problems is inconsistency that affects the ability to do justice,” the report stated. “Some officers did an excellent job with their cases; other officers, either from ignorance, laziness or attitude, presented poor cases that resulted in dismissals, amended charges, or required extensive efforts to make the case prosecutable. We believe proper supervision would eliminate most of these problems.”

Brock said he was pleased that the grand jury recognized the gains that the officers have made.

“The men and women of the Richmond Police Department have worked very hard over the past year to improve their performance and the delivery of their work product to the citizens, prosecutors and the courts,” he said.

“I would also like to personally commend the officers of the department for their hard work and dedication to making themselves better,” Brock said. “They are the ones who truly deserve the recognition for the gains we have made. I am very proud of them.”

In its report, the grand jury also thanked Madison Circuit judges Julia Hilton Adams and William T. Jennings, who both recently announced their retirement, for their service.

Adams said she would remain as a senior judge for five years, hearing cases as assigned.

“We thank you for your dedication to the rule of law and for ensuring that the citizens who appeared before you were treated fairly, equally and with the dignity and respect deserved by all,” the report states. “While your successors will no doubt continue the tradition of excellent judicial service we have enjoyed in Madison County, the standards you have set will be difficult for them to attain. Your wisdom, caring and work for the cause of justice has been greatly appreciated and will be missed by us all.”

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FRANKLINTON - An estimated 500 people filled the front lawn of the Washington Parish Courthouse Tuesday morning to see Robert J. “Bobby” Crowe sworn into office as Washington Parish sheriff 40 years after his father, Dorman, ended a 20-year term in the same office.

DAILY NEWS PHOTO/Marcelle Hanemann Judge William J. “Rusty” Knight (left) administers the oath of office to Washington Parish Sheriff Robert J. “Bobby” Crowe as the new sheriff’s wife, Kim Crowe holds the Bible.

Flanked by state, parish and local dignitaries and members of his own staff, Crowe sat nervously bouncing his knee during the preliminary ceremonies, looking like he’d rather be working than being feted as the man of the moment.

The incoming sheriff was introduced by Sen. Ben Nevers, who said he knows Crowe, and that he believes a “new day” is dawning in the sheriff’s office. He encouraged everyone to support the new administration in getting its job accomplished.

Twenty-second Judicial District Judge William J. Knight administered the oath of office while Crowe’s wife, Kim, held the Bible. Then Sheriff Crowe took the microphone.

He said he was nervous about the ceremony, but that he’s ready to hit the ground running as sheriff.

Although Tuesday was his first official day on the job, Crowe said he’s been busy for months assembling a staff and planning programs. He said he retained more than 80 percent of prior Sheriff Aubrey Jones’ employees so as to diminish the traditional “politics” of such transitions and to focus “more on accountability.”

“It’s imperative the sheriff’s office is run like a business,” said Crowe.

He offered a glimpse of his “vision of the future.”

Crowe said he’s already:

- Terminated the prisoner work release program because it was “losing a substantial amount of taxpayer money.” He said he would try to rework the program later.

- Secured a rural substation location in Mt. Hermon and is working to get another in the Isabel area.

- Assigned a full time deputy to “work the rivers.”

Crowe said he’s also hired a CPA to bring “a new level of financial accountability” to the office, as well as a new “very experienced” grant writer and a new warden for the parish jail.

The sheriff told the citizens of Washington Parish to expect changes at the jail, and said he already has a plan to address overcrowding. He said he’ll add a Street Crimes Action Team with a new drug dog to the Drug Task Force. And he’ll increase patrols to five units per shift, with each unit carrying a “certified, qualified” deputy.

Crowe also vowed to “work DWIs, radar and seat belt” patrols.

And he said if someone is “stuck on the side of the road” and a unit passes by and doesn’t help, he wants to know about it.

“That’s what we’re for, to serve and protect,” said Crowe.

In closing, Crowe made a vow, “We will do the right thing for the right reasons in the right time.”

In fact, the new era had already begun.

“I’m not waiting to start,” he said later. “We’ve already been working on some problem areas that have been needing attention. I’ve already got plans, and now I’m going to start implementing them.”

Crowe served with the Bogalusa Police Department for 27 years, working his way up from patrolman to assistant chief of police, retiring in 1996. He also worked for the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office from 1999 to 2001, and was in charge of courthouse security. His father, the late Dorman Crowe, was sheriff in the 1950s and 60s.

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Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell announced last month to the public that he was cancer-free, nine months after having surgery on his right lung.

I waited until I had two four-month checkups to make sure the first one wasn’t some kind of fluke or aberration,” said Campbell, who’s running for a fourth term this November. “On top of that, I have had a number of people who said I was in the process of dying and that I wouldn’t be running for sheriff, and I was in terrible shape.”

According to the American Cancer Society, only about 15 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive the disease after five years. But Campbell said he kept a positive outlook about beating it.

Two weeks after his surgery, he was back at work. He went though four months of chemotherapy at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Fortunately, he didn’t lose much of his hair or hearing from the treatment, he said. His doctor there, George Simon, told him in February the cancer was gone.

But Campbell said he has not fully recovered his strength. He goes to the gym every afternoon that he does not have a commitment. But he has to make sure he does not overdo it.

“My goal now is to get back as close as I possibly can to the shape I was in, if not better shape,” he said.

Campbell, 64, who quit smoking the day he was diagnosed with cancer in August 2007, has kept cigarettes in the console of his truck so he can face the temptation head-on.

“I’m going to leave these in the console and see who is tougher — them or me,” he recalled thinking.

Campbell’s opponent in the race this November is Tommy Mills, 52, a former captain at the Leon County Jail.

“I’m running because I believe we’re living in a new day and we need a new direction,” Mills said.

Some people have asked Mills, “How’s the sheriff’s health?”

“I say, ‘You’re asking the wrong person. The sheriff looks good. I see him from time to time, but he’s the one to answer those questions,’” Mills said.

Mills, who considers Campbell a friend, said he hopes he lives a long and healthy life.

“I wish the sheriff nothing but the best,” he said.

Mills has spent the last two weeks canvassing local neighborhoods and businesses, handing out pamphlets to get his campaign’s message out to the public: “We’re going to work as hard as we can to make Leon County a safe place for our children and for our businesses.”

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Rick Dancer

The other night I had one of the saddest experiences of this campaign. As part of being a candidate you must do interviews with different groups to see if they will endorse you. As part of my interview with the Oregon State Police Officers’ Association I went on a ride along with a state trooper.

Around five in the afternoon the call came in that a woman was weaving in and out of traffic. We pulled her over in Cottage Grove. The woman was so intoxicated it was unbelievable. We took her to the holding cell at the Cottage Grove Jail. It took some time to get her processed and during that time this woman’s life story started to unfold.

At one point she was having a conversation with herself talking about how she wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. She talked about her kids and how they didn’t like her and how much she had made a mess of her life. She hated herself. She had no reason to live. She was in pain and something was tormenting her deep inside. After an hour it was obvious why she was so drunk. Not to give her an excuse for her behavior or for driving under the influence. There is no excuse for getting behind the wheel of a car in that condition. But this woman had made lots of bad choices and the consequences were unfolding in front of her. It made you sad and angry. She blew a .32. That’s unbelievable and as close to alcohol poisoning as you can get.

She wanted to be a chef. She described for us how she made the best fruit pies. It really did sound good. I’m sure she was a great cook. When she talked of cooking she’d light up. But soon the reality of what would never be would darken her mood and erase her smile. She wanted to go to chef school but the thing that tormented her strangled her will, her determination and her character.

We took her to her sister’s house. I was in the car with her while the officer was talking with the woman’s sister. The suspect said to me “that girl in the red is my daughter”. The little girl had this horrible look on her face as she looked at her mother, handcuffed, getting out of a police car. But the saddest part was the little girl didn’t look surprised. It looked like a normal part of life.

I was so impressed with the way the trooper treated this woman. He was respectful and yet strong. He realized she was a human being with a problem, yet she had done something horrible.

We drove away, not judging her, but asking many questions. How does this happen to someone? What will happen to her children? What would have happened if someone hadn’t had the guts to call police and report her poor driving? And will she ever find the strength to step out of the life she’s living in and find peace?

It was a very sad day because there are no answers.

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HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - According to Indiana State Police, State Trooper Corey Culler stopped a 1992 Nissan Thursday morning on I-69 Northbound around mile marker 81 and noticed a smell of both burnt and fresh marijuana that reeked from the car.

These odors and other observations of the driver led Senior Trooper Culler to investigate possible possession of marijuana as well as operating while intoxicated under controlled substance.  Indiana State Police Master Trooper Gary Shenefield and his K-9 partner, Beau, were then summoned to the 81 mile marker for further assistance.

Senior Trooper Culler took the driver to Parkview Huntington Hospital for a chemical test for intoxication. Beau, who is trained in narcotics detection, found a significant amount of both crack cocaine and marijuana was discovered.

The driver, 60-year-old Haywood Rogers, Jr. of Detroit, was charged with Dealing in Cocaine (Class A Felony), Dealing in Marijuana (Class D Felony), Possession of Cocaine (Class C Felony), Possession of Marijuana (Class D Felony), and Operating While Intoxicated Under Controlled Substance (Class A Misdemeanor).

Rogers was taken to the Huntington County Jail where he was incarcerated under a $100,000 bond.

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Four in Explorers Post gain promotions

Four members of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post 2203 received recent promotions.

Deputies Capt. Daryl Reece, Master Deputy Carl Alvano and Master Deputy Mark Leiker presented promotions to Ashley Atwell, Blair Johnson, Sammie Atwell and Melanie Clark.

Ashley Atwell, a recent graduate of Gardner Edgerton High School, was promoted to staff sergeant of the post. Johnson, also a recent Gardner Edgerton graduate, was promoted to sergeant. Clark, a graduate of Mill Valley High School, was promoted to master explorer. Sammie Atwell, a junior at Gardner Edgerton, also was promoted to master explorer.

The intent of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post is to educate and involve youth in police operations, to interest them in possible law enforcement careers and to build a mutual understanding.

Membership in the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post is open to young adults, male or female, 14 thru 18. An application is available online at www.jocosheriff.org/compol/Explorer.pdf

Students gain service appointments

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore announced recently that several local students have been accepted into U.S. service academies as part of the class of 2012. These recruits were nominated by Moore

“The extensive application process is designed to select those who will excel both as students and officers,” Moore said. “These ten students have consistently proven themselves through academics, civic engagement and physical ability. I congratulate them on this well-deserved honor and look forward to hearing about their many future successes.”

Kyle Kenneth Brueggemann has been accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Brueggeman is a 2008 graduate of Olathe East High School, where he was a varsity athlete in baseball, earning 2nd team All-State honors as a senior. He was also a member of the Businessmen and Women’s Club in high school, and is active in his church community as a volunteer and youth group member.

Adam Francis Goetz has been accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy. Goetz is a 2008 graduate of Olathe North High School, where he was a varsity athlete in cross country and track and field, and a member of the National Honor Society. He was also Science Olympiad team captain, president of the Calculus Club, and U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Cadet of the Year (Region 7) in 2006.

Casey Patrick Habluetzel has been accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Habluetzel is a 2008 graduate of Olathe Northwest High School, where he served as President of both the National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. He has also won various awards as a martial artist in Ai Ki Chuan Kung Fu. In addition, Habluetzel has received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for three years in giving over 120 hours of community service.

Cranston Miles Kline, a recent graduate of Rockhurst High School, has been accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Kline was a Senior BEST Brother (freshman mentor), Yell Leader and member of the National Honor Society at Rockhurst. He has also worked towards becoming an Eagle Scout, and looks forward to serving as an officer upon graduating from the Air Force Academy.

Connor Patrick McCarthy, a recent graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, has been accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. McCarthy was a three-year varsity wrestler, winning many awards including a freestyle state title. He also performed over 100 hours of volunteer work in Hurricane Katrina relief and in house construction in Juarez, Mexico. McCarthy also participated in the 2006 FBI Leadership Academy, the 2007 Naval Academy Summer Seminar, and was a three-year top fundraiser for Take Downs for Down’s Syndrome.

Jonathan Mulloy Quirarte has been accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Quirarte is a 2008 graduate of Rockhurst High School, where he earned two varsity letters as a member of his high school football team and made Honor Roll each semester. He has also performed volunteer work at St. Michael the Archangel Parish, the Shalom House, and the Niles Home for Children. Quirarte wishes to serve as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation from the Air Force Academy.

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