“The Sheriff’s View” (#29)
I will begin this work week by attending the summer Missouri Sheriff’s Conference in Springfield. The Missouri Sheriff’s Association sponsors three such conferences each year, which enables sheriffs throughout the state to merge and discuss topics concerning our counties. We will also receive legal updates, attend continuing education classes and meet vendors who bring with them modern technology for our agencies and jails.
Our Keynote speaker on Monday will be Attorney General Chris Koster, who will discuss new legislation concerning sheriffs, especially the updates regarding our new Carrying a Concealed Weapon (CCW) licensing procedures. This legislation has changed the processing and issuance of your CCW license, which will be handled entirely by Missouri Sheriffs beginning January 01, 2014. This is just one of the many new laws recently passed for county sheriffs, so I will be able to give additional details in next week’s article.
On Saturday, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department set up a booth at Old Settlers Day at the Waynesville City Park. I have been attending Old Settlers Day since its inception 38 years ago and I do believe this was one of the largest turnouts I have ever seen. I would like to thank all who stopped by to visit the sheriff’s department booth; I enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones. Pulaski County deputies handed out hundreds of free items to our visitors, such as gun locks, literature and Junior Deputy Badges. Visitors young and old appeared to enjoy examining our new patrol vehicles and solving the mystery of the many gadgets and buttons contained in the Ford Interceptors. Needles to say, lights and sirens were the favorite choices of the youngsters. Our adult visitors were also able to take advantage of free blood pressure checks, thanks to our friends at the Pulaski County Ambulance District.
Having a booth at Old Settlers Day gave deputies and me the opportunity to address questions from our Pulaski County citizens, and inquire about ways we can better serve our community. Due to the large number of visitors, along with the interaction we received from the public, we have elected to continue having a booth at other events this year throughout Pulaski County.
Last Monday I met with our first college intern, who will begin working with us toward the end of August and continuing through the first week of December. During the intern’s tenure, he will be introduced to multiple aspects of a law enforcement agency. This will include riding with patrol deputies, writing reports, computer investigative research, along with observing our interactions with other law enforcement agencies and the Prosecutor’s office. He will also spend some time in our criminal and civil courts. The Intern will receive college credit in return for his 40 hour work-weeks with us, and will gain a good perspective of all aspects of a law enforcement agency. As a college student, I personally completed two internships, one each with the Waynesville and St. Robert Police Departments, which led me to a law enforcement career.
Once again, I want to encourage each of you to get out and enjoy the natural resources we have in Pulaski County, but practice safety techniques and use your common sense while on our rivers and streams. Last weekend the Missouri Highway Patrol and our agency responded to numerous calls regarding incidents on or near our local rivers, several of which resulted in injuries and near fatalities. Excessive alcohol appeared to be the catalyst in each, so please be smart while in the water, and sober up before driving your vehicle home!
This concludes another week’s summary as your Pulaski County sheriff, and I hope to see you here again next week. For more information about the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department and other related items of interest, please visit our Web-site at (
www.pcsheriff2.com), or on Facebook.
As always, stay safe and do something positive for your community.
Sheriff Ronald Long
