News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Speeding on the streets of Sisters was at the top of citizens' lists of concerns aired last week at the first Coffee with the Sheriff program.
Sheriff Larry Blanton met for two hours last Wednesday with citizens at the Sisters substation to hear their concerns about law enforcement issues and to sound them out about how their sheriff's office does its job.
Frank and Jan Baldwin came out to tell Blanton about their concerns with speeders.
"I workout at Cascade Fitness in the morning," said Frank Baldwin. "No one goes 20 miles an hour down that street (Main Avenue). Some go twice as fast. In (the) 16 years I've lived here, I've only seen a handful of traffic violators pulled over."
"We need to do better at that," Blanton acknowledged. "Apparently we're not making an impact on the people who drive that way. That time of morning the traffic pattern (is) probably the same people every morning."
The sheriff said that radar cars that tell drivers how fast they're going work well as a visual deterrent. He was also receptive to a citizen's idea to use empty cars parked on the street as a visual deterrent.
The presence of a marked police car does seem to be the most effective deterrent to speeders.
"When I see one driving myself, the first thing I do is check my speed," he said. "It's human nature."
While Blanton is amenable to high-profile traffic patrol, he prefers education to writing a fistful of tickets every day.
"We should never be in law enforcement for revenue," he said. "Never."
Local resident Ed Johnson noted that pedestrians, too, need to be educated.
"People treat (Sisters) like Disneyland," he said. "They just cross wherever they want."
Johnson also expressed the desire to see more regularity in sheriff's office staffing in Sisters.
"My concerns go back to when we had our own police department and the officers knew the good guys and the bad guys ... and their presence was here all the time," he said.
"Isn't there some way that you can design this so there's fewer (deputies) on the rotation and more familiarity?"
Blanton said, "You're right, and we're going to try."
However, Blanton explained several reasons why creating a steady Sisters contingent is difficult. He noted that in managing a large department, it is hard to assign a deputy to one area for a long period of time.
Deputies seek career advancement - transfers to the detective squad or forest patrol - and as a manager Blanton said it's not right to keep them pinned to one spot.
He cited the case of Allan Borland as an example.
Borland was a member of the Sisters Police Department and transferred to the sheriff's office when the police department was disbanded. For several years he served consistently in Sisters.
Then, the opportunity arose to apply for the position of Forest Patrol Deputy. Borland was accepted and now spends his time patrolling the woods instead of the streets of Sisters.
Blanton said he can't see denying a deputy that kind of opportunity.
"It's just tough to say, 'You'd be an awesome Forest Patrol Deputy, but you've got to stay in Sisters till you retire,'" he said.
That said, Blanton also indicated that stable funding provided recently by voters will allow better staffing for a department that has been chronically understaffed for years. That should enable him to keep deputies in one place longer instead of shuffling them around to plug holes in coverage.
Overall, Blanton believes the city's roughly $390,0000 per year contract with the sheriff's office is beneficial both for Sisters and for the agency. Sisters gets resources like detective teams and the agency gets financial help, augmenting overall west county coverage.
"We think it's a good deal for everybody," Blanton said.
Blanton announced that he plans to forego raising tax rates next year on the newly created taxing districts.
"My goal is not to raise District 1 and District 2 ... tax rates next year," he said. "People have been asked and asked."
It's not that the sheriff's office couldn't use the money. In an environment of growing service needs, "it'll never be enough," Blanton said.
But, he concluded: "There's a place and time when you're grateful for what you have, and you make it work."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
Reader Comments(0)