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Sheriff's posse formed
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| April 22, 2011 |
Boundary County Sheriff Greg Sprungl recently
began recruiting a standing posse, comprised of
teams of experts in a diverse array of fields
who stand ready to come to the aid of Boundary
County residents and visitors in time of need.
 Unlike
the old cliche, "let's get up a posse!" as the
bandits are riding out of town, this one is
comprised of experts in their fields, who can be
called up and activated as soon as problems
arise.
"The first and most basic use of the Sheriff's
posse is the search and recovery of lost and
missing people within Boundary County," reads an
introduction letter sent out to prospective
members in March. "As the concept of the posse
also means assisting the county Sheriff with any
and all emergencies that arise, you may be
called to gather for additional duties such as
natural disaster assistance, which could include
responding to flooding problems, heavy snowstorm
and heavy wind emergencies, major fire
emergencies to provide traffic control and
evacuations, crime scene security, hazardous
material spills ... and any and all emergencies
or activities that the Boundary County Sheriff's
Office would need additional trusted and
experienced personnel and equipment to overcome
the emergency or incident encountered."
The posse is comprised of several individual
teams, each led by an appointed team leader and
assistant team leader. Teams include a ground
search team, a 4x4 vehicle/ATV/snow machine
team, an air wing comprised of pilots, planes
and observers, a high-angle rescue and medical
team made up of EMTs and advanced EMTs, a dive
team, a marine team, a mounted team and a
communications, and an incident command team.
While members may be assigned to a particular
team, each member is encouraged to cross-train
with all other teams to build cohesiveness and
esprit de corps so that the individual teams
work together effectively as a whole.
The posse isn't an organization that people can
simply join. Each member must have proven
experience in the activities of the team they
want to join, and each must qualify as a
Sheriff's Reserve Deputy Level 3. All members
must also pass most of the same background
investigation questions required for obtaining
an Idaho Concealed Weapons Permit.
Each member must be at least 18 years of age,
hold a valid driver's license and maintain valid
liability insurance on any vehicle used when the
posse is called out. They must conform to high
standards, and leaders even higher.
"The leadership of the posse is appointed not by
popularity contest, but by ability, leadership
and organizational skills and common sense to
make use of the talent within the team," the
letter reads."
Each of the leaders initially appointed have
long and storied records of aiding people in
need and contributing to the community.
Leading the ground team is ISP Corporal Dusty
Kralik, Chad Farrens is leader of the
4x4/ATV/snow machine team. Pat Gardiner leads
the air wing team, Kenny Baker the high-angle
rescue/medical team. Dave Kramer is the leader
for the dive team, Mike Naumann leads the marine
team. Nave Noel is head of the mounted team and
Brad Stalcup leads the communications and
incident command team.
To find out more about the posse or to find out
if you can join, call sheriff's investigator
Dave McClelland, (208) 267-3151, extension 206. |
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