JUDGE: County has a rich law enforcement history
Milam County has a rich tradition of service from an excellent Sheriff’s Office. From the many years of service of former Sheriffs Black, Broadus, West, and David Greene to our current Sheriff Chris White, the county has had the luxury of an outstanding, honest, fair and thorough law enforcement department.
Today the Sheriff’s Office maintains a force of 15 patrol deputies and investigators. Deputies are available 24 hours a day seven days a week to respond to service-calls, emergencies, traffic complaints, and criminal activities.
One reason for our good law enforcement is good deputies. On Monday, I attended a ceremony where several of the best were promoted.
Mike Clore was promoted from Captain to Chief Deputy; John Mendoza was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain; John Vargas was promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant; Bret Wier was promoted from Deputy to Sergeant; and Mayor Bill Harris was appointed as Chaplain for the Sheriff’s Office.
As I watched family members pin the new badges on each of these fine deputies, I thought of the bad news these past few weeks regarding law enforcement in other cities and states. But, we don’t have that in the Milam County Sheriff’s Office. Not even a little. What we have are fine men and women working hard to keep us safe, seven days a week. And let’s not forget that there are many more behind the scenes, such as our Courthouse security, School Resource Deputy, dispatchers and an outstanding jail operation and jail staff, led by Doug Veach.
Many years ago, the county invested in a much needed new jail. It renovated the former St. Edwards Hospital and added new construction to create a new jail. The project was controversial at the time, primarily because of the expense, but it was a great investment as it makes money for the county by housing overflow inmates from other counties. Of course, this is a huge operation with a large staff, from those that prepare the food to those that maintain security. This is just one of the many services the Sheriff’s Office provides.
Here recently, the Sheriff’s Office has arrested several individuals who have been involved in burglaries or thefts throughout the county, and even a gambling operation in Cameron. These arrests have come after diligent investigations and help from the good citizens in our communities. It seems like every day the Sheriff’s Office is involved in some kind of drug arrest or investigation as it works to control the use or availability of illegal drugs in our county. Not only are these deputies and staff enforcing the law, they are also out there providing community service, such as David Greene’s Brown Santa program. Last year Sheriff’s Office volunteers provided over a thousand toys to many, many young children in Milam County.
Today, our tradition of excellent law enforcement is alive and well in the county. Each of us should continue to be very proud of the fine men and women who are out there on the forefront of trouble to keep us all safe.