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By Timothy Kays
I have seen it, up close and personal. I wore the badge of the Williams County Sheriff’s Office for almost 18 years. I have seen and experienced the support that the WCSO receives from the citizens and businesses across the county. To call it heartwarming and uplifting is woefully inadequate, but words often fall short in the effort to describe the surge of positive energy that comes from community support. Been there…done that. A decade later, I still don’t have words for it.
It’s been ten years since I last put on the badge and went on duty. Times have changed a lot in those ten years, and not exactly for the better. Law enforcement officers have become the targets of anger in the quest for ‘social justice,’ to the point that several officers across the nation have been murdered…simply because they wore a badge.
Demands to defund the police that were unheard of ten years ago, now reverberate from coast to coast. The tsunami of social unrest seems to break at the borders of Williams County though, and in fact the citizens of Williams County, young and old, are doubling down in their support of the WCSO in the face of mounting hostility.
Is the unrest having an effect on the deputies of the WCSO? “It has an effect, no doubt,” said Sheriff Tom Kochert. “My job as the Sheriff is to keep these guys fit for duty, and that includes emotionally and mentally. I do that by keeping morale as high as I can keep it, providing what they need, when they need it, providing that support them whether it’s mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, whatever they need…we provide that.”
“By keeping the morale high, the inner office camaraderie very high, and having them tell me that it’s never been this high tells me that it’s like almost like putting another vest on before we send them out. They’re going to get bombarded when they get out in the world today, if you’re a law enforcement officer. In my 32 years, it’s a lot different than when I started, But it’s so important for me to manage them, train them and show them this is a safe place…give them the tools they need.”
“Fortunately, that seems to be working very well. I don’t see a lot of effect on the officers, but when folks are bringing us cards and water, cakes and cookies, cupcakes and little kids’ drawings, that makes such a difference. I mean that, that tells us that the overall feeling of Williams County is that they are very supportive of me, my office, and what these guys do. And every enforcement officer in this county, we’re all in the same boat.”
The WCSO Facebook page has well over 17,000 likes, and almost 18,000 followers, and they aren’t seeing all the support from the community. Sheriff Kochert said, “For every post that you see showing cupcakes, cakes, cookies that folks are bringing in, cases of water for the guys when we had that that warm spell, we’ve received probably two or three letters, thank you cards, kids drawing pictures, thanking us. That is very important to the guys.”
“The deputies really appreciate that, and as their Sheriff, I appreciate that we have strong public support. Since I was appointed, the morale has just been so high. Several deputies have told me the morale is higher than they can remember it ever being, and when we get stuff from the public, that just makes it even better. It just reinforces to them that they’re doing the right thing, and they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing: reaching out to the public and serving.”
To those who rely on the protection of the Williams County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Kochert would like to say, “It is truly an honor to serve them, both myself and the deputies, every day. Every member of this of this office considers it a service to the public trust.”
“The public comes first. And we are dedicated as the Williams County Sheriff’s Office, with me Sheriff Kochert at its head, to serve the public in the most effective, efficient, professional manner in this day and age that we can possibly give.”
Timothy can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com
