Windham County Sheriff's Department
~ Breaking News ~

By PATRICK J. CROWLEY, Reformer Staff
Brattleboro Reformer

At a visit with the Jamaica Selectboard on Monday night, Clark informed the board his department's hourly rate will go up from $32 to $40, a rate that will be charged to all other towns the department contracts with.

Clark, along with Capt. Heidi Nelson, said as they came into the department this year, they found that many towns around the county were being charged different rates.

"We're going to have one set rate," Clark said.

That, coupled with rising fuel and insurance costs, led them to make the change, which will be effective on July 1.

Clark said he has been busy, putting in 14-hour days, trying to catch up and get settled into his new position, which he formally assumed on Feb. 1.

After hearing the news, Selectboard members said the increase was significant and asked if the Sheriff's Department had looked into any law enforcement grants.

"We are looking at grants to help offset the costs in the county," Clark said.

Clark said he was at the meeting on Monday to introduce himself and to assure the town that his department will strive to work as well as it can for the town.

"We are a business," Clark said. "If we're not making you happy, we're going to go out of business."

Selectboard member Oliver Olsen, who has been the liaison to the Sheriff's Department, said the town used to have a fixed rate contract that required the department to put in a certain number of hours. But, as time went on, he said the presence of the sheriff's deputies declined.

The town eventually worked out a new contract where the town is billed for the number of hours the Sheriff's Department is in the town.

Since then, Olsen said the town's relationship with the department has worked nicely.

With the new sheriff, the board had just a few areas of concern to bring up with Clark.

The biggest concern is to get drivers on Route 30 heading toward Stratton to slow down with increased police presence.

Nelson said since December, the number of deputies in the town had doubled, resulting in many more tickets and DUI arrests.

"I've noticed it a lot," said Olsen.

Other areas of concern were Turkey Mountain Road, where residents have complained of logging trucks barreling down the hill at high speeds, and the area near Jamaica Village School, where a narrow dirt road is posted at 15 mph.

A resident living on Pikes Falls Road told the board that he was concerned with how fast cars go on the road.

The board said a speed limit is only posted close to the village, and with no posted limit, the Vermont speed limit is 50 mph.

Clark said a survey was done by the department to set an appropriate speed on the road, but he was unable to find it in his office. If it comes to it, they may need to do the survey over again, he said.

Another suggestion the board had is to put a deputy in the village after midnight, when cars often speed.

Clark and Nelson said the long hours and cooperation with the towns have started to put the department in the right direction.

"There are no secrets in our department anymore," said Nelson.

Clark said there is still work to do.

"Are things perfect right now? No. But, we're definitely on the right track," he said.

Patrick J. Crowley can be reached at pcrowley@reformer.com, or 802 254-2311, ext. 277.