On April 9, Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson, met with all three County Commissioners in reference to Governor Kehoe’s Blue Shield Program. The program is a pledge by the governing bodies to commit to supporting law enforcement and public safety. The Blue Shield designation is one step in a multiple step process to being able to apply for the Blue Shield grant program. But most importantly, it is a pledge to the Citizens of the County to work together with the safety and security of the county at a forefront.
The first two steps of becoming a Blue Shield Designated Community is the Commissioners passing a resolution to support law enforcement and other public safety entities. The Second step is also pledging additional funding for projects that support the community. There are 9 areas of importance to the resolution that Governor Kehoe wanted commitments to.
“Today, I am proud that the Sheriff’s Office and the Commissioner’s Office have worked together to bring a Blue Shield Designation to Bates County. While we are still in the process of achieving that designation, we have the two biggest steps behind us. The Commission has passed the Resolution in support of the Sheriff’s Office. The Commission has also passed a motion made by Commissioner Nelson to restore a funding source that was taken from law enforcement two years ago. This funding will help meet the requirement of the extraordinary funding portion.”
Says Sheriff Anderson.
What is the funding going to be used for? The Sheriff’s Office dispatches for multiple Police Departments and Fire Departments throughout the county. The Sheriff’s Office was notified by Motorola that our current dispatch console was at the end of its life expectancy and would no longer be able to be maintained and would need to be replaced. The Sheriff’s Office has also been made aware of multiple rural fire departments within the county that do not have radios to communicate with other fire departments, dispatch and/or with fire personnel on the ground. Sending a fireman into a burning house without the ability to call a Mayday is incomprehensible in 2025. While making sure equipment for fire departments is not the primary duties of the Sheriff, the Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Office in the county and takes all public safety seriously. If the Sheriff’s Office is going to dispatch for those fire departments, then we have a Moral obligation to make sure they have equipment to communicate with us and other agencies sent to help them.
“The extra funding given today will be allocated to replace the ageing dispatch radio console and provide radios to rural fire departments that we dispatch for, that currently do not have radios. This extra funding will not only help us meet the guidelines for the grant but also help support and maintain public safety by equipping public safety personnel with the very basic equipment to do their jobs” Said Sheriff Anderson. “I want to take this opportunity to thank the Commissioners for their support and let the community know that this is just one step in time and that we will continue to need the Commission’s support for years to come”
