Well, I couldn’t sleep so I might as well get up and write. Emery County what have you done? You voted out a man with 36 years experience as the Emery County Sheriff on Tuesday.
Sheriff Guymon has a long and respected record in law enforcement. In most industries, I know a lot of people who have retired after years in a field and a position who are then hired back as a consultant for exactly that reason. Their expertise, knowledge, and experience is invaluable. Most companies realize that and they hire those experts back at a high fee to get that experience. Emery County you had just that type of a situation and you have turned your back on that kind of an individual and someone who has protected your county for 36 years as a sheriff. You have said thanks, but no thanks. Sheriff Guymon is 62 years old. How would you at the age of 62 like to hunt for a new job? In this day and age you need insurance and at 62 you don’t qualify for medicare. So at age 62 he will need to look for a new job. Anyone who is nearing retirement age knows that in drawing social security your benefits are much lower at age 62 than if you wait until age 66.
I have heard the argument from some people that Sheriff Guymon is too old. Too old for what? His age has never been a factor in his service. We are all getting older. What if you have been a doctor, lawyer, factory worker, business man, truck driver, nurse or any other type of profession and you have been doing it for years. How would you like someone coming in and telling you that you’re too old for the job. Your countless hours, your sacrifice, your devotion, your training, your experience will all go down the drain. Is that how we do it here in Emery County? Well, I guess so.
Another sad thing is right along with Sheriff Guymon, there are other devoted employees who have said, if LaMar goes, they will go right along with him. Our sheriff’s office has evolved into the top of the line law enforcement agency it is today, due to the work of these men and their experience and devotion to you the people of Emery County. I would feel better about not having LaMar Guymon as our sheriff if one of those other men who have worked their way up from the bottom to where they are today could have been elected as our sheriff.
The sheriff’s office can only move forward to the extent money is available in the budget. The new sheriff must live within the budget. Our sheriff’s office pursues grant after grant to supplement the budget. The drug task force is funded partially by a grant. The deputy patrol on the San Rafael is funded with a partnership with the Bureau of Land Management. The patrol on the forest service land is funded in part by a contribution from the forest service. The NOVA program is funded in part by grants. The drug court is funded with grant money. These grants must be applied for and then proven with every bit of the money being used where it is intended and documented. Our sheriff’s office is expert at writing grants and obtaining equipment through grants. Your search and rescue is a volunteer organization and grants and fund raisers and donations have helped equip this organization and keep it functioning for the many rescues our county is involved with each year. They do this to ensure your safety if you or a loved one or a stranger happens to get lost or injured while in our county.
Everything at the sheriff’s office has evolved over the years. Do you know how difficult it was in the old jail to keep everything operating in an inadequate facility. Do you know the work that went into getting a new facility that better serves the prisoners and employees.
Sheriff Guymon has guided your county through dark times. I have watched him in action over the years. He has been there as a comfort and a source of integrity and strength. I admire the man. I have watched him with the families of the Crandall Canyon mine victims. I have watched him offer the love and compassion in the special way that is his alone. I watched him at each of the miners funerals and he attended every one as well as the rescuers funerals. I have watched him serve the William Sharp family during the dreadful time of their parents death. Now a year later he still checks on them and helps them out. During accidents he is there to calm people down and do what it takes to help them work through the situation.
During a tragedy in Carbon County where two babies were washed away in a flood, he listened to a distraught mother ask him to find her children. And, he was there day in and day out for weeks searching and combing the washes. That’s the kind of man you are losing. I could go on and on about his 36 years of service.
I’m not worried about LaMar, I don’t feel bad for him, a man with his strengths will be successful in his future endeavors. I feel bad this county didn’t recognize what an asset this man has been to our county and allow him the privilege of finishing his career at the Emery County Sheriff’s Office as in my opinion he deserved to do after that many years of service.
He has had a quiet strength in times of distress and crisis. He has been a rock to so many in our county and I for one will miss having LaMar Guymon as my sheriff.
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