Grant helps sheriff's office patrol dunes

Greater police presence expected for Memorial weekend, chief deputy says

Grant County boasts about 25,000 miles of country roads, much of which is difficult to traverse by car.

Thanks to a recently received grant, the sheriff's will have the continued ability to patrol those remote areas.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office was recently awarded two grants from the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation to fund two patrol deputies and maintenance and operations to patrol off-road vehicles areas, concentrating on the Moses Lake Sand Dunes.

The sheriff's office was one of 15 agencies in the state to receive the $882,246 doled out by the recreation committee, Myra Barker, interagency committee project manager, said.

A total of $1,069,125 of grant dollars was available to local agencies for outdoor recreation, Barker said.

One grant totaled $116,202, which will be used to fund the positions of the two deputies, according to a news release from Sheriff Frank De Trolio.

A second grant, worth $18,400, will be used to manage the three toilet systems and two large dumpsters used at the sand dunes during busy times, such as the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, according to the news release.

The grant money comes from a portion of the state's motor vehicle gasoline tax paid by off-road vehicle riders and off-road permits, according to the news release.

Grant County Chief Deputy John Dazell said the sheriff's office first received this grant in 1982 and has received it consistently ever since. The county's high number of country road miles, along with the high-volume recreational use of both the Moses Lake and Beverly sand dunes, means the grant money is needed, he said.

The Dumpsters and toilets see their most use at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes during the Memorial Day weekend, when thousands of people descend upon the billowing desert for recreational riding and partying. Sheriff's deputies usually up their presence during that time, when accidents, underage drinking and other revelry are common occurrences.

The two deputies funded by the grant will also spend the majority of their at both sand dunes, according to the news release.

Dazell added that the sheriff's office has at least two all-terrain vehicles and two motorbikes on hand to patrol the within the sand dunes themselves.

One of those vehicles, Dazell said, was seized by deputies during a drug raid, and the rest have been purchased over the years with grant money.

Dazell said the sheriff's office is seeking to have more deputies at the dunes during the weekend. Off-road vehicle riders cause few problems, he said, but those who show up solely for the party are the troublemakers.

"We're going to have a lot out there, a bigger presence," Dazell said of this year's Memorial Day weekend.