METAL THEFT

Metal theft in our county is occurring daily. Even if you are not a direct victim of these thefts, you still pay a cost through higher insurance rates. Grant County would become less attractive to criminals if more effort and some changes were made by our elected officials and law enforcement.

Grant County Deputies should be patrolling the county, especially at night. What is it that the sheriff's department is always patrolling I-90 for speeders, phone, and seat belt violators? Is this not the state patrol's primary job? Also the sheriff's department should be patrolling the county, not the streets of Moses Lake, Ephrata and Quincy. Why aren't they in the county looking for the bad guys? We should have more deputies working nights than days, with all personnel concentrated on the county. The prosecutor's office should pursue these wire/metal thieves to the fullest extent possible, no deals period. The recyclers who purchase this stolen metal should come under more scrutiny and be forced to notify law enforcement when suspicious metal comes in for recycling, ie. circle wires, or certain individuals recycling often.

Grant County is a great place to live and work. It would be even better if we could get rid of the vermin. The deputies I know and whom I have had contact with, are to be commended for their honesty and integrity, these men risk their lives for all of us and I sincerely thank them for their efforts. I believe our deputies would be willing to concentrate their efforts on the criminal elements in our county if our sheriff and county commissioners would direct them to do so. We have a new sheriff and a new prosecutor, hopefully curtailing the criminal element in our county will become a priority.

Dan Herring

Moses Lake