Adams County Sheriff's Posse annual dinner, auction this weekend

by Rachal Pinkerton Staff Writer
| February 27, 2019 2:00 AM

Othello — The Adams County Sheriff’s Posse will hold their annual dinner and auction on Saturday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Othello Eagles Lodge. This year, they will be serving spaghetti with three different sauces, breadsticks and dessert.

There will also be a silent and live auction, with auctioneer Gary Weaver handling the live auction. Proceeds from the auction go towards funding the sheriff’s posse and various projects in the Adams County Sheriff’s office.

“We donate half to the sheriff’s department,” said Heather Peters, secretary/treasurer for the Adams County Sheriff’s Posse. “It has been used in the past for the K9 program, training and the emergency response unit.”

The rest of the funds help the posse with their training and equipment.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Posse is a volunteer arm of the Adams County Sheriff’s Department. The posse becomes the extra hands that the sheriff’s office needs. They assist with crowd control, directing traffic, uploading containers after drug busts, search and rescue or however the sheriff’s office needs them.

“A lot of people don’t realize that we work together (with the sheriff’s office),” said Mike Conrad, Top Hand and longtime volunteer with the Adams County Sheriff’s Posse. “We may be necessary if they want to make a big arrest. It’s hard to do when you have to have people out there taking care of traffic. We may have the simplest of jobs, but it makes it easier for the people doing the tough work.”

Conrad remembers that when he joined the posse the first time in 1973, it was made up mostly of cowboys. At that time, they mainly did parades, parked cars and performed search and rescues. Due to Conrad’s job as a police officer, he was not able to go to the meetings and had to quit. When he rejoined the posse after retirement, the posse does a lot more than they used to. Now they assist with whatever the need is.

Current first-aid certification is required for posse members. Members must be able to attend 50 percent of the events that the posse is called to help with. They must also be proficient in tasks, demonstrate safety when working with machines and pass all trainings.

Currently the posse has close to 30 members. Those who are no longer able to ride horses have switched to four-wheelers.

“We have had an influx of new people,” Conrad said. “We are getting quite a crew again. The young people want to ride. The old people have had to give it up. We’re riding four-wheelers instead.”

The Adams County Sheriff’s Posse also acts as a liaison between the community members and the sheriff’s office.

“People trust us,” Conrad said. “We are another line of communication from people to the sheriff. If someone doesn’t feel comfortable reporting something directly, we can transfer the information through the chain of command.”

The posse depends on community support to continue its mission to help the Adams County Sheriff’s office. Community members donate items for the annual auction. Items up for auction this year include a basic will package worth $900, from Sackmann Law; a load of gravel from Walker Gravel, a $300 value; $100 worth of fuel from Lawrence Oil and an airplane ride tour of the Columbia Basin, donated by Booker Auction.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Posse annual dinner and auction will take place on Saturday, March 2 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. The event will be held at the Othello Eagles Lodge, 127 E. Larch St. in Othello. The cost to attend is $10 per person.

Rachal Pinkerton can be reached via email at rpinkerton@columbiabasinherald.com.