Bob Chalk, candidate for Sheriff of Lake County recently spoke at a luncheon meeting of Branch 33 of Seniors in Retirement (SIRS).
Chalk insinuated Sheriff Frank Rivero has done almost nothing since he has been in office, adding that crime has increased, as witnessed by the local newspaper being filled with crime stories.
What Chalk didn”t say was that almost all of those stories are about arrests made for people illegally carrying weapons, narcotics offenses, burglaries, murders and other criminal activities.
He also said the Sheriff”s Department under Rivero”s command is broken. His accusations included Rivero failing to establish a drug taskforce.
Steps taken by Sheriff Rivero to reduce criminal activity in Lake County include: establishing an effective and modern Sheriff”s Office, took a hard stand against crime and was awarded a $20 million grant to address the dangerous over-crowding in the county jail. Other steps include: Taken 422 illegal guns off Lake Counties streets in 2013, up from 135 in 2010 under the previous administration; Instituted community enforcement programs that keeps residents and visitors safe from criminal activity; opened Sheriff”s substations in Middletown, Clear Lake Oaks and Lucerne; reinstated the drug task force, including cross-deputizing several Sheriff”s Deputies as Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents for more effective prosecution; achieved record breaking arrests; 176 in 2013 for sales or possession of narcotics for sale; seized 5.6 pounds of Methamphetamine with a street value of $246,000 in 2013; seized 160,792 illegal marijuana plants, 4,800 pounds of processed marijuana and eradicated 144 illegal grows; seized $361,473 in cash, plus real property including houses, vehicles, farm equipment, boats and other physical assets.
In my opinion, the above certainly refutes Chalk”s accusation of Rivero being a do nothing Sheriff.
My opinion is further based on changes I have personally witnessed while serving as a volunteer with the Sheriff”s Department since 2004. My duties have included manning the Middle Town substations, working at the jail and performing traffic control. I still volunteer.
Lyle W. La Faver
Hidden Valley Lake
