From Richard Gibson in today's Wall St. Journal, Sioux County Sheriff, Jim R. Schiesow is assembling a posse from authorized holders of concealed weapons permits for deputization in case there is a "complete breakdown of social order."

The sheriff states in his posse recruitment letter, "The Y2K situation is far from being resolved. . . . One would have to be totally deceived or deluded not to perceive the depravity and lawlessness present in out nation today."

The county's Board of Supervisors says all is well and that forming the posse is unwise. Says Supervisor Chairman Loren Bouma, We just want life to go on."

Puddintame says the sheriff's risk management is smarter than the Supervisors' "hopes and aspirations" management.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), August 09, 1999

Answers

whoah nellie!!Hope the power doesn't go to their heads!

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), August 09, 1999.

When the power goes out the power has to go somewhere. Quick shift in distribution ;^)

"One would have to be totally deceived or deluded not to perceive the depravity and lawlessness present in our nation today."

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.

Old news...Topic discussed extensively on this forum 2 weeks ago.

-- zzzzzzzzz (z@z.z), August 09, 1999.

zzzz, sorry if this is a repeat topic. Sysop, please feel free to delete.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), August 09, 1999.

This article is up new on AP Breaking News:

[ Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only ]

Iowa sheriff rounds up a posse just in case...

8/9/99 10:38 AM, By RICHARDS GIBSON, The Wall Street Journal

There's a standoff at the Y2K Corral in Orange City, Iowa. It seems the Sioux County sheriff, Jim R. Schwiesow, is worried about what might befall the small piece of northwestern Iowa he oversees come the new millennium.

He's so concerned that he wants to assemble a veritable posse -- made up of authorized holders of concealed weapons in Sioux County -- to be at the ready come Jan. 1 if all hell breaks loose.

"I propose to put together a standby force . . . of trustworthy people that I could summon in dire times," the sheriff said in a letter sent last month to the county's 400-some gun-permit holders. "If you would be willing, during times of grave emergency, to work with the active members of the sheriff's office, please complete this form and return it to this office in care of my attention," he wrote.

So far, 150 or so citizens have answered his call to arms.

The 61-year-old lawman added that his hoped-for standby force would be "subject to call and deputization should an actual crisis occur." He notes that there are currently just 15 sworn peace officers, or one for every 2,183 residents in the county, and "we are simply too few to cope with a complete breakdown of social order."

As sheriff for 22 years, Mr. Schwiesow has seen just four murders. But the jail gets busier. It served 24 prisoners in 1977 and 572 last year.

What, exactly, is he so worried about? "The Y2K situation is far from being resolved," he wrote in his letter. "A stock market crash or other economic crisis could lead to a social breakdown with great and grave consequences. One would have to be totally deceived or deluded not to perceive the depravity and lawlessness present in our nation today," Sheriff Schwiesow added.

But the Sioux County Board of Supervisors thinks the sheriff may have strayed off the ranch. It issued a statement saying it "disagrees with the wisdom of establishing this standby force." It also sought to reassure residents that the rural county's utilities and banking system will be safe from computer glitches come New Year's Day.

The board then noted that under Iowa law it must approve the establishment of any reserve peace-officer force, and that any such officers must undergo at least 150 hours of training, plus weapons classes.

Sheriff Schwiesow calls the standby force "an insurance policy." Supervisors Chairman Loren Bouma wouldn't comment on the matter beyond saying, "We just want life to go on."
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Smart sheriff with at least 22 years' experience opposed by "we just want life to go on" mentalities.

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.

zzzzz,

Actually, I think this is a new story. If I remember correctly the other story was of a sheriff in a town somewhere here in California who was stocking up preps in a prison.

Seems like the snowball is starting to get a little bigger...

Mike

================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), August 09, 1999.

The snowball is getting bigger and you can now add one more title to the Church of Yourdon,... Deputy Doomer.

-- (You guys@ are getting. hysterical), August 09, 1999.

And here come the diverticulitis troll blurts of DON'T LOOK, DON'T READ, OFF THIS THREAD! A sure-fire clue that this thread contains serious, factual, newsworthy information!

zzzzzz and You guys have just certified this thread as worthy of scrutiny, thought, and commentary. Thanks for the boost!

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.

And now hysteria has a face and a name...

Thanks Ashton and Leska, I didn't think anyone would volunteer for the job.

-- (Aye Carumba! @ The natives. are restless), August 09, 1999.

Mike: The sheriff who is stocking up on food for inmates and his deputies and family is in Butte County, CA. Puddintame: Thanks for reporting this! Threads from two weeks ago are no longer on the screen, and there's newbies checking in here all the time who need to be informed. If you all would just arm yourself there would be no need for any law enforcement to recruit anyone who has a concealed weapons permit. I have 2 sheriff's and 1 CHP officer living near me and I certainly am not depending on them to protect me. I'm more concerned about what to do with the dead, our property grows rocks.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), August 09, 1999.

Bardou, dig now while it's easier. And if it's just a BITR, plant a victory arboretum :-)

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.

One problem, you may have been licenced for many years and have accumulated lots of wonderful firepower. However if I was the chief and I wanted to know were all that firepower is today, I think I would devise just the same ploy. Dont trust them! after all you got your weapons to protect you and yours, not theres. good luck.

-- Les (yoyo@tolate.com), August 09, 1999.

Ashton & Leska: I don't own a backhoe. Just had some septic work done and you should see the big boulders that were dug up! They are stacked in a line in front of my property as a fire break and for bullets to bounce off of.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), August 09, 1999.

Sounds like your only choices would be to pile the rocks on top of the bodies or burn them. A waste of good fuel, to be sure, and doesn't help you "lay low" one bit, but it beats getting diseases from them.

-- (its@coming.soon), August 09, 1999.

Bardou: excellent material for building walls, moats, pyre beds.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.

Les, you are right.
Don't volunteer info to officials! Neighbor-to-neighbor, tribe-grouped family bands for posse. Let the sheriff come to your group with a proposal *later* if the need arises.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.

It sounds like he is one smart sheriff. Too bad there are not more like him. Loren Bouma, on the other hand, has her head pretty well covered in the sand, butt in the air.

-- Linda A. (adahi@muhlon.com), August 09, 1999.

bardou:

Any caves nearby? One can dump and stash many things in caves...

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), August 09, 1999.