MINERAL COUNTY — Mineral County Sheriff Terry Wetherill gave a brief update to Mineral County Commissioners during their first of the month meeting on April 3, and spoke to them about the recent Sheild616 ceremony that took place at the end of March.
Wetherill, like other law enforcement officials throughout the Valley, was fortunate enough to receive an anonymous sponsor for four Kevlar vests that were donated to the Mineral County Sheriff’s Department the last week of March. Wetherill stated that the ceremony lasted about 45 minutes and was well attended by residents and county officials.
“We received four vests and purchased one for our deputies. It was an honor to have the founder of Shield616 present us with the vests and to have a chance to hear him speak about why and how he started the Shield616 organization,” said Wetherill.
During the summer of 2023, Wetherill and his wife Amy took time to help escort the Shield616 bike-a-thon across the state of Colorado, showing their support for the organizations and all they have done for law enforcement officials across the state. “We had a lot of fun and it was a great experience to support this organization.”
In addition to the Shield616 ceremony, Wetherill also updated commissioners on his continued efforts to secure the school in case of emergencies, stating that the district has been doing a great job looking at safety protocols and working with students and staff to be prepared for an emergency should one ever occur.
Wetherill stated that he and Emergency Manager Clint Leggitt worked with the school to complete a drill and that he was more than pleased with how it turned out.
“I just can’t tell you what a big success that is after years of pushing to have those things in place at the school. All of the students were so responsive, so happy to know they have the opportunity to make some decisions for their own selves and it really was a neat opportunity,” Leggitt said.
Wetherill stated that as they worked through the exercise, the students had great questions and were fully engaged.
“They had a lot of really good questions, good perspectives and it really turned out well,” Wetherill said.
Mineral County Administrator Janelle Kukuk spoke up and stated that she was pleased with how Wetherill and Leggitt approached the situation stating, “You have to know from a student’s perspective that they hear all this stuff on the news, they hear the adults in their lives talking about it and then they are completely left out of the conversation that all that does it create fear. But to have someone come in say yes this can happen and this is what we are going to do if it does, it has to take a load off of their shoulders.”
Wetherill has been working diligently with the district over the last year to enhance safety protocols throughout the school and will continue to work with the district in the future to make sure the school is secure in the event of an emergency.
