By Chris Hendrickson, Monitor
Sky Valley residents gathered at Vinaccio Coffee in Sultan on Saturday morning for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office's "Coffee with the SheriffGÇ¥ event.
Attendees were given the opportunity to meet and chat with Sheriff Ty Trenary, who freely took questions. Sultan Police Chief Monte Beaton was also in attendance as were several other members of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Trenary, who has been with the Sheriff's Office for 25 years, introduced himself to the group, offering a bit of his background and history. He shared that he is a strong advocate for community policing, which has been a major emphasis for him throughout his career. He served as the Chief of Police in Stanwood, a contract city for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, from 2008 to 2012; a job he very much enjoyed.
"It's one of the best assignments I've had,GÇ¥ said Trenary.
Trenary was promoted to captain in 2012, at which point his focus was shifted back to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office where he oversaw patrol operations for the north and east precincts.
He took over the helm in July of last year when was unanimously appointed to the position of Sheriff by the Snohomish County Council. The sheriff's position was open as a result of John Lovick's transition over to the Snohomish County Executive's Office.
The purpose of the "Coffee with the SheriffGÇ¥ event was to encourage interaction between the Sheriff's Office and east county residents.
"What I'm anxious to do is to develop relationships with the community,GÇ¥ said Trenary.
"We've really kind of taken a back-to-basics approach as an agency,GÇ¥ he explained. "We've kind of downsized all of our specialty units and tried to put as many deputies back on the street as we can."
Trenary outlined some of the priorities he's been working on since becoming sheriff, including working to ensure adequate uniform staff are in place to expeditiously handle sheriff's office calls, along with improving conditions at the Snohomish County Jail. Since taking over as Sheriff, Trenary has increased medical staff at the jail and implemented strategy designed to address overcrowding issues.
Trenary shared that he wants to maintain open lines of communication between the community and the Sheriff's Office. He referenced the city of Sultan's east precinct as a model after which other precincts can be shaped.
"When people come to our precincts, we want to be able to do as much as we can for them, instead of sending them downtown to the courthouse,GÇ¥ said Trenary.
Trenary spoke with residents from 10 a.m. to noon.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's office will also host the Sky Valley Citizens' Academy in Sultan beginning Thursday, Feb. 6.
Sultan Police Chief Monte Beaton will facilitate the free, 13-week series of courses that will include classroom training; hands-on participation; the opportunity to ride along with a deputy and even the chance to try on a Snohomish County Sheriff's Office uniform.
To sign up for the academy please visit http://sheriff.snoco.org/Our_Community/CitizensAcademy.html, or stop in the Sultan Police Department which is located at 515 Main St. in Sultan. The academy will be held on Thursday nights from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Sultan Middle School. All academy students must be able to pass a basic background check.
For further questions about the academy, contact Detective Danny Pitocco at 425-388-6261 or danny.pitocco@snoco
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment