The Sheriff's Auxiliary would like to thank the Miller True Value (Hunt's Hardware and Guns) for helping the Auxiliary and for promoting community training in general. In the past year, Hunt's has:
We operate in a community with some number of Latinos (3.39% of the population from the 2000 census), some of whom have little or no English skills. Spanish proficiency can therefore be a highly useful skill in emergency or disaster response. Spanish For First Responders is a handy resource with vocabulary (such as anatomy terms), phrase lists (consent, mentation, examination), and scenarios for first aid/medical response.
As a "uniformed civil service," the Sheriff's Auxiliary uses a rank structure and courtesies based closely on common military organization. The advantages of a military structure are clear lines of authority and chain of command in emergency situations, but they may not be familiary to people without a military background.
Many emergency response organizations are tracking the H7N9 avian influenza outbreak in China in case the virus spreads outside Asia. This article summarizes the situation, announces a webinar scheduled for 2 May 2013 and a community preparedness exercise being scheduled by the Disaster Resistant Communities Group for September.
What are the first steps in starting a Sheriff's Auxiliary? How do you build the core staff? How do you establish qualifications? How do your initial officers qualify to participate when the training program doesn't exist yet? How do you determine what the responsibilities of the Auxiliary are and should be? This article is a start on answering those questions for folks in other counties interested in starting their own programs.
The National Rifle Association, Naitonal School Shield Task Force has released a report comprised of recommendations for enchancing school security (Scribd document: http://www.scribd.com/doc/133630146/NRA-s-National-School-Shield-Report ). The report has been heavily criticized for focusing almost exclusively on the use of School Resource Officer (SROs), basically Law Enforcement Officers attached to schools, but I will refrain from commenting on this until I have finished reading the report myself.
This article will summarize Missouri Firearms laws and is intended as a companion to our 90-minute talk (60 minutes plus questions). The talk is intended as an introduction for the average citizen and will be first given at the former Church-On-The-Loop (West side of what is now the the MARC) in Mount Vernon on Thursday 14 March 2012 at 19:00 (7pm). This article will contain the talk outline, some citations of law, and links to other resources. What is Open vs. Concealed carry? What are the rules for firearms in vehicles? What are Missouri's self-defense laws? Do I need a CCW?
The question was asked several different ways at the recent Cattlemen's meeting on whether it is lawful to shoot cattle rustlers and was answered by the Barry County Prosecuting Attorney. According to one of our NCOs, this was also discussed at this weekend's CCW training course with Jason Lacey in Mount Vernon. This article will repeat the short answer under Missouri law, address some of the complex side questions, and try to tie in how Auxiliary volunteers fit into the mix.
There has been a lot of discussion locally about the increase in Missouri livestock theft, including recent community meetings hosted by the Cattlemen's Association. Fortunately, actual instances of thefts within Lawrence County are so far very low, but illegal activity in surrounding counties is legitimate cause for concern. Organized rustling ruins livelihoods. Insurance is expensive. The practice must be stopped.
