Sheriff deputy to assist city police

by Justin Harris

When a full-time job fighting crime isn't enough, one could don a cape and become a superhero. Or just get sworn in with a neighboring department to wear another uniform.

Sheriff Deputy Roy Scott did just that last Friday, being sworn in with the Thompson Falls Police Department. "We're happy to have Roy on the team and appreciate his willingness," said Thompson Falls police chief Chris Nichols. "Sometimes there are vacations or other shifts that need coverage, and this will help out a lot, but he has also agreed to take on a specific assignment."

Nichols explained that the city's decay ordinance that holds a standard for junk and trash on resident properties is a duty that doesn't come up often, but when it does there is a lot of face time with the resident and follow up involved.

"Roy will be taking on the duties associated with responding to decay ordinance infractions and working with residents to find solutions to getting in compliance," Nichols said. "A lot of times these situations aren't solved in one day and some residents don't know where to turn to take on a particularly big mess."

Scott's position is known as a "short-term worker" and is more of an as-needed situation. That arrangement is perfect for the city's needs at this time and will give the decay ordinance responses and follow-ups undistracted attention. Nichols said that will allow full-time officers to stay focused on law enforcement needs that occur daily.

Scott's wife Tina is the administrative assistant for the county's environmental health department. Her office administers the county's junk vehicle program, which goes hand in glove with many of the calls Roy will get about the ordinance in his jurisdiction.