Residents rally for police

With cities and towns across the country taking a hard stance against police, a group of Plains residents decided it was time to show support for local and national law enforcement with signs, flags and prayers on Railroad Street in Plains Friday.

"We just wanted to support law enforcement people because we feel they're under attack. We want to let them know that we support them and we're praying for them," said Sally Lilja, who organized the gathering with Becky Powley and Shelly Rummel, all of Plains. "This isn't a protest, it's a rally," said Rummel, the wife of Sheriff Tom Rummel. Becky's husband, Dennie, also took an active role in the event.

"We need to show support for police, as the vast majority of men and women wearing a badge are excellent people who are willing to give their lives to help and protect all people," said Rod Stamm, one of the participants, who brought his own homemade sign to the rally. Stamm, a former Marine, was a police officer in Lincoln, Nebraska, for seven years and a Sanders County deputy from 1977 to almost the end of 1979.

The group gathered along Railroad Street in front of the old one-room log schoolhouse, waving American flags and displaying signs of support for the police community. Some were wearing patriotic colors and at least once a small group stopped for a short prayer. Nearly two dozen flags were posted in the background and the group had extra flags in case anyone wanted to join in. Rummel displayed a "Thin Blue Line Flag," a black and white American flag with a blue stripe that represents law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Several took turns holding the special banner.

The event averaged a dozen people with some coming and going. At one point, there were 18 participants. The rally went from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A few stayed the entire three hours. More than a dozen people walked up and asked the reason for the gathering. A few picked up a flag and joined the rally, including 75-year-old Tom Shipp, who showed his support from his disability scooter. Linda Ovitt, also 75, showed up with her own sign - "We support our policemen and women." She and Shipp were the oldest participants.

Vehicles honked their horns and drivers and passengers gave a thumbs up to show support for the rally. Dennie Powley constantly got big rigs to sound their air horns. "I'm getting goose bumps because of all the people honking," said Celia Huygens, who stopped by to see what was going on, but soon grabbed a flag and joined in. "We need the police, they're are our first line of defense - that's common sense," said Larry Fletes, who also was passing by and joined the group. "We need to support the police," said Rochelle Lukehart, who has three family members in the law enforcement field.

"People really liked this. A lot of people support the police, but they don't have a voice," said Lilja. The majority of passersby were supportive of the rally, said Lilja. One man from Ravalli County showed up in opposition to the rally. He said he doesn't support the police. He said his name was Randy, but refused to give his last name. He told them the police aren't doing there job because Plains is full of methamphetamine, but when Dan Lilja asked him how he knew that if he didn't live in Plains, he didn't answer. He also questioned members of the group on the Ten Commandments and told them the American flag was a form of idolatry, although they gave him a flag when he asked for one. He walked around recording with his cell phone and said he was putting it on his website, but wouldn't provide the website name when asked.

However, most people showed their support for the rally verbally and visually. Randy Garrison, The Printery owner, donated a stack of American flag stickers to hand out. Bill and Dedra Bradley, owners of Ripples Ice Cream Parlor, handed out ice cream bars to participants. "I think this is a good way for us to show support for the law enforcement system," said Alice Sampson. She said she had a bad experience with the Sanders County Sheriff's Office, but realizes that most police are good. She also said that she had an impressive experience where real kindness was shown by local police. "Across the country I see a lack of support for law enforcement and they're trying to do a hard job and they need our support. That doesn't mean they're all perfect, but the rest of them need our support," she said. "It really troubles me when I see factions in our country pitting American against Americans. I believe that our forefathers wrote 'We the people' because we're totally ineffective when we're fighting each other," said Sampson. 

Organizers had been planning the rally for about a week, said Becky Powley. "I think it was a huge success. I wanted people to know that my husband and I have the law enforcement people's backs. It doesn't matter what color their uniform is," she said.

"In light of what's going on in this country, I'm glad our citizens view law enforcement differently and support us," said Tom Rummel, who's been in law enforcement since 2005 and the sheriff since 2010.

"I thought it was absolutely fantastic for people to take the time out of their day to come out and stand in the hot sun and support local law enforcement. I thought that was great," said Rummel, who felt it was a very positive event. "It was a morale booster for everybody in the community and throughout law enforcement."