Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
by Terry Allen
August 26, 2016
Bridget Murdock called out a welcome to me from high in a pine tree as I entered Boyd Skinner Park to attend The Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
Spread out under several canopies were tables laden with food and desserts and beyond it was a bar-b-que throwing up flames. Lines of folks were busy heaping up their plates.
Carol Mackenzie of the Sheriff’s office was seated with her husband Mac eating a hot burger. "It’s nice of the community to come out like this," she said. "It’s nice to see."
No one could remember if we have ever had a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Lance Gehlhausen has been with the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office for 9 years. "I have never seen an event like this," he said. "It’s really great seeing the community support. It’s appreciated by all the law enforcement community."
Mrs. Pam Murdock said she thought that when the idea for the event was first posted on Facebook, it got 4000 hits. "But you better ask Matt," she said.
"As soon as we broached the idea we had all kinds of people and organizations who wanted to be a part of it," said Matt Murdock. "The FFA, Knights of Columbus, Pitchfork Fondue, Office Outlet, and multiple churches, to name just a few," he said.
Jason Green of the Wyoming Highway Patrol was very impressed with the turnout of support. "This is a super-great deal," he said. "It’s phenomenal. With everything going on in the world, that the community comes together to show appreciation is very nice. No one got into this profession for the glory, so a little appreciation like this means a lot to us. Oh, and the burger had a great bar-b-q flavor."
Someone gave a whistle to call us all to attention, and then Sheriff K.C. Lehr stepped forward with a few words about the event and about the importance of our community working together for the common good. I wrote as fast as I could, but didn’t get it all. But times like this are what the miracle of Google is for. I typed my notes into the search bar and the full quote by U.S. President Jimmy Carter came up. "I’d like each of us here to rededicate ourselves to serving the common good. We are a community, a beloved community, all of us. Our individual fates are linked, our futures intertwined. And if we act in that knowledge and in that spirit, together, we can move mountains."
While walking toward the dessert table for seconds, I over-heard Ranae Pape say something about adventure racing. I changed direction and followed her. By the time I caught up, Deputy Sean Streeter was filling her in on the details of the Ragnar Teton Trail Relay race being held at Grand Targhee. "It's a 120 mile trail run up and down the Tetons," he said. "We start at midnight and run in a relay team of 8 others until we finish at about noon the next day." Ranae's eyes had that wide-open thrilled look. "We wear head lamps," she said. I actually like running in the dark better. I don't have to see how high I have to run."
If anyone wants to know more about this kind of adventure, this is the link: https://www.runragnar.com/event-detail/trail/tetons_wy
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