Letters to the Editor
Why I’m Seeking Reelection as Boundary County Sheriff
Apr 21, 2008, 10:02

Dear Citizens,Hello. I am Greg Sprungl, the Boundary County Sheriff. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that I am seeking reelection and give you a brief message about your Sheriff's Office.

My approach to delivering a responsive professional service to the public is directly connected to how I manage the employees. What distracts most from delivering good service to the public is internal conflict and in an office that is political in nature, conflict is easy to come by.

I have made every effort to reduce internal conflict by being beyond fair and never being vindictive. I make every effort to make decisions based on what is best for the county, not what is best for me. I like to empower employees, giving them a personal stake in the office. All ideas from employees are given thorough examinations and implemented when affordable and useable.

This extends to the hiring of new office members, making hiring a team effort. I invite you to verify this by asking anyone in the Boundary County Criminal Justice System about my reputation in this area. For this reason, I believe we are giving the public the best service to date.

Over the past few years the office has been busy outside our normal duties creating a new policy manual which brings us up to date with current laws. Reducing exposure to law suits is an area of constant improvement, and in this area many projects have been carried out in the jail to keep it a viable facility.

Currently, we are working on the kitchen to get in line with new state standards and installing a new surveillance system that will improve our mission to have a safe and secure jail. The word "safe" in the previous sentence refers to not just the public on the outside, but the inmates and our employees on the inside. The old 1993 transport car has been replaced, and the booking station redesigned and replaced with one built by inmates at the Idaho State Prison in Boise.

With federal grant money, we have installed a large generator that will power the entire building, keeping not only our 911 dispatch running but lighting a jail that went dark for hours during last summer's wind storm.

Communications has always been important to emergency services, and we have been busy getting compliant with new federal regulations requiring changing to a digital system. This has also been accomplished with the use of Homeland Security grant dollars. We are currently evaluating equipment systems that will allow us to use the new county addressing system and map on an enhanced 911 system, making 911 calls much easier to dispatch and cut response time.

The city and county continue to cooperate on a two-man Drug Task Force. It was originally designed to work marijuana trafficking on the border and meth labs in the county. Increases in Border Patrol staffing and meth currently coming largely from out of the county have caused to change our direction. Our current direction is toward local drug use. We are especially concerned with school-age users. The task force has been very successful and is largely funded by asset forfeiture money.

In conclusion, a vote for me gets you an experienced Sheriff who is dedicated to this county with years of proven problem-solving. I am ready, able and willing to take on the challenges of the coming term. As always I am available for questions. You will always get a straight answer.

My Committee will consist of: Kris Larson, treasurer; Doug and Sharon Smith, Mike Dinning, Larry and Wilma Devore, Harlan Schrag, Tim Day, Steve Nelson, Steve Thompson, Allen and Jenny Fessler, Rod and Jeannie Robinson.