Sheriff’s office helps to strengthen relationships in Franklin County town

Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Monty Huber stood at the door of a Mesa home and delivered a powerful knock fit for a wanted criminal.

The 6-foot-1, 250-pound former Army Ranger stepped back and waited as the door slowly opened.

“It’s Monty,” a young girl in glasses exclaimed as she buried her face in Huber’s outstretched arms.

The family inside spilled onto the lawn to greet Huber with hugs.

Huber, 46, stopped by the tan and green house tucked away on a nondescript street to visit a boy the deputy has mentored for years. The boy’s father is not around and Huber tries to help out when he can.

Huber and his fellow deputies have become a constant presence in the tiny north Franklin County town with the recent renovation of a sheriff’s office substation attached to City Hall.

After writing his phone number on a card and handing it to the boy, Huber slid back into his SUV and continued on his patrols.

“As long as you treat them decent, it really does go a long way,” he said.

Sheriff Jim Raymond approached Huber a few months ago about getting the station up and running. For some time, there has been an office there for deputies to use, but the space was run down and in need of a makeover.

“There were no computers, no phone. There was an old metal desk and a bathroom,” Huber said. “More often than not, if you stopped there, it was because you wanted to use the bathroom.”

City officials in Mesa jumped on board, dedicating an estimated $36,000 allocated to the city from the county’s public safety sales tax fund to pay for the project.

Soon, construction workers were tearing the old office apart. The finished space was big enough for two desks and a large adjoining conference room.

The sheriff’s office unveiled the office to citizens and officials during an open house last month.

“The night we did the grand opening, there had to be easily 30 to 40 people floating in and out of there,” Raymond said. “It has drawn a little bit of attention from the community.”

As Huber cruised around town on a recent sunny afternoon, he stopped to wave at people doing yard work and had a brief chat with a young man with a propensity for graffiti art.

Since the station opened, Huber has been more visible in the city of about 500 people and has begun to build relationships with many in the town, he said. Huber now drops into the station and routinely finds messages or notes from citizens about what’s going on around town.

Violent or serious felony crimes aren’t prevalent in Mesa, but deputies are on the look out for graffiti, property thefts and break-ins, Huber said.

Mayor David Ferguson told the Herald that since deputies have started to use the station more, he has noticed less graffiti and citizens are showing appreciation for the increased law enforcement presence.

“A lot of residents are happy that Monty and the other deputies use (the station) because they are in town now,” Ferguson said. “We have no local police department. We have to count on the sheriff’s office.”

Part of the reason for making a push to get the station renovated was to continue strengthening relationships with citizens in the northern part of the county, a promise Raymond made during his 2014 campaign, the sheriff said.

The station has been received so well in Mesa that the sheriff’s office is talking to city officials in Kahlotus to try and open another station, Raymond said.

“The more visual you are in those communities, that obviously creates a safer environment for the community,” the sheriff said. “It’s a win-win.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Sheriff’s office helps to strengthen relationships in Franklin County town."