Community and law enforcement together

HAYDEN — The dunk tank was loaded with water probably a lot colder than any one of us could appreciate.

Just above the surface, on a metal plank, sat Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris.

A few deputies, apparently not yet satisfied with the stakes, dumped in a few bags of ice just for the chill of it.

Then the kids, balls in hand, lined up to have a little out-of-the-ordinary summer fun.

“I don’t think I’m going to get wet today,” the sheriff said.

Young Kylie Arts, first in line, wound up slow and didn't miss.

For possibly the first time in his life, the sheriff was all wet and the crowd on hand cheered with glee.

“I was for sure that I was going to miss, and then ping!” Kylie said.

It was all part of Hayden’s National Night Out celebration Tuesday at McIntire Family Park.

Lt. Justin Arts, who works with the sheriff and is, coincidentally, Kylie’s father, got to announce her victory to the friends and families on hand for the festivities.

Also present were representatives from nearly every local law enforcement agency, including the forest service, border patrol, dive teams and many others.

National Night Out event is an opportunity for the community to meet their local law enforcement personnel, put a face to their uniforms and have a little fun.

“I’m a huge proponent of law enforcement anyway, so this is cool,” attendee Kevin Stone said.

Stone’s father worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a timber cruiser and has always supported people in service roles.

Kylie Arts' perfect pitch was the first, but not the only time, the sheriff got wet. Other kids whose parents bought them tickets lined up waiting for a chance to throw.

The Hayden event was all in good fun, and getting silly is part of the point.

“It’s theater,” Norris said.

The sheriff wasn’t the only one to get wet. County Coroner Dr. Duke Johnson and Idaho State Legislature Rep. Jordan Redman also sat on the plank.

Lt. Arts made other announcements during the event, talking to the crowd as a helicopter landed and when self-defense demonstrations began.

“Do you want to see K-9 Alpha do a patrol demonstration?” Arts asked the crowd.

K-9s Alpha and Luuki are Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office drug-sniffing dogs, trained to be assistant deputies to their handlers.

Kids watched Luuki sniff “drugs” out from under a cone. They saw Alpha jump on a deputy and latch onto the arm of his protective suit, and they cheered as Luuki stood down on command. Luuki and Alpha were both instrumental drug seizures reported this week in The Press.

KCSO dive team deputies demonstrated their dive equipment to people as they answered questions.

“I love my job as a deputy. I could talk about it all day,” said Deputy Kurtis Didier, wearing a wetsuit and floating in an above-ground pool while he showed everyone a small droid he works with, the same equipment that helped secure a pipe bomb from the Spokane River earlier this week.

Kids also swarmed the baseball field as ABLE-1, the sheriff’s office helicopter, landed and deputies showed kids the seats and cockpit.

Border Patrol Agent Jonathan Hulog out of Spokane sector, talked to supporters about what border patrol does in this area as he also let people know his outfit is recruiting for the first time in years.

“This is one of our most favorite events,” Lt. Zachary Sifford said. “We like interacting with the people, share what we have going on and looking for ways we can improve. We love it. It’s very exciting."

Hayden City Administrator Brett Boyer was impressed with the turnout.

“This is the most people I’ve ever seen come to one of these,” Boyer said.

Sifford said the sheriff's office is seeing more and more people attend events.

“It’s kind of a culture change," Sifford said. "We’re getting more upfront with our community and letting them know that this is their sheriff’s office and we’re here to serve them.”