Welcome, everyone, to Midday Magazine for this Wednesday, August 7th, 2024.
Have your host, James J. Maylove here.
We're welcoming into the studio.
Not only our good friend, Sheriff Sean Becker, Sean is always good to see you.
Thanks for being here.
Hey, great to see you.
Pleasure to be here.
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We appreciate the gang there.
Sir, I know we got a bunch of different places to go here.
We've got a not only retirement and raffle to talk about, but a couple of other things
we'll do over the next hour.
But if you don't mind, I wanted to kind of start off with this.
We're getting into the tail end of summer.
I kind of did a little bit of a survey and talked to some people in the community and asked
around, and I got this vibe and impression from people that it's been a bit of a calm
summer.
Now, we're saying that as citizens, certainly not in the position that you and many are
in the community and everything, but I was curious from your perspective how you feel
like summer is going.
Yeah, law enforcement wise, for the most part, I would agree, and how I can gauge that
is based upon all the community events.
That's the summer.
It's just packed with stuff from beginning in June, dairy fast, and all the dairy practices,
and then you get in July with the ski show, and other events throughout the whole county.
Gaging those, and I can compare it going back in the day when I started here, how a lot
of those events were, and how busy you were, it's not like that anymore.
Something could happen, you never know, and we prepare for it, but overall, just thinking
back of this whole summer, James, it's been pretty calm, and that's great because that
gives the community the opportunity to go to all of the events that are going on throughout
the whole county.
Recently, we had Vesper days, then we had the Arpin Tractor polls, obviously the ski show
that we'll talk about, the 4th of July, like I said, the dairy fast, that whole month
of July, having the dairy brux pretty much every Saturday, kicking off up in Marshield,
and it's been a great summer, and for me, it's over because football season started yesterday.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, and we're going to spend the next hour talking for where it goes.
I know we'd love to.
That'll be another show.
We'll get to that show.
Maybe when you retire, we'll get to that show or something.
Yeah.
It'll be happening anytime soon.
No, no, 50 years from now.
Well, we'll get to that Friday.
No, I appreciate you bringing that up because there's a lot of events, and I'll start with
the ski show weekend.
Normally, what's happened now, it's not, people behave out there, which is great.
We'll get a couple of incidents here that are very minor, but we work through those,
and it's been a great event for the community.
What always seems to happen is weather.
We always have a weather event.
This year, for the ski show weekend, it was gorgeous weather.
It wasn't crazy hot.
They had a little bit of a weather event as they started to set up the weekend before, but
the whole team, the Aqua skiers, the parks department, Chad's school, everybody works
through that, got everything set up, and boy, it was an awesome weekend.
It really was, spending a lot of time out there.
People enjoyed it, the community enjoyed it.
We had one incident in the beer tent that we staffed that area with our part-time deputies
pretty much throughout that whole ski weekend.
There was a three-month-old that was in distress, and the mother or some family members
had waved over our part-time deputies, and Deputy Hoffman ran over there and helped out,
began CPR with this three-month-old, back blows, clearing the mouth, and then the infant
started breathing, but it was pretty traumatic for everybody for a short time.
What they stepped in and did what they needed to do, and helped out that three-month-old,
and three-month-olds is doing fine, so they really stepped up.
I think there was a misunderstanding with some people on what CPR is, there's that kind
of question on that, but back blows, and clearing the mouth and doing the ABCs, it's all
part of CPR, and that's what this young deputy that's just starting his career out with
our part-time program, most of the people that we hire, we know there aren't going to
be with us very long because they want to get into a full-time position.
He jumped right into it, and I'm really proud of him for doing that, but other than that,
a couple of small things, our host team, always got to give a huge shout-out to the Aqua
Skiers, once an Aqua Skier, always an Aqua Skier, and a proud member to be at least
had the opportunity to ski with them.
They had a great show, they took third at state, and a big shout-out to Kelsey Sox, she
was the show director, and that's stressful, you could ask her, but they put on a great
show, and I'm very close to taking second, just a couple of things here and there that
have felt a gone a different way, I think they would have really competed well for a second
place, a huge shout-out for them, and the host team, that they do so much to make that
event happen, I mean, their involvement, they're kind of like the nucleus of, you know,
they have a hand on everything that's going out with the vendors, you know, again, working
with Chad in the parks department, and all the other teams come in here and help and
coordinate that.
My daughter, Jordan Moon, is a assistant, or a co-show director, you know, big shout-out
for her, and Aqua Skier, you know, just what it takes to put that event together and
some going on for over 50 years, it's one of the highlights, you know, it's personal
obviously for me, but just to see how many thousands of people that come to our community
and enjoy it, enjoy Lake Wizicja, and you get so much positive feedback from it.
I think we, you know, I know living in the area for a long enough, how much people love
their home teams, including the Aqua Skiers, and that, but the event itself is such a personal
event, and people love in this area so much, and it's such a signature event for our community
and everything, and I'm glad we got to that because it's part of the reason why I asked
how summer was going from your perspective, in part because one, we don't get to highlight
good stories very often, and we try to do that a lot over here and at this program.
We also wanted to note it just because I thought it was interesting, but also one thing
that I've talked to, actually our last three mayors about, and I've talked with many
people in our community about something that all rural communities are trying to do is
not only keep the people that are in their community, but bring new people in, and we
have these signature events that do bring in people from all over the country, literally
all over the country, coming here just for our Watiske Show Tournament or some of these
events, and how we treat each other and how we treat them is a strict correlation to
people looking into this area. Doesn't mean they're going to move here just because of
Watiske Show, but it is one more thing that adds to that where, well, their crime isn't
so bad there. Their schools are good there, like these things all add up, and so when we
do this stuff, not only does the Watiske Show add to our economy in this community, it
could be adding to the future of our economy with these things. So when we're not in
the local heads, we treat each other good in these events, and do this on a daily basis.
These are the kind of things that can better our community, not just us getting along.
That's certainly number one on the Bulletin Board, but these other factors are key to
bringing in new people and keeping the people we have.
Yeah, no, you're spot on. I got the opportunity to take part in a live interview out there,
and when I was getting interviewed, that was probably something I didn't bring up. It was
the person that has interviewed me from Florida brought up the same exact point that you
did, and we talked a little bit about, you know, the changes, like I alluded to when I started
here, Skiske Show weekend, we had all this overtime planned, and we had to empty out our jail
because we knew we were going to fill it up just with whatever might happen throughout
the weekend, and it's not like that anymore. And that's something to brag about, quite
honestly, you know, as a young officer, you're like, okay, I'm busy. I'm having to deal
with people that are doing dumb things and getting arrested or cited. Now, it's fun to brag
about that. How the event has changed so much when you hold some accountability on people
coming to the community that are participating on, you know, whatever ski team they might
be on, now there's accountability. If you do screw up, you make mistakes, and you're just
going to cost not only yourself being part of the ski tournament, but your team. And that
was a big change that happened several years ago that I got a shut out Scott Mahaka
here retired, but he was, you know, working with the aqua skiers at the time, the parks department
and just say, what changes can we make? At least, you know, calmness down a bit, and that
was years ago, and that was a big change. And then, you know, I think, you know, looking
at the other events, you know, and comparing to, you know, calls of service when, you know,
Vesper days, you know, they'd have Vic Ferrari come in, and then we would be very busy,
unfortunately, you know, as far as law enforcement dealing with either fights or underage drinking
or things like that. And now some of those events, they quit doing them. Now they're bringing
them back. And for me, it's like, you have that knee jerk reaction like, oh boy, we better
have a lot of presence out there because of look what happened in the past. But what we're
seeing now is people behave, they're out to enjoy the events. And, you know, we're just
there to make sure it's done being done safely. And, you know, Vesper had a, you know, a couple
hundred people out there enjoying what they're starting back up. And, you know, we had no
incidents out there. And probably too many people, though, honestly, that some people have
mentioned, well, you got so many cops around here. And I hope that people understand
it's set to bust people. It's is to make sure the event goes off, you know, safely. And
but that trend has been going on. I think the last, you know, several years, you know,
Auburn deal, music fest, softball tournament, you know, they would hire us to to be out there
as to deal with any issues that might come up. But that's trended in a different direction.
And that, you know, for law enforcement, that's awesome. You know, people are out there enjoying,
you know, these events, they showcase our entire county. You know, when you could look
at, you know, something on the weekend, almost every weekend in, you know, the whole summer,
there's something going on and we're counting on it. I mean, really don't have to go up
north. Not, you know, there's something you can do and enjoy. And, and I think that's
pretty cool. With, uh, and certainly a shout out to the changes that the water ski short
tournament made in those rural changes and some other things that have gone in the community
and some of these events. But so much of this has happened organically too, where the community
just people, we didn't all get together. All right, we're all going to be cool now. Like
it just, it happened to kind of like that way over time. That's, that's a credit to
everybody involved as well. Yeah. It's pretty cool. Uh, we had a really cool conversation
last month with a good friend of ours. Uh, Scott was in and we got a chance to really
talk with him and wanted to send him off as well. Yeah. Thanks for taking the opportunity
to have him come in on the show. It was kind of, it was just an off day. I'm like, Hey,
would you mind, uh, you know, before you, uh, pulled, uh, pulled a plug here, um, you
know, come in and have a child with James and just reflect about, you know, yourself
and your career. And I was, uh, I'm really happy you gave him the opportunity to do that.
Um, Scott finished with the sheriff's department last Monday. Uh, tough. It, it's hard for me
personally to see him go because of the friendship impact that he has. But one thing I will say,
you know, friends last forever, you know, co-workers don't know. That's that, that kind of comes
and goes and makes me feel a little old since he started after I did. But he had, he had
a few years of experience down with the role and police department. And, um, you know,
he did start with the County Sheriff's Department as a part-time deputy. Uh, as I talked
about, it used to be the reserve program. But then, you know, that, that, uh, you know,
full-time employment. And then, you know, it took the opportunity to come here and, you
know, he rose up through the ranks as a leisure leader. And, you know, it was a big part
of our special response team. The fact he's probably through his, you know, almost 20
year career with the Sheriff's Department, part of the team, you know, that whole time.
And then he was leading the team. And he's one of those leaders. You go out there and
you respect because, you know, he listens. He listens to other people. It's not all about
himself. Um, you know, he thinks of others before himself. And I always say when people
really embrace that, you know, you're going to be respected by many people like he is.
And, uh, going to miss him. But, you know, one thing I can brag about him is he's smart.
Um, you know, he, he looked in the future. You know, he said, okay, my, my law enforcement
crew, I don't really want to leave. But realize, hey, it's time. You know, I get at that
age that, you know, I can take a look at what other opportunities are out there. And he
set himself up really well. Um, you know, drones became, uh, a thing, you know, probably
about 10 years or so. And, and he took that project on. He said, hey, that, that can be an
asset to law enforcement agencies when it's very new. And we decided, okay, let's do it.
You know, we made that investment in, in drones. And, and he oversaw that whole project
and learn from it. You know, got some certifications, got the experience. You know, and then that
led into a company that, you know, he formulated with or put together with his neighbor Drew,
Swendorski. And, um, they put this company together. And, and now they're out, you know, um, not
just, you know, looking for like, uh, down deer and stuff like that. That's part of this company.
But, um, you know, it's the sprained crops and stuff where you could start doing that instead
of hiring a crop duster or something like that. So a very smart farmer, he set up himself. Hey,
what's the next step? I don't think you got to do off. I think he was done on Monday. And I
think he, uh, he was working the next day. So, you know, I applaud him for that. You know, you,
you know, that's one thing in law enforcement. We can retire at a, at a younger age once we
hit that 50 year old mark. And you have, you know, at least 20 years in, you've got a pension coming
because the unfortunate fact of the matter is we don't live very long. But if you, you know,
you're tired, then you set something up to do right away. That's good for you mentally. Especially
if it's something that you've got a true interest in. And what Scott does. So I really applaud him
for that. Um, you know, like I said, you know, coworkers come and go, but friends last forever. And
that's one thing I can say with Scott that, you know, I can give him a calling and just, uh,
just a BS and talk about life and how you're doing that kind of thing. And that's what I'm
really looking forward to as we move forward. But again, thank you so much for, for giving him the
opportunity to come in and talk about himself and his career. He's not one to brag. I'm sure you
figure that out. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, great leader, um, that, that will miss, um, replacing him.
You know, I hate to say that, but, um, we just tired of Mariah Matthews. Um, another person
like the brag about her dad, John works for us. And that's not why bragging. Um, but, you know,
once family, then you talked, uh, you know, Ted Ashback and then Teddy is his son. We hired,
you know, that's pretty cool. When you see, you know, your kids want to partake in this career,
this, this profession where they've lived it, you know, they grew up as a family and then they,
that's what I want to do. Yeah. You know, even when a parent might try to talk them out of it,
right? But I still circle around and they come back now. This is, this is what I want to do. I want
to serve the community and, and where I like to brag about Mariah, um, she started her full-time
career. She started with us part-time. Got hired full-time at the role and police department,
put some time in there. And then want to work for a large agency and her, her number one agency
was to Wood County Sheriff's Department, which is awesome to hear. Um, but the pullover police
department hired her full-time. And we're, you know, Mariah, the screams integrity is this. Um,
when she applied and, and uh, interviewed with pullover police department, um, she didn't know where
she was at on our list. I mean, she knew that she was on her eligibility list. We had no openings.
But she told her police chief Ryan Fox, a good friend of mine, that hey, um, I'll accept your job
offer. But I want you to know that if Wood County calls me, I'm leaving. How honest is that?
Yeah, that's great. That's really cool. You know, you always talk about integrity and,
you know, especially in law enforcement and public service, you know, you say integrity means,
you know, you're going to do the right thing when nobody's looking. But here, um, you know,
obviously that that's something she practices. But here's something she says to a perspective
employer, and I give Ryan a lot of credit because, well, okay, I'm still going to hire you.
And we're going to try and change your mind. You write on me. Yeah, it didn't work. No, no, no.
So I like to give him grief about it. But I like, I like his intent. I like, wait a minute,
with that. I'm still going to, and you know, got a lot of positive feedback about Mariah from
just for the time frame that she was at pullover police department. So we're, we're very fortunate
to ever, I mean, you know, going back, you know, when I started the career, it was so competitive.
And we've talked about this before, where for one position, especially sent, you know,
in central Wisconsin, you're competing with hundreds of people. Now it's just kind of flipped.
Now we're kind of fighting over, you know, good candidates to work for us. So it's different.
But yeah, but again, again, from Mariah to, to be honest, and not tell people what they want to
hear. Yeah, but say, no, this is what I'm at. This is the profession I want to be in.
But my number one department that I want to work for is the Wakani Sheriff's Department. And
that came to together. And I'm really, really proud of her for, for saying that I'm looking forward
to her having a long career here with the Sheriff's Department. We welcome her in and looking forward
to maybe even talking with her sometime or something. Just lucky, I didn't find her at the department.
I do, I do want to note one last thing about Scott, because he also, not only was he helping
give me in our audience a lot of insight into certain things he did in the, for the department.
But to the drone point, there were things that I didn't know about drones until Scott started
talking about him. And it was so cool to talk with him about that and see his excitement of it.
It was really our honor to be able to have him in and talk with him, not just this last time,
but over the years and talking with him. And it did, when we were talking him and I the last time
he left, I got me thinking about this. And, you know, in my position and Joe's position at W,
you know, Wisconsin Rebs Community Media, different jobs out there. We all got hiring that we do.
And the type of person we want to bring in, for me, I have this big list of things that I need,
Seth and Melissa marked all of those things. But it wasn't until I got working with them and they
started doing other projects and other jobs that I realized, oh, I wish I had a thought of that.
I'm really lucky that they're good at that. I'm really lucky they're good with this or something.
With somebody like Scott, you can't fill those shoes. But bringing somebody new in,
did you have that perspective of, okay, well, I know what I want. But there are things that Scott did
that, man, I'd really like to find somebody that can nail this. And maybe nothing specific,
it maybe it's a personality type or something. And I kind of segue from that into the new jail.
And I was curious, are we going to have to make more hires for that once the new jail is up and
running? Or do we already have the staff in place for that? No, we're still working on that.
Okay. Susanna Wagner, one of our lieutenants in our jail has done a phenomenal job of overseeing
the hiring process for the new jail. And all current staff, because, you know, apparently that's
been a challenge, not only just with, you know, our sheriff's department, but all over, you know,
just getting the corrections. But I think we've done a lot of really good things in Wood County one.
Again, bragging about our county board. The jail project itself, moving forward with that,
taking that project on and, and really going taking an in-depth, in-depth look at, you know,
the why, the needs and looking forward to the future. All right. So now we're building in jail.
The second thing is staffing it. All right. The wage, the wage was pretty low. It was pretty
competitive with other sheriff's department. But as I mentioned before, once the state budget went
through, the corrections officers or prison guards rightfully sold, got a huge paid raise.
And that set the tempo, at least a benchmark for, you know, the county say, we better step up
and try to compete with this. I mean, we're not going to get the exact wage that the prison guards
are going to get, but hey, can we get close? And they did. They jumped on it right away. We were
probably one of the, at least in central Wisconsin, one of the counties that took action on that
to show, hey, you know, this is something we want to keep our current staff and be able to recruit
people because we're going to have to staff our new jail. We're adding eight new corrections officers.
We're still in the process that we're probably, we need to hire about three more.
So we're still going in a really good direction. And like I said, Susanna and top having Lola
does just a phenomenal job staying up on tap on that with human resources. Just, hey, we're always,
you know, taking applications. So if anybody is interested in corrections, I would encourage them
to apply, you know, and you know, weeks and say, okay, no, I'm going to do some research. It's not
for me. But it's a, it's a very big part of our, our team, the law enforcement team. You know,
corrections officers are, yeah, they wear a similar uniform, but, you know, they kind of do the
same thing that the deputies do. So, is there a, before we're about a minute away from our first
break, and then we'll come back and have more with Sheriff Sean Becker. And here I'm in the
magazine. Is there, if somebody's out there listening and they're looking for a new career,
they're looking to jump and they've thought about this before, is there a type of person now,
is there a type of person that would work, that does work really well in that industry or in that
job? How is the thing that jumps thought of me first as patients? Now, you're dealing with people
that aren't, aren't happy in their surroundings, but working with them and then embracing the
opportunities that, that we're, we continue to look at to provide people that are in custody.
As we talked before, you know, and that is probably a struggle for some, at least,
corrections officers that have been in the field for a long time, the programming, you know,
and how much you want to, you know, invest in that, and it's a huge need, and, you know,
believe it in that, you know, that's probably, but I think the word that jumps out at me the most
is patients. Yeah, that's great, great word, and a great note, I wouldn't have thought of that,
and it made perfect sense as soon as you said it. If people are interested in finding out more,
or even throwing in their hat in the ring and everything, I'll reach out to City Hall. Would
you apply human resources? Human resources? Human resources? Human resources, online,
filled application. They do an awesome job whenever anybody sends over an application. They
complete the application. We normally interview. Excellent. We're going to take our first time out.
We'll be back with more another half an hour with Sheriff Sean Becker and our friends with
Wisconsin Rapids Community Media here at Midday Magazine at WFHR.
