“August was an incredibly busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office”
It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. August brought much needed rain, however much the rain challenged the Steuben County Fair by falling almost every day during the fair. Our county is again lush and green as the nights grow cooler with that feeling that fall is right around the corner. Students have returned to school, Teachers have returned to their classrooms and Labor Day celebrations have concluded. I was speaking with a mom yesterday who was picking up her daughter after the first day of Kindergarten. She stated a classmate of her daughter was leaving the school as they were picked up by their parent and stated “I am never going back to that place again!” She said that the child then realized they had left an item in the school and had to return to retrieve it, going back into “that place”. Never turned out to be a pretty short timeline! As we continue to deal with changes in NYS law and the consequences of those changes, perhaps we all need to realize that things can, and do, change very quickly whether we want them to or not.
In the realm of school safety, please remember to give yourself a little extra driving time this month as bus routes are settled and pedestrian and vehicle traffic increases around our schools. Please obey the school speed limits as you travel and respect the safety of our schools. The Sheriff’s Office added another new School Resource Officer to the Corning-Painted Post District this year. If you are in the Erwin Valley Elementary please say hello to SRO Volpe, recently retired from the City of Corning Police Department. We also added a new SRO to the BOCES campus, Deputy Todd Terwilliger has taken on the task for protecting those campuses. Four of our school resource officers completed the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services School Resource Officer Basic Course in Livingston County. This course was instructed by members of the NYS Sheriff’s Association C-PASS school safety committee. We continue to work with all partners to improve our school safety in Steuben County.
September 1st has arrived and with it new pistol permit requirements and penal law changes to possess a firearm. We have been very involved with the NYS Sheriff’s Association, Steuben County Clerk’s Office and the Steuben County Judges to determine how best to move forward with the new pistol permit requirements. I believe we have a path forward that is workable for Steuben County citizens and once all procedures are finalized we will formally present them in a joint press release with the Clerk’s Office. The changes in concealed carry locations and restrictions are being heard in court and we await their ruling.
August was an incredibly busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with three death investigations, four assault investigations, four burglary investigations, two animal abuse investigations, two grand larceny investigations, seven larceny investigations, one drug investigation, two sex offense investigations, four harassment investigations, one fire investigation, five criminal mischief investigations, two criminal contempt investigations and two fraud investigations. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with crash investigations, including a fatal UTV crash investigation, and mental health detainments.
In August the Steuben County Fair was held. We maintained safety and security at the fair and conducted displays of our K9s, Boat Patrol, SWAT team, and STOP DWI. We conducted a KidCare ID session with a car seat check and teamed with the Bath Kiwanis to hand out bicycle helmets. We thank our partners in the NYS Police and Bath Ambulance for assisting with public safety at the fair.
In August the Sheriff’s Office was recognized by the Central Steuben Chamber of Commerce at the Music in the Park in Bath and the Steuben County Legislature for exemplary efforts during the Covid crisis. I can never thank our staff enough for diligently coming to work every day and performing essential tasks which were above and beyond their normal duties. They truly were, and continue to be, an inspiration.
Deputy Harrison completed the FBI Sniper Course in Erie County in August, joining the SWAT team for over-watch duties. Investigator Smith was the lead instructor for new police officers in the Basic Firearms portion of the Alfred Police Academy at the Bath Law Enforcement Range. Undersheriff McNelis attended a training conference detailing methods of forming a county Threat Assessment Management Team, and also taught at the NYS School Resource Officer Course in Livingston County. Sheriff Allard taught human trafficking at the Alfred Academy.
In August we swore in three new deputies and one new correction officer. We are incredibly proud to welcome Deputy Cody Henry, Deputy Brent Nadjadi, Deputy Cameron Dye and Correction Officer Cordell Galvan to the Sheriff’s Office family. Cody, a Canisteo resident, is a US Army Veteran and former correction officer in the Steuben County Jail. Cody is completing his Basic Course for Police and will soon enter field training. Brent, a Bath native and US Army Veteran, was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff and is completing his field training and will soon begin solo duties. Cameron is a Corning native and second generation law enforcement officer. Cameron is completing his Basic Course for Police and will then be assigned to Navigation (Boat) Patrol. Cordell begins his career in law enforcement helping to maintain safety and security in our jail. We are incredibly thankful for these new additions to the Sheriff’s Office and for their service to their county.
The Sheriff’s Foundation conducted the annual Law Enforcement Memorial Golf Tournament in August, raising money for the Regional Law Enforcement Memorial Park and for the Foundation Scholarships. A beautiful day accompanied the tournament which was attended by five NYS Sheriffs.
We continue to pray for those who have lost family members due to the pandemic and for all Ukrainians suffering under Russian aggression.
Thank you for supporting the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in these challenging times and stay safe!
Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard
