Photo by Ottertail County Sheriff’s Office.
Saturday, January 14th Marked the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Posse Annual Banquet.
Awards were given out to members for their many hours of dedicated service throughout the year.
Lind Albrecht-Norby received an award for over 100 hours, Jerry Peterson for over 75 hours.
Dan Cherkas, Mitch Hockett, Barbara Thurman, and Jerry Thurman were also given awards for over 50 hours.
A Posse member of The Year Award was also given out this year to Jerry Thurman.
The Posse originated on October 14, 1968, when a group of volunteers on horseback helped to locate a lost child in the rugged terrain northwest of Parkers Prairie?
The Sheriff’s Posse gives individuals an opportunity to provide a valuable service to their community.
Although the original intent for use of the Posse was to utilize a horse-mounted unit to assist in locating lost persons, crowd and traffic control, the service has grown to incorporate the use of foot patrol and motorized units.
Posse members may be deployed night or day in times of manpower shortage, civil emergency or disaster situations to perform certain tasks.
Posse members also provide scheduled event traffic direction, parking control and security services, as well as horse, foot, and ATV search and rescue options to all areas of Otter Tail County.
In order for Posse members to learn and acquire certain skills, they are expected to attend monthly meetings held the second Tuesday of each month.
At these meetings, members normally receive training on a variety of topics including; Search and Rescue, CPR, First Aid, Self Defense, Traffic Direction, Map and Compass Reading, and Radio Procedures.
Thank you to all posse members for their hours put into community events. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.