Six months into his administration as sheriff of Mineral County, Randy Adams takes time out of his schedule to meet with the Independent-News for a follow up on his accomplishments and goals.

“First off, this is not my accomplishments. These are department accomplishments,” Adams informs me at the beginning of the interview/tour of the sheriff’s office.

Before the tour begins, I sit down with the sheriff and ask him what he feels is the number one success that the department has gained.

“We have had a 46 percent increase in narcotics arrest from this time last year. We want it to be much higher, but for now we are in the right direction,” Adams informs me.

Insights into other highlights of the sheriff’s office was general housekeeping of the facility, with eight, 40-foot roll-off dumpsters hauled to the landfill.

Becoming compliant was high on the list of the sheriff as he was out of date with the State of Nevada. Within the department he had computers running on Windows XP operating systems. The funding found outside his general budget, Adams was able to replace four computers for the price of one.

Finding and securing creative funding was tops on Adams list as he began to update and upgrade the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office.

Besides the four computers, the sheriff’s office has benefitted from grant sources with: updated handheld radios; purchase of additional patrol vehicle and money for an additional unit; $80,000 in training and equipment for his officers; upgrade of shotguns and tactical sights with trading of old firearms – all at no additional cost to Mineral County taxpayers.

The grants secured have been assisting deputies with new ballistic vests; the Brazo Electronic Traffic Management system which helps officers write citations electronically and allows Hawthorne Justice Court and Mineral County Dispatch in entering tickets.

Deputies now have an area where they can process evidence, write reports or file paperwork. The area had previously been littered by car parts and equipment. Today, filing cabinets and work areas fill the space. The evidence vault is now being organized so that items are easily accessible. Evidence that had once been stored for years is now being photographed and preceded according to policy.

Touring the dispatch area of the sheriff’s office, the change is evident. Once housed in a small room, the size of a large closet, dispatchers were used to no windows and extreme heat with the equipment. Today, they have access to a secure yard where they can get fresh air; there is room for multiple computers and people. The room is cool and filled with sunlight.

“The dispatchers’ health was important to me. If they got sick under the old conditions, they were sick for a long time,” he tells me.

The process of moving the communication center was no small task.

“Moving from a 12 foot by 12 foot hole, we got the generous help of skilled tradesmen from AT&T; SOC; Mineral County School District; Mt. Grant Electric; Mineral County Senior Housing; Hawthorne Utilities and Mineral County Public Works. The $30,000 move was accomplished for just $3,000. The communications center now has a modernized style in a room with two windows and exterior air and is still completely secure. The men and women of Mineral County Sheriff’s Office worked diligently and endured a lot during the move,” Adams said.

Adams also explains that the communication center also benefited from trustee’s housed within the Mineral County Detention Center.

“We started the trustee work program utilizing inmates to assist with work projects around the county freeing up the paid county employees to better serve the community’s needs. Besides helping with projects such as the inmate garden and services around the sheriff’s office, inmates are now working at Care & Share and the cemetery on regular basis.”

Adams explains that when special needs arise, he also sends out the trustee’s to help. Two incidents in the recent months have been the aftermath of the tornado, where inmates could be found sweeping sidewalks that were filled with sand and debris and helping at the Tiny Cardenas Little League field in anticipation to the divisional league play-offs with Mt. Grant General Electric.

Adams realizes that the help not only benefits the communities but also that of the trustee’s themselves.

Looking into the future, Adams has a full agenda of items that has to be accomplished. Beginning with purchase and installation of the Spillman Computer Aided Dispatch program, destroying outdated evidence in the vault and continuing to clean out the old firearms from the evidence vault to purchase new equipment.

Adams explains that the Spillman program is a state of the art dispatching program that all of the areas around Mineral County are using, as well as the State of Nevada.

He would also like to finalize a $21,000 off-road vehicle registration grant and obtain a new off-road vehicle for use in off-road pursuits.

After the tour, Adam finalizes the tour by saying, “My hat is off to all that had a hand in making this happen as it shows when the entities within Mineral County come together we can make things happen. Thank you all.”