It’s the daily diligent work of Chelan County Sheriff’s Deputies that keep our community safe. Three deputies work along side youth as School Resource Officers (SROs).
Instrumental in identifying a Chelan High School student who is alleged to have committed a robbery at a Chelan Safeway gas station store in Nov. 2024, and then assisting in taking a gun off a 12-year old student a few weeks thereafter, is Chelan County Sheriff’s Deputy Alex Bushy.
"This was purely word of mouth from students, teachers and staff," said Deputy Bushy when recalling the most recent incident. "We had a student that came into the possession of a firearm that he shouldn't have had. This was an incident where kids were worried. His best friends were worried. So, we were able to step in and get that firearm and put it away safely."
"The kid meant no harm," the deputy added. "He just happened upon something, got scared and nervous and didn't know what to do."
Deputy Bushy described some of what makes his work successful. "As the kids get used to you, they're more willing to talk to you; more willing to come up to you and let you know things going on that most won't talk about," Bushy said.
"We really try to work it down to where I can step in and be that intermediary between law enforcement and the criminal justice system," said Bushy in sharing that other deputies often call him when they get a report of an incident involving a youth.
"There is always that hope and desire that you're going to be able to reach these kids and prevent anything from happening," Bushy offered. "It's really sad that these days around our country more and more incidents happen, so my goal in this is to work harder and harder towards making sure that does not come to our valley, that doesn't come to any schools around here."
Deputy Bushy also works with Manson and Entiat schools.
Thanks to the financial commitment of the Lake Chelan, Cashmere and Cascade School Boards and Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Bushy is all-present at Chelan Schools, Deputy Dominic Mutch is in the hallways at Cashmere schools and Deputy Nigel Hunter works inside schools in the Cascade School District.
"These collaborations underscore the vital role of our SRO’s who strive to fulfill their roles as informal counselor/mentor, educator and law enforcement deputy when appropriate.," said Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison. "We extend our heartfelt thanks to all three districts and the communities we serve for their unwavering support and commitment to this essential partnership."
The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office took 14,246 9-1-1 calls, countywide, in 2024.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Rob Huddleston says deputies responded to 1,043 reports of suspicious activity, 918 traffic incidents, 830 welfare checks, assisted in 792 calls for help and investigated 706 trespass complaints.
Chelan County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Foreman and Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris present an hour-long discussion on "Fentanyl trafficking, how prevalent is fentanyl in our community and what’s being done about it?"
The public presentation begins at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Pybus LocalTel Event Center in Wenatchee.
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