News from Your Sheriff-August 2023

Welcome to August Clare County.  The Clare County Central Dispatch has loaded 20,502 incidents for Clare County as of July 31.  During the months of June and July there were 6,152 incidents for the county.  Your Clare County deputies have handled 3,902. Other law enforcement including the City of Clare Police, Michigan State Police and Michigan DNR handled 1,561.  Your five area fire departments responded to 311 incidents.  Mobile Medical Ambulance went to 376 calls during June and July.  There are currently 121 people in the jail which consist of 70 local and 51 federals.

I want to congratulate Deputy Tom Brown and Officer Tom Francisco of the Clare City Police Department.  A few weeks back they located a 71-year-old male who was riding a bicycle across the country, who was reported missing by his family.  The last known location of the subject was in Clare at a hotel.  The family hadn’t heard from the man in four days.  A family member of the missing subject was able to access his email and found that the last email sent from his cell phone was in an area behind Bolle’s Excavating in Clare.  With this information, Deputy Brown and Officer Francisco went to that area of the rail trail and located the subject.  He was lying at the bottom of a deep ravine.  Both Deputy Brown and Officer Francisco received Life Savings Awards.

I would like to also congratulate Deputy Mike Heugel and Deputy James Chinavare for their actions in prolonging the life of a female.  On July 21, they were sent to a medical call of a woman in cardiac arrest on a pontoon.  When they arrived, they performed lifesaving actions in which prolonged the subject’s life.  Both Deputy Heugel and Deputy Chinavare will receive a Life Saving Award for their actions.

We are nearing the deadline for the 2023-2024 fiscal budget.  We have been working closing with our County Administrator Lori Phelps to balance the county budget.  I am hopeful that this next fiscal year will go smoothly with the cooperation between my office, the County Administrator’s Office, and the Clare County Board of Commissioners.  I would like to thank Marlene Housler, County Commissioner for District 1, for taking the time out her busy day to go on a tour of our operation.  Several Commissioners have toured our operation which helps them better understand what we do.

We will be holding our Sheriff’s Auction on August 26, at 10 a.m. in our west parking lot.  The public is welcomed to come and view the items in our lot, and inside the green military tent we have set up.  People have been asking if the heavy equipment located closer to the jail will be in that auction, it will not.  That equipment is involved in a pending criminal case at this time.  This is the same weekend as the Harrison Street Fair so come out and get a great deal on something, then go walk around the street fair.

That’s all for this time.

Be Safe – Be Strong

GOD Bless

Sheriff John S Wilson