|
 |
| Members of the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Division include, from left, Al Leitch, Bob Parks, Bill Christensen, County Sheriff’s Sgt. and Liaison Officer Steve Russell, Jeff Hawkins and Craig Buchholz. |
|
2/23/2009 10:39:00 AM
21st-century 'posse' members are still at home on horseback
Elisabeth Waldon
Staff Writer
STANTON - July 25, 1991, was a very hot day in Montcalm County.
About 35 volunteers were looking for the body of a man they believed had been murdered five days before and were ready to head home after combing 300 acres of wooded state gameland in Pine Township.
Craig Buchholz, a member of the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office Mounted Division, headed down one more two-track with another volunteer. It was almost 5:30 p.m.
"That's when the horses starting acting goofy, ears back, nostrils flared, dancing around," Buchholz recalled.
The riders spotted car tracks going into the woods. They followed them and discovered the body of Stanton's Lloyd Bowers, 43, in the passenger seat of his own car.
Police had killed Bowers' friend, Ronnie Lee Cannon, 53, who lived just about a mile away from Bowers, the night before after a 16-hour manhunt and standoff. Cannon's life ended in a homemade bunker he had created from burying the trailer from a semi-truck underground.
"That was an awful night," remembered Bill Christensen, another volunteer. "You could hear the shooting and the helicopters overhead."
"The posse"
Life usually isn't so intense for those who serve as volunteer members of the Montcalm County Sheriff's Office Mounted Division.
Currently comprised of a dozen people - nine men and three women - their biggest duty involves security at the Montcalm County 4-H Fair in Greenville.
They also work as security at the Nelson's Speed Shop Sno-Motion event north of Greenville, ride their horses in summer parades all over the county, serve on search and rescue missions for missing people and participate as actors for sheriff's office training.
Christensen is in charge of the training weapons, which shoot paintballs. The volunteers are prepared to shoot much more than just paintballs, however.
They carry guns when they take part in ride-alongs - working beside a sheriff's deputy - and answer to Sheriff Bill Barnwell through Sgt. Steve Russell, the liaison officer for the sheriff and the Mounted Division.
"The nickname here is "the posse,'" Russell said.
The Mounted Division currently includes Christensen of Greenville, Brian and Terie Biddinger of Blanchard, Buchholz of Sidney, Mark and Kimberly Fouts of Sheridan, Jeff Hawkins of Sand Lake, Raymond Kolenda of Lakeview, Al Leitch of Gowen, Bob Parks of Fenwick and David and Joann Pyle of Howard City.
Christensen is the senior member of the group, going all the way back to 1987, while Hawkins is the group's newest member, having started four years ago.
"Posse" history
The Michigan Sheriff's Mounted Association met for the first time in 1961 and originally had about 300 members in 18 counties.
The intent was to form a statewide posse group. Today the association has about 550 members in 30 Michigan counties.
Montcalm County's Mounted Division was organized in 1958 and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Everyone on the posse works a day job, serving in jobs such as car salesmen, dairy farmers, die makers, factory workers or truck drivers.
To join the Mounted Division prospects must be at least 21 and attend three monthly meetings at the sheriff's office. They must fill out an application, pass a background check and the posse members then vote on whether to accept them.
Members of the posse also must train at the Belding Reserve Academy.
"You've got to be of good moral character and willing to help," noted Russell.
Inspiration
Posse members say they were inspired to join the Mounted Division for different reasons.
Hawkins' father-in-law, John Hannon, is a sheriff's deputy.
"I was a firefighter and I'd been doing a lot of community stuff and he said, "why don't you try out the posse?'" Hawkins recalled. "My big thing is doing ride-alongs. Anytime I can help out the community and the deputies I do it."
Buchholz and Christensen also enjoy the ride-alongs.
"You're the deputy's second man," said Buchholz, whose father, Alvin Buchholz, also was a posse member.
"You can earn a lot of respect from the deputies," Christensen added. "I enjoy shooting with the deputies here at the range near the sheriff's department."
Parks remembers watching the posse members ride horses at the Springfest parade in Sheridan before he joined.
"I thought, man, that looks like a fun group," Parks said. "It turned out to be the fun group that I thought it might be. I really enjoy the festivals. You get to talk to people and visit.
"Ride-alongs have been a real eye-opener," he added. "I compare it to watching "Cops' on TV, but you get to be there. It's like "Cops' in 3D."
Parks also works as an undercover agent of sorts. He portrays McGruff the Crime Dog at Frontier Days in Carson City every summer.
Fair emergency
One of the Mounted Division's most important annual tasks is security at the Montcalm County 4-H Fair in Greenville.
Back in July 2005 it was posse members who were the first to respond when the High Flyer ride malfunctioned and spun out of control for 10 minutes.
Five children were shaken up and taken to local hospitals where they were treated and released for minor injuries.
Ironically Buchholz compares membership in the posse to participation in the 4-H Club. He and his fellow posse members have won several awards for horse riding and marksmanship at annual Michigan Sheriff's Mounted Association retreats.
"It's like a 4-H Club," said Buchholz. "I grew up with 4-H. It's a step beyond being a kid in 4-H - the volunteerism, the combination of the horse and the gun."
All for nothing
Members of the posse don't receive pay of any kind for their work.
"It's all pro bono," Buchholz said.
"It definitely takes commitment," Leitch added. "There is a definite element of danger to this. You've got to have pretty thick skin."
Posse members also raise money for numerous charities through the Michigan Sheriff's Mounted Association. Montcalm County hosted the association retreat in 2003 and raised almost $10,000 for the Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding in Rockford.
Leitch considers the unpaid gig a fair tradeoff.
"I like law enforcement," he said. "This gives me the best of both worlds. This is a fine group of guys and gals. I not only consider them associates but also my friends."
|
Posted: Monday, February 23, 2009
Article comment by:
jon c
Thank-you for the article on the Sheriff's Posse, it brings back many great memories. My father, Kenneth Comden, was a member of this group in the early to mid 1960's. I remember many activites he did with the "Posse", but one that sticks out in my mind is the simulated Pony Express run that they did, I believe on Labor Day, for a few years. They would coordinate with the other counties and each man would do a leg along M-57, from west to east, delivering "mail". My dad passed away last year at 94 years of age, but still had his love for horses, which he passed on to my brother Ted, and he, in turn, passed it on to his son Tim. Thanks again.
Posted: Monday, February 23, 2009
Article comment by:
scott
this is a great story. i like to see that we utilize animals as a vital part of law enforcement. for many years dogs have been an integral part of law enforcement... and horses in law enforcement have a long historical connection... has anyone ever considered chimpanzees in law enforcement? with their opposable thumbs and anthropomorphic sympathies they would be a great assest to solving many crimes and negotiating hostage releases with irate gun men
|
Article Comment Submission Form
|
|
