Let me start by giving a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone in Law Enforcement. I sincerely mean that. Barton County is fortunate to have Steve Haulmark as Chief of Police and Brian Bellendir as Sheriff. These guys are all business and it shows in the results their officers and deputies are producing.

I would bet that one of the top two or three most read pages in each edition of your Great Bend Tribune is the page that has “On the Record” printed on it.

For those that don’t know, “On the Record” lists all police, sheriff, ambulance and fire reports from the City of Great Bend and Barton County, as well as Pawnee and Stafford counties. It reads like a “Who's Who” of those making poor choices. It tells the story of the dark side of the Golden Belt.

Even though the population in this region is relatively small compared to others, some of the inhabitants are not what you would call “model citizens.” These are the people that, for whatever reason, ended up on the wrong side of the law. Poor family life. Economic problems. Peer pressure. Social issues. Or a combination of some - or all - of these factors. They are committing big city crimes in the small cities in the area. This isn’t just a central Kansas issue - it’s in every area of our entire country. These people are buying, distributing and using hardcore narcotics. 

And like in every other city in the U.S., they get away with it for a while. But, then they get sloppy. They may drive while they’re under the influence and forget to use their blinker. Or they may drive into a curb and damage their tire. They may give themselves away by walking and talking to themselves as they stumble down the street. Or they may try to pull a fast one in a drug deal and get narced on. Some will figure it out in time. Unfortunately, too many won’t and they will be looking through steel bars for many, many years.

And I’m not talking about marijuana, although it’s still not legal in Kansas, it is legal elsewhere. The ones I’m talking about are those using and dealing heavy duty drugs such as methamphetamines, fentanyl, pain pills, and more. These are the real deal drugs that have the ability to ruin your life - or worse. 

In case you are wondering, the first person that decided to mix bleach, rat poison, Lithium, Anhydrous Ammonia, acid, etc. for ingestion reasons was Japanese scientist Nagai Nagayoshi in 1893. I wonder what his intent was. Today, there are labs set up in homes, abandoned barns and mobile units.

Sooner or later, the brave men, women and canine tasked with protecting our families, homes, streets and cities will catch you. These brave people put their lives on the line each time they go to work. They have a job to do - don’t be their job. 

 _ Keith Lippoldt