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Florida sheriff donates police patrol cars to Alexander CountyWednesday, September 30, 2009
Barkett's department received a donation this week of five patrol cruisers from St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara. Mascara had learned of Alexander County's financial plight, which received national media attention last week when a local bank repossessed five of its patrol cars because the county defaulted on its loan payments. "He said, 'Hey, I had hurricanes and sheriff's departments all over the country stepped up. Now it's my turn,'" Barkett said. "Thank God for that man." The five Ford Interceptors had been on the auction block before Mascara decided to donate them to Alexander County, Barkett said. Mascara had the cars equipped with light bars, cages and other police gear before shipping them to Cairo, he said. "I think some of the deputies even volunteered to wash the cars before they sent them up here," Barkett said. Barkett recently lost seven part-time and four full-time employees to a round of layoffs and last year was forced to lay off four part-time deputies. The outpouring of moral support he's gotten from other law enforcement agencies around the nation has been overwhelming, Barkett said. Making sure the rural county is protected has been a constant struggle and has resulted in Barkett pulling 18-hour shifts on certain days, he said. "We're all worn out, physically," Barkett said. "This is not how it should be done, this is not how I'd like to be doing it, but it's what I've been mandated to do." The Illinois State Police has been assisting the sheriff's department in patrolling the county, and deputies have been able to maintain good response to 911 calls, Barkett said. 388-3635 Comments  Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on semissourian.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
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That was very nice of the Saint Lucie County's department, but the problem remains the Alexander County's inability to manage their finances. Who is being held accountable?
That's awesome. As a former resident of Jackson, MO. and now a resident of Port St lucie FL. I'm glad that Sherriff MAscara Wa able to do it.
...guess the revenuers will be back at it in East Cape before too long.
It is not the management of funds It is the lack of funds. Like they say. The sun never shines in southern Illinois.
Thank you Sheriff Mascara!
Why are the new cars being serviced at Carbondale?
This may be why the county is in financial trouble.
Do business at home and stop the speed traps in Alexander county and maybe people will do more to help
I agree with craneoperator; take the county business to someone in the same county.
The problem with taking the county business to someone in the same county is they already owe thousands of dollars to most all the businesses in Alexander County.