Sheriff’s Beat

By Carroll County Sheriff Jeff Doran

This Sheriff’s Beat column has three different topics, but the same theme. The common theme is being alert about your surroundings.

First, please be aware that the harvest will be in full swing this week. That means that farmers will be having their equipment on the state highways and country roads. It’s part of the way of life in rural America. In the spring and in the fall we see the big and slow moving machinery on the roads. While it may be an inconvenience to some people, it is still part of living in farm country.

Every year we at the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office handle accidents involving impatient drivers that can’t wait to get around some of these big rigs. The one thing that all of these crashes have in common is that the car ALWAYS loses to the tractor. Please be alert and patient. A minute or two of inconvenience is better than ending up in the hospital or worse. Remember, these men and women are just making a living and doing their jobs. Wave at them as you go by with your whole hand.

Along with it being harvest time, it’s just about rut time for the deer. Rut time coincides with picking time and between the two, the deer are everywhere. Our deer accident reports go up about tenfold at this time of year. Most happen at night, but there are plenty of daylight accidents involving these critters, too. A few years ago, I hit one in the middle of the afternoon on Rt. 52 west of Mount Carroll. At that time I became a true believer in brush guards for the squads. I had one on my vehicle, and if I hadn’t, I’m sure there would have been a totaled squad.

The last thing I wanted to address in this column is about being alert for suspicious activity. We have had several burglaries in the past few weeks. On at least a couple of occasions, if people had called in when they saw something unusual, we might have caught these dirt bags in the act of committing crimes. I can’t urge people enough to report things that are out of the ordinary. Most of the time it’s probably nothing, but that’s ok. Still, call us and we’ll come out and investigate.

I can’t stress enough that you are not bothering us. It’s what we do! We need the public to be our eyes and ears. We in law enforcement can’t solve crime without your input and help.

Happy trails and thanks for reading!

If you have any questions or comments you may direct them to this address:

Sheriff’s Beat, 301 N. Main St. Mt.Carroll, Il. 61053 or