Dodge County Sheriff’s Candidates Outline Traffic Enforcement Strategies

(Juneau) The candidates for Dodge County Sheriff each sat down with us in the past week for one-on-one interviews to discuss the issues on WBEV’s Community Comment. Sheriff’s Lt. Jim Ketchem is challenging incumbent Sheriff Dale Schmidt on the August ballot. Last fall, the sheriff’s office launched a crash reduction effort that saw more squad cars and signs in hotspot areas that include Highway’s 151, 33, and 16/60. The goal is to reduce the number of vehicle related fatalities county-wide. Ketchem argues the initiative was a top down decision only that saw no input from the patrol division. He says the system is not effective and is predicated on high-visibility enforcement which is not being done currently. Ketchem says if elected he would utilize grant money given from the federal government for overtime hours to help get more deputies on the road. Schmidt says the effort has seen positive impacts throughout the county. He says that citizens have told him that a concerted effort is taken on their behalf to slow down because of the crash reduction effort. Schmidt says his office will be beginning phase two shortly with more public education and the posting of more roadside signs.

FULL VIDEO and AUDIO

Watch our interview with incumbent Sheriff Dale Schmidt:

 

Watch our interview with Lt. Jim Ketchem:

 

Listen to our interview with Lt. Jim Ketchem:

 

Listen to our interview with Sheriff Dale Schmidt: