On the heels of personnel changes at Hinsdale EMS reported earlier this month, similar changes are afoot at Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Office with the announcement late last week of the resignation of Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Deputy Daniel Strausbaugh.
Strausbaugh, an unaffiliated candidate for Hinsdale County Sheriff and county deputy since being hired by Sheriff Denim Starnes June 1 last year, submitted his letter of resignation on Wednesday, March 11.
Despite his resignation, Strausbaugh continues as sheriff candidate.
Contacted by SILVER WORLD, Sheriff Starnes acknowledges that Deputy Strausbaugh abruptly quit without two weeks’ notice. Starnes further states he has offered the position of Hinsdale County Undersheriff to Jordan Kaminski effective April 1.
Kaminski, who previously served as Deputy under Sheriff Ron Bruce and Undersheriff with Sheriff Chris Kambish, is currently GOP candidate for Hinsdale County Sheriff in this fall’s general election.
Asked whether Deputy Strausbaugh’s departure creates a void in local and county law enforcement response until April 1 when Kaminski decides whether he will accept the undersheriff post, Sheriff Starnes responds “I have been and will continue to handle the situation, whatever comes my way.”
Sheriff Starnes has not yet decided whether he will seek re-election in November this year; in addition to the possible hiring of Kaminski, Starnes notes two new county sheriff’s deputies are in the wings, both now completing certification at Technical College of the Rockies near Delta, Colorado. Both Derek Wright and Ethan Twamley are scheduled to graduate May 20, Wright, a former Kansas resident, enrolled with tuition funded through a POST grant and Twamley utilizing the VA GI Bill and sponsorship by Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Office.
Pending certification, both Wright and Twamley have already formally been hired as Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Deputies, according to Starnes.
Sheriff Starnes also reports that sheriff’s office Administrative Assistant Bobbi Vickers McDonald is now back in the office effective March 17 following nearly three weeks’ medical leave.
Former Deputy Daniel Straubaugh writes an explanatory letter elsewhere in this week’s issue citing his reasons for resigning and reaffirming his candidacy for sheriff this fall.
Strausbaugh says that between now and the November election, he will continue “further investment in ranching and my firearms training business.”
He says he plans to campaign in Lake City on a weekly basis between now and election time, and while no longer in uniform, will be recognizeable as “the only guy with a prosthetic hook.”
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