OCR Text |
Show Ag•ie if• Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 Page 5 Utah Sta e University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com A night in the back of a cop car OFFICER PAM ANDERSON writes a warning ticket for a driver that has a front headlight out, left.A Statesman reporter followed officers of the USU police department Saturday, after the men's basketball game. CARL WILSON photo OFFICER PAM ANDERSON and Officer Andy Barnes work on unlocking a car that has the keys locked inside, right. CARL WILSON photo By BENJAMIN WOOD assistant features editor Following the Aggie men's basketball victory over San Jose State on Saturday, The Utah Statesman caught up with officers of the USU Police Department for an inside look at a night on the beat. 9:45 p.m. I arrive at the university's police department just as the first snowflakes of the night were starting to fall. The woman at the reception desk seems surprised at my arrival, and even after I put on my press pass, introduce myself as a writer for The Utah Statesman and explain that I'm scheduled for a ride along for the evening, her expression doesn't seem to change. She makes a few calls and, satisfied that I am not a lunatic, instructs me to fill out a brief, one-page form expressing that I will not hold the university responsible to whatever physical harm might come to me. Soon after I sign, Capt. Steve Milne appears and chats with me for a minute about the night. I will be riding with officer Andy Barnes of the USUPD and Pam Anderson from the Cache County Sheriff's Office, who has yet to arrive. "So far tonight it's been quiet," Milne says. "Hit or miss, that's the nature of the beast." I'm not expecting any high-speed chases or a tense shoot-out at a gas station, but Milne explains that with the snow coming down harder every minute, the usual post-game parties and just plain speeders will likely be held at bay. Police life at any department has its share of fast and slow nights. Milne says that once while doing a ride-along with the Los Angeles Police Department's Crash Unit he was told to "load up" and was immediately rushed to the scene of a bank robbery. "We were off chasing these guys, guns loaded and the choppers flying," Milne says. "The next night ... nothing. It was dead." Just before 10, Barnes and Anderson arrive. The night begins. 10:04 p.m. Much of the graveyard shift, Barnes explains, involves patrol- ling the different USU properties. We start by heading toward the Laboratory for Water Research, just beneath First Dam. Barnes has lived in Cache Valley since 1997 and worked at USUPD for six months. Anderson works at the Cache County Jail, but helps as a reserve officer for USUPD and on Saturday was driving to learn graveyard tasks and the layout of USU campus. "We'll get her a little more oriented with Utah State and how we do things," Barnes says. Anderson has worked at the sheriffs office for nine years. She tells us that her first name Pam is short for Pamela, and we share a laugh and a joke about her namesake. "I've heard it all," Anderson says, smiling. Passing First Dam, Barnes notices a car at the park that looks to have someone inside, and he makes a note to stop and check it out on the way back. At the water lab, everything seems in order. Most nights Barnes will leave the car and patrol the grounds, but with Pam and me in the car, he decides to keep moving after a quick I See CRIME, page 7 Museum highlights valley's historic past By KELLYN ANDERSON staff writer Cache Valley is rich with history, from the Mormon pioneers that settled in the area to the fur trappers and Shoshoni Indians. The American West Heritage Center now has a museum focusing on this abundant local history. Located south of Logan on U.S. Highway 89 in Wellsville, the American West Heritage Center is a welcoming spot for tourists to visit and learn how the valley came to be settled. Upon receiving a grant of $20,000 almost two years ago, the Heritage Center began construction of the Cache Valley History Museum. An open house was hosted Jan. 22. The original idea came from former Director Steve Delong, who said he has had this idea for quite some time. "Ever since I walked in the door that first time, it has been on my mind. Our goal is to utilize space and create a year-round resource for the community," he said. The museum is shown from four perspectives: the Indian, the fur trappers, the pioneers and the railroad. Eric Olsen, chairman of the center's board, said this was to show the evolution of the valley from two different angles. "In the beginning, the valley shaped the people," Olsen said. "Then after the farmers settled and started to work and till the land, it switched and the people began to shape the valley." The Cache Valley History Museum will have rotating exhibits and dioramas. Famous contributors to Cache Valley history are displayed on revolving panels in the middle of the room, including the ancestor of one of the center's board members, Paul Willie. Willie's great-great grandfather, James G. Willie, in 1856, led the Mormon Handcart Company to Utah, which was one of the two companies that were stranded at Devil's Gate just south of Casper, Wyo. Although Willie does not possess any journals from that famous expedition, he said some of the journals from James G. Willie's Latter-day Saint church mission are in Special Collections in Merrill-Cazier Library. Willie said, "This is a way to tell the handcart stories and show how heroic James G. Willie was." Willie's ancestor was also the one to first settle Mendon in 1859. In addition to the heritage displays, the museum also has a large mural spanning the back wall, with dioramas placed I See PAST, page 6 THE AMERICAN WEST HERITAGE CENTER is home to the Cache Valley History Museum. The museurn is shown from four perspectives: the Indian, the fur trappers, the pioneers and the railroad. MAKAELA HERRAN photo |