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Show bugs They're Trained Dav Aba - The Pm Fr The LoA P mg By MARK FOTHERINCHAM DAVIS COUNTY - "Support "Sup-port your local Search and Rescue Team. ..Get Lost!" So says a humorous bumper sticker stick-er for Davis County's search and rescue squad know n as the "Jeep Fosse." IN THE old west, at least in the movies, a "posse" was a group of volunteers w ho would saddle up their horses to help the Sheriff chase down an escaped criminal. Today's posse hasn't changed much in principle. They've just modernized. They don't chase too many cri-minals cri-minals anymore and their mode of transportation has changed but they still help the sheriff and are still all volunteer. volun-teer. THE POSSE is a non-profit organization set up to assist law enforcement and emergency emergen-cy services officials when extra ex-tra manpower is needed for search and rescue operations. Clinton resident Don DeVoe has been a member of the posse pos-se for nine years now and has participated in operations ranging from looking for lost deer hunters to setting up roadblocks during the hostage situation in Kaysille a few years' ago."" ' " HE EXPLAINED that the name "Jeep Posse" is somewhat some-what misleading. "When the posse was first organized in 1957. jeeps were the only four-wheel four-wheel drive vehicles in use. Now there are only two jeeps in our group but the name has stuck with us." "We now have 30 people in the group but we are always looking for more." he said. He added that ou can never hav e too many people out looking for a lost child. THERE ARE several requirements re-quirements for membership in the posse. A candidate must be over 2 1 -y ears old and have his own four-wheel drive vehicle or else some other special search and rescue skill lie. licensed pilot. EM T or paramedic, para-medic, certified scuba diver, etc.). A jeep posse applicant must attend several of the regular group meetings before becoming becom-ing a full-fledged member. He must also be free of any criminal crimin-al record. " Traffic violations don't count." said Mr. DeVoe. SEVERAL OK the jeep pos- se members go on to become deputized, which requires 200 hours of classroom training and passing the state deputy test. Nine members of the group recently graduated from the county's reserve academy. "We're in the process of forming a scuba diving team and four of our members are already certified." reported Mr. DeVoe . "We are also w orking w ith the sheriff to put together a mountain rescue team with specialists in advanced adv-anced mountain climbing techniques." tech-niques." NONE OK the members are paid for the work or training they do. The group, however, is sometimes reimbursed for helping w ith security details at Lagoon and local events such as the annual mud races. This money is used to buy additional addition-al rescue equipment. Mr. DeVoe explained that posse members come from all walks of life. "Six of our members mem-bers are women and they can do anything the men can. They've all seen the back of Farmington Peak." he claimed. THE JEEP posse meets twice a month for business bree meetings and practic: thro sions. The group w whe practice their four-te penc ing skills in Farminc becc nyon or on Antelope '. They also train in spe;. 0 search and rescue ter quit' such as tracking.!;. The methods and first aii men "Our biggest job is- days to improve our ska layr Mr. DeVoe. "It djtb - atioi hobbyafterawhile.il- men avocation. But lcan'r M a better hobby than:: the people." w ' "IT'S ALSO anothr- tl0n! serve the commutD cn than just paving t jbat added". a Mr. DeVoe said tit": una participates with to P00' cause it gives hitnte-' to work with whathe.i M greatest people in ite- ALTHOUGH the?-; 'd not called out ver f Puo' Davis County, lie (f that the group is reK spond any time of to." and during any I weather. He added. "The" ward they receive i sienal pat on ihetw-jov ihetw-jov on a mother's is 'her child, is founJ |