According to a photograph and cation published in the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN last Thursday, current Archuleta County Sheriff Richie Valdez conducted a ‘swearing in’ ceremony for a new County Undersheriff on Monday, December 20. The newly-sworn Undersheriff is Mike Le Roux, who has served the County for the past few years as Emergency Operations Manager.
Some might think the Sheriff was jumping the gun, so to speak, by swearing in a new Undersheriff… before the outgoing Undersheriff, Derek Woodman, had been officially hired for his new position as Archuleta County Administrator. That particular hiring decision took place the following day, Tuesday, December 21, at the Board of County Commissioners’ meeting.
I refer to Richie Valdez as the ‘current Sheriff’ because he announced, earlier this month, that he would not be running for re-election in the 2022 General Election. In a modest statement, also published in the weekly SUN, the Sheriff wrote:
From the beginning of my term as Archuleta County Sheriff, I was presented with multiple challenges such as a flooded jail, poisonous gases, wild land fires, employee health, two failed ballot initiatives, addressing police reform legislation, overseeing the construction of a new jail, relocating and transporting inmates 60 miles, and keeping our community safe amidst a pandemic. To say I have been busy is an understatement. Having all of these issues simultaneously required that my leadership of this Office be the top priority...
WASHINGTON (TNND) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced criminal charges against 455 people across 45 states accused of participating in health care fraud schemes involving more than $6.5 bi...