New deputy plans to get around

By Meg Olson

Jayson Loreen is the newest resident deputy in Point Roberts and he’s been making the rounds. So far he has visited the school and the senior center. “I want to make sure people  know I’m here,” Loreen said. “It’s all about community policing.”

Loreen was assigned to Point Roberts in January and will be the only resident deputy until summer.

Last year was an uneven year for resident deputy staffing on the Point, following several years of consistent coverage from deputies Dave Scott and Glen Slick.

Slick completed two years of duty here in January 2014 and was reassigned. He was replaced by Deputy Angela Deyoung who was unable to fulfill her assignment for family reasons and asked Deputy Jeff Turner to fill in for a year.

At the end of 2014 Turner had fulfilled that commitment, Scott retired and Deyoung resigned, leaving Point Roberts without a resident deputy. Loreen has stepped in to fill the gap. He has been a deputy with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s office since 2010 and previously worked in the county jail. He didn’t know he had a relative in Point Roberts when he moved here, but it looks like he and Pastor Ernie Loreen are distant relatives.

Loreen said a priority for him now is to get to know the community and for them to know him. He has been spending time in the duty station at the border and answering questions, though he emphasizes, “Don’t call the business line if it’s an emergency. Call 911.”

“We are currently experiencing an acute shortage of deputies,” said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo. “During this staffing shortage we have had to proportionately reduce deputy sheriff coverage countywide.

Plans call for two deputies to be assigned to Point Roberts,” he added.

Tom McCarthy, a previous resident deputy, is slated to be assigned here before June. “In the interim, we are supplementing coverage on the Point with traffic deputies and deputies from patrol,” Elfo said.

“Our commitment to the Point remains. I am confident the deputies who are and will be assigned to Point Roberts will serve the citizens well.”