New group forms to support area rescue and K9 units

As the Clark County Sheriff’s Department continues to help establish new organizations and units such as the Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue Team and local K-9 units to assist in emergency operations, a new organization has been formed to help these programs get extra funding for equipment they will need in the field.

Formed early last year, the Clark County Citizens Auxiliary has been working hard to raise funds to help purchase items that the Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue Team and K-9 units will need for day-to-day operations and for training. Deb Esselman, the president of the group, said the goal of the Auxiliary is straightforward.

“We formed last February,” she said. “The goal was to provide funding for Clark County units like the Search and Rescue team and the K-9 units.”

While both the Search and Rescue Team and the K-9 units that operate in Clark County have a budgeted amount allotted to them by the Clark County Sheriff’s Department to run their operations, there are some things that a budget simply doesn’t cover. For the Clark County Search and Rescue team, most of the equipment that is used by its members has been provided by the volunteer riders themselves, and several fundraisers have been held by local groups to provide the group some standardized equipment for their work. The K-9 units aren’t immune to this problem either, as specialized equipment such as dog vests, can be an expense that is too much for the Sheriff’s Department to afford regularly.

Knowing the real struggles these groups have in getting everything they will need, Esselman said the members of the group were inspired to come up with ways to raise funds. Because of the pandemic, she said many of their plans were not able to come to fruition as planned, but they were able to hold a movie night and an auction to at least get a start on their goals.

“COVID hit us hard,” she said. “We were going to do a big music concert, but that didn’t get to happen last year. We had an auction in October, that is where we got most of the funds for this year.”

With the funds that were raised, the Clark County Citizens Auxiliary made its first donation to the Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue Team on March 9. The group donated a Garmin GPS Unit, five tracking collars and an additional $600 to the team. The $600 will be used to help cover the costs of training that will occur in May with the St. Croix

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO Mounted Search and Rescue Team, while the tracking collars will be used in the field to help the team know where their members are located during a search.

“They hook the receiver collars on the saddles to track where they go,” said Esselman. “They will be resource they can use that will be able to track their mounted riders when they are on a mission. The GPS unit can track up to 14 different collars, so wherever this collar goes, we will be able to see where they are.” Now that they have given their first big donation, Esselman said she hopes the group will be able to grow both in members and in the amount of funds they can generate for the area’s emergency response teams. While they are focusing on helping the Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue Team and the K-9 Units, she said eventually the plan is to be able to provide extra funds to emergency response teams throughout all of Clark County.

“We are putting our focus on these two aspects (The Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue Team and K-9 Units) at this time,” she said. “Hopefully we will be able to expand for all emergency services.”

Besides an auction that the Clark County Citizens Auxiliary hope to hold again later this year, Esselman said the group is selling steel mugs, sweatshirts and calendars featuring the Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue Team and K-9 Units on their website, www. cccauxiliary.com and at Simplicity Credit Union in Neillsville. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Clark County Citizens Auxiliary, call Esselman at 715-613-5556.