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Sheriff’s ‘Chop with a Cop’ seeks temporary storage as program expands; county to explore options
Summary
The Valley County Sheriff’s Office asked commissioners for permission to use road department outbuildings or other local storage to keep donated firewood dry for its Chop with a Cop program. The board did not grant immediate approval and asked staff to explore options including fairgrounds, churches and business donations.
The Valley County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from commissioners to find covered storage for donated firewood collected for the Sheriff Foundation’s Chop with a Cop program.
The sheriff described the program: volunteers and deputies split and stack donated wood, then deliver it to people in need. "Last year, we did, for our first year, little little more than 50 cords of wood delivered," the sheriff said, and told the board demand and donations have grown this year. The sheriff said volunteers are preparing to cut and split in early September and that the program needs a dry place to store stacked wood until deliveries can be made.
County staff and the sheriff discussed a building behind the county gas pumps at the road department that might be used, but the sheriff said the road department does not expect that building to be vacated until February. Commissioners and staff suggested exploring other local options, including fairgrounds space after the fair and rodeo, church storage and asking the Chamber of Commerce to contact businesses about available space. One commissioner volunteered to ask the fairgrounds and the Chamber.
The sheriff said the operation is volunteer-driven and that some deliveries are made directly to recipients who can’t pick up wood themselves. He said the Valley County Sheriff Foundation this year raised money to deliver wood and that a sponsor will provide a skid steer to help with handling.
No formal county approval was recorded on the record to use a specific county building this year; commissioners asked staff to follow up with Road Department staff (Jeff) and with community partners to identify short-term storage options. The sheriff estimated this year’s total at roughly 70–75 cords based on current donations, and said the primary need now is covered storage to keep wood dry prior to delivery.
Next steps recorded at the meeting: sheriff and staff will contact the road department about potential short-term space, county staff will ask legal about any restrictions, and commissioners suggested outreach to churches, fairgrounds and businesses to secure temporary storage. The board did not allocate county funds for construction of new storage at this meeting.
