Odessa and Reardan partner to share officer

ODESSA – The Town Council has entered into a partnership with the town of Reardan to gain additional staffing for their respective police departments. In October, the towns' councils agreed to hire officer Melissa Foust. They will pay an equal share of her $63,321 salary and she will split her time between the two communities.

In 2023, the Reardan Police Department and Reardan-Edwall School District shared Foust's services and salary. When the school district did not renew Foust's contract for 2024, Reardan Chief of Police Mike Suniga contacted Odessa Chief of Police Ericka Rose to gauge her interest in partnering together to keep Foust in Lincoln County.

"Chief Rose thought it was a great idea," Suniga said.

Foust will work five days on and five days off. During a 28-day period, she will work 160 hours, which is equivalent to a 40 hour work week.

"Both of our mayors value law enforcement and are incredibly supportive of this arrangement," Rose said. "This is a unique partnership that has never happened before."

Suniga said that because of limited budgets, small communities like Reardan and Odessa have to be creative and reevaluate how law enforcement is to be done.

"Taking this creative approach has allowed both of our towns to have one more officer because now days you can't do law enforcement as a solo officer. It's way too dangerous," Suniga said. "In addition, having Officer Foust will allow our towns to have continuous coverage when either Chief Rose or I am out of the area."

Foust will provide patrol functions for both towns and will investigate crimes as they occur. She will also develop relationships with students in the Odessa School District.

Rose said that Foust started working in Odessa on Oct.15 and hit the ground running.

"She is young, enthusiastic and aggressive with police work. She wants to go out and catch bad guys. With her on board we will now have a police presence on most days."

Lincoln County Sheriff Gabe Gants applauded the police departments for their innovative approach to staffing.

"I support them on their creativity for coming up with a solution to the hiring problem that all departments are having," he said. "It helps shore up some of the small holes in coverage within our county by Officer Foust working in both Reardan and Odessa. We wholeheartedly support our local police departments as they fulfill their mission."

"This opportunity is great for me," Foust said. "Reardan and Odessa are both great towns. The people are friendly and very supportive of law enforcement. Being new to Odessa, I have appreciated people stopping by to welcome me to their town."