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The Belcher Islands are an archipelago consisting of over 1500 islands, covering more than a total of 3000 square kilometers. This archipelago is located in Canada near the southeast shore of the Hudson Bay.

Geography

The Belcher Islands have only a thin layer of soil in most places resulting in very little vegetation besides a few trees which can only be found in the valleys. The Belcher Islands also contain many polynyas and the highest elevation in the archipelago is 155 meters above sea level. Sanikiluaq, the only permanently inhabited settlement in Belcher Islands, is located in the northern coastal area of Flaherty Island.

Settlements and Population

The hamlet of Sanikiluaq is the only permanently inhabited settlement in the Belcher Islands. The population of Sanikiluaq in 2006 was 744 people, an 8.8% change from 2001 when their were 684 people living in Sanikiluaq. The hamlet of Sanikiluaq covers and area of 114.98 square kilometers, and has a population density of 6.5 people per square kilometer. The majority of the population (95%) is Inuit.

Accessibility and Transportation

The Belcher Islands are most commonly accessed by aircraft from the mainland. The hamlet of Sanikiluaq maintains an airport with a 3800 foot gravel runway. Air Inuit offers direct flights from Kuujjuaraapik to Sanikiluaq and back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday using either a DHC-6 Twin Otter or a Hawker Siddeley 748. The most popular form of transportation between islands of the archipelago is by two man kayak.

Wildlife

The Belcher Islands are home to a wide range of wildlife. The Belcher Island's polynyas are wintering grounds for many polar bears, which are still hunted today by the residents of the islands. Many large mammals such as Beluga Whales, Bearded, Ringed and Harbour Seals, as well as Walruses can also be seen in or around the Belcher Islands. Fish such as Arctic Char, Sculpin,Cod, and Capalin can also be found in the waters off the Belcher Islands.

However, birds are the most prominent forms of wildlife in the Belcher Islands.

Over 15,000 birds have been seen wintering in the Belcher Islands, and many migratory birds spend their summers in the Belchers. Some birds commonly seen nesting or visiting the Belcher Islands include Loons, Mergansers, Gulls, Ducks, Eiders, Geese, Hawks, Falcons and Owls. In late April and early May of each year Canada Geese return from their wintering grounds in East Coast to breed in the Belcher Islands. The Belcher Islands are also home to over 3000 pairs of Hudson Bay Common Eiders.

References

• Statistics Canada information on Sanikiluaq

• Belcher Islands Information

• Air Inuit Schedule

TOMS ARTICLE

The Monterey County Sheriff's department is the county law enforcement agency for Monterey County, California. It provides protection and law enforcement to the non-municipal areas of Monterey County. The Sheriff's Office provides Monterey County with a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team, a search and rescue team (SAR), a coroner's division, a court services division, a detention division (jail), a civil services division, a narcotics division, an investigations division, a crime prevention unit, a hostage/crisis negotiation team (HNT), a mounted search unit (volunteer), a K-9 unit, a motor squadron (volunteer), an aero squad (volunteer), and a homeland security division. Each of these is organized into one of three Bureaus: the Administrative Bureau, the Enforcement Operations Bureau, and the Custody Operations Bureau. The Sheriff's Office was founded in 1850; and as such the department is one hundred and fifty-seven years old. The Sheriff's Office is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the state of California. The Sheriff's Department has about 450 employees and a large budget of over 50 million dollars.

History of the Office of the Sheriff, Monterey County

The Office of the Sheriff, Monterey County was founded in 1850 when Sheriff William Roach was elected. William Roach was considered by many to be a very controversial sheriff. He was a part of the New York Regiment of volunteer soldiers sent to fight in the Mexican-American War. However, the regiment arrived too late to fight the war. Many of the soldiers decided to stay and become a part of the California gold rush. When Roach decided to run for sheriff, he had a large percent of the vote due to the large population of New York Regiment soldiers living in Monterey County. Roach later became involved in a feud know as the Roach-Belcher feud. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office, like many offices, was small (1-3 men) even into the 1910's. The department didn't even obtain uniforms until the late 1930's. They were obtained through a traveling uniform peddler and each deputy was allowed to choose his own badge from a catalog. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office was considered a largely unprofessional office until 1962, when sheriff Davinport was elected. Davinport choose a man named Rodriguez to be his under-sheriff. Under-sheriff Rodriguez was a World War II veteran and was very strict. He instituted reforms large and small. Small being deputies must wear a hat at all times and large being that deputies could no longer drink on the job (no matter how well they held liquor). He also required deputies to carry firearms at all times even if they were off duty. This time period is considered to be the beginning of the present Monterey County Sheriff's Office by many. The Sheriff's Office was sued in order to force it to comply with the new federal peace officer safety regulations. The department lost and all officers were equipped with “bullet-proof” vests. The Sherriff's Office now has a staff of armored deputies and (semi-)automatic weapons.

List of Monterey County Sheriffs

• 1. William Roach 1850 – 1853
• 2. Aaron Lyons 1954 – 1855
• 3. John B. Keating 1856 – 1857
• 4. Henry DeGraw 1858 – 1859
• 5. Aaron E. Lyons 1860 – 1864 (Killed in office)
• 6. James B. Smith 1864 – 1865
• 7. Thomas Watson 1866 – 1871
• 8. Andrew Wesson 1872 – 1873
• 9. James B. Smith 1874 – 1875
• 10. James E. Graves 1876 – 1877
• 11. John C. Franks 1878 – 1882
• 12. James E. Graves 1883 – 1888
• 13. James A. Horton 1889 – 1892
• 14. John L. Matthew 1893 – 1898
• 15. Henry R. Farley 1899 – 1899 (Killed in office)
• 16. Melvin R. Keef 1899 – 1902
• 17. William J. Nesbitt 1902 – 1923
• 18. William A. Oyer 1924 – 1927
• 19. Carl H. Abbott 1928 – 1940 (Died in office)
• 20. J. A. Cornett* 1940 – 1940
• 21. Alexander H. Bordges 1940 – 1946 (Died in office)
• 22. J. A. Cornett* 1946 – 1946
• 23. Jack L. McCoy 1946 – 1957
• 24. Victor V. Tibbs 1957 – 1963
• 25. William J. Davenport 1963 – 1979
• 26. David B. “Bud” Cook 1979 – 1991
• 27. Norman G. Hicks 1991 – 1999
• 28. Gordon Sonne 1999 – 2003
• 29. Mike Kanalakis 2003 - present

• J. A. Cornett (coroner) served as interim Sheriff after deaths in office of Sheriff Abbott and Bordges until new elections could be held.

List of Fallen Monterey County Sheriff's Officials

• 1. Monterey County Constable William Hardmont, September 2, 1854
• 2. Deputy Jose Joaquin Carmen Santiago de la Torre, November 10, 1855
• 3. Sheriff's Posse Deputy Charles Layton, November 10, 1855
• 4. Sheriff Henry Reed Farley, September 18, 1899
• 5. Sheriff's Posse Special Officer Noah H. Rader, July 25, 1925
• 6. Deputy Craig Lingley Knox, June 1, 1980
• 7. Deputy Jerralee Jane JACOBUS, June 1, 1980
• 8. Deputy Robert “Bob” Jefferson Shaw IV, April 9, 1988
• 9. Deputy Anthony “Tony” James Olson, September 24, 1996

Organization of the Office of the Sheriff, Monterey County

The Office of the Sheriff, Monterey County is divided into three bureaus, each answerable to the Sheriff. The three bureaus are the Administrative Bureau, the Enforcement Operations Bureau, and the Custody Operations Bureau. Each bureau of the department is headed by a chief. The Administrative Bureau contains the Fiscal Division, the Civil Division, the Coroner Division, the Training Division, the Records Division, the Recruiting Division, and the Professional Standards Division (internal affairs). The Enforcement Operations Bureau contains the Sheriff's Patrol Division, the Homeland Security Division, the Investigations Division, the Narcotics Division, the Crime Prevention Unit, the Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Team, the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, the Search and Rescue Team, the Mounted Search Team, K-9 Unit, the Motor Squadron, and the Sheriff's Aero Squadron. The Custody Enforcement Bureau contains the Detention Division and the Court Services Division.

Key Monterey County Sheriff's Office Divisions

• Special Weapons and Tactics Team- The SWAT teams main responsibility is to provide a coordinated response to crisis situations around the county. The SWAT team is a heavily armed and armored unit. They are equipped with armored vehicles, automatic weapons, rifles, shotguns, and entry devices. The SWAT team evolved from the former Tactical (Riot) Team. The SWAT was secretly formed without the Sheriff's approval by a captain named foster.
• Search and Rescue Team (SAR)- The SAR team was founded in 1962 and was Sheriff's Davinport's running platform. The current rescue team is divided into a dive team and a mountain team. The dive team is responsible for water related rescues along the California coastline and rivers. The mountain team is responsible for rescues along mountainous terrain and forests. The SAR team can be called in as mutual aid to nearby counties.
• Coroner's Division- The Coroner's Division is responsible for the investigation of corpses and finding the causes and circumstances of death. The elected sheriff of the county is also the coroner of the county.
• Detention Division (Jails) - The Monterey County Sheriff's Office also is responsible for maintaining a county jail. The Detention Division runs, guards, and manages the county jail. The Detention Division receives the largest part of the Sheriff's Office's budget. The jail houses all sentenced and non-sentenced criminals in the county.
• Civil Division- The Sheriff's Office maintains a Civil Division responsible for serving subpoenas and other civil paperwork from the Superior Court of California, Monterey County. They are also responsible for serving evictions.
• Court Services Division- The Court Services Division is responsible for courtroom security, prisoner transport, and alternative-work programs. The alternative-work program is to provide alternative punishments for criminals instead of incarceration. The alternative punishment must be approved by the courts. In 2006 $303,695 was generated in revenues in 2006 through the alternative-work program.

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office in Current Times

The Office of the Sheriff, Monterey County acknowledges that the county's main law enforcement focuses are homeland defense, gang suppression, school violence, domestic violence, and illegal drugs. The Sheriff's Office has taken an active part in a county-wide “gang-task force.” As of 1996 the Sheriff's Office began enforcing Megan's Law, which required them to keep a public database of all register sex-offenders in the area. The Sheriff's Department is currently facing staffing problems and is short handed in several divisions. A bomb squad is currently being organized and officers are in training for the skills required. The current sheriff is Mike Kanalakis, who won re-election in 2006.