• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Thursday, April 15, 2021
59 °f
Platte
45 ° Fri
47 ° Sat
49 ° Sun
49 ° Mon
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
No Result
View All Result
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
No Result
View All Result

The legacy of former Platte County Sheriff Tom Thomas

Debbie Coleman-Topi by Debbie Coleman-Topi
January 10, 2020
in Platte County
8
SHARES
199
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

T​he legacy of Platte County Sheriff Tom Thomas reaches way beyond his status as the longest-tenured sheriff in the county’s history at the time of his retirement in 1996–or his history-making win as the first Republican to be elected to any public office in the county when he arrived in 1968.

His accomplishments go beyond the respect he earned by his patient guidance as he mentored dozens of young deputies during his 28 years in the post.

RelatedNews

Judge tells city attorney ‘put case on front burner’

Junior college tax fails; R-3 bond issue passes

City, state will team up to repair Hwy. 92

Current Platte County Sheriff Mark Owen said his mentor’s legacy extends from “the bottom of his heart,” which is the spot where he held each of his charges, from new recruits to seasoned deputies.

The 83-year-old Thomas died Dec. 29 following a battle with a lung disease, but the memories of his perpetual opened door remain, Owen said. Thomas’s caring spirit followed him throughout his career, when he swapped his office door for the one at home, where the policy continued. He and his wife, Becky, were known to frequently entertain deputies at their cabin at Bean Lake. The frequent backyard barbecues reached all the way back to the time when the sheriff’s department depended upon weekend reserve officers, giving the county’s five or six full-time deputies a much-needed respite.

Owen said his mentor’s attention and influence had a wide reach—way beyond the sheriff’s department.

“He was there for everybody, I don’t know of any employee he didn’t like,”

“He was there for everybody,” he said. “I don’t know of any employee he didn’t like,” he said, adding that sometimes broader law enforcement was engaged in a common goal, despite being from different agencies. He remembered when Michael Turner, a dangerous convict, escaped from nearby Fort Leavenworth Correctional facility and all agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, were engaged in an 18-hour search.

“Everybody and their brother was here,” Owen remembered. Thomas’s deputies found the prisoner, sending the other agencies packing. “I had faith in you,” was Thomas’s reply, when he heard the news.

But Thomas did more than just coordinate occasionally on cases with other law enforcement. He contributed to the training of not only sheriff’s deputies, but also those who took their skills to careers in other law enforcement venues, from highway patrol officers to the federal Secret Service and U.S. Marshals.

Thomas’s people skills and compassion were ever present. Sometimes he seemed ahead of the times, like when he arrived on the scene of cases involving traumatic outcomes to ask if his deputies needed any help dealing with their role in the incident, from time away to counseling. That was before the wide-spread diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other such psychological disorders. He approached other aspects of the job in the same manner, Owen said.

“Job interviews in which he interviewed potential deputies ranged from formal meetings in which Thomas studied resumes and job experience, to casual conversations in which he skipped the formalities.” ‘I’ve got a feeling… let’s hire him!’ Thomas said.

Platte County Sheriff’s Captain Tony Avery recalled the feeling after Thomas and other officials interviewed him as a 20-something, following his military service. “They really gave a young kid a chance,” he said.

Thomas didn’t let his compassion keep him from “laying out some pretty strict rules,” Owen said. “You had to do it right and be thorough,” he said, adding that he also knew when to back off and let deputies do their jobs. “He believed in his people.”

Thomas’s reputation led county officials to dedicate, in his name, a portion of the building that joins the Platte County Courthouse with the sheriff’s department. A portrait of Thomas is posted in the hallway, along with a plaque listing his years of service and immense influence. “He was highly, highly respected,” Owen said.

Platte County was replete with family farms back in 1968, when Thomas first was elected sheriff. So fond were the farmers of Thomas, that many “old-timers” would inquire about Thomas following his retirement.

Avery added, “He (Thomas) really laid the ground-work,” he said of the area that experienced a population boom that continues today. “He was really the right person for Platte County,” he said.

Thomas was a complete package, said Avery, who said he’ll never forget many of his former boss’s standout qualities.

“For those of us who are height-challenged, he always had an imposing command,” he said of the man who stood six feet four inches, adding that “it was just the way he carried himself. When Tom Thomas walked in the room, you knew it was somebody important.”

Tags: platte countyPublic Safety
Debbie Coleman-Topi

Debbie Coleman-Topi

Debbie's journalism career began at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where she was trained.

Her works have appeared in The Kansas City Star and its Sunday magazine, The (Independence) Examiner and TWINS Magazine. Debbie has written for The Landmark for the past four years where she has reported on a wide range of Platte County area issues and people.

These include the longest-running issue of her three-decade career--a massive development in Parkville, which spawned a citizens' movement that objects to the way city officials manage the city.

She is the author of "TWINformation: The Biology, Psychology and Development of Twins”, written in response to having and raising fraternal male twins (she and her husband later welcomed a girl to the family.)

She is also the author of “Memories of A War Bride,” which chronicles the life of her husband's Godmother, a WWII English war bride.

Debbie and her husband, John, live in Blue Springs, a long car drive from events and meetings she covers for The Landmark. In fact, when she first met publisher Ivan Foley, after answering his ad for a reporter she told him she should have packed a lunch for the long journey. When she heard no response following the job interview, Debbie called to ask if Foley was not interested in her joining the staff. He was interested, but assumed the drive was too long.

Obviously, he was wrong.

Related Posts

Proposed sewer rate hike nixed on split vote

Proposed sewer rate hike nixed on split vote

by Debbie Coleman-Topi
April 15, 2021
0

Parkville mayor forced to break tie A proposal to raise sewer rates for residents who use the Parkville sewer system failed during a board of aldermen meeting last Tuesday. The measure, which called for raising rates by six percent, followed...

Judge James Van Amburg

Judge tells city attorney ‘put case on front burner’

by Debbie Coleman-Topi
April 15, 2021
0

'You need to do better,' Van Amburg tells city's legal counsel In a hearing in which the plaintiff accused the city's attorneys of "gamesmanship" when it comes to producing discovery, the Platte County judge in a Sunshine lawsuit once again...

Ball field talk gets heated at Parkville

Ball field talk gets heated at Parkville

by Debbie Coleman-Topi
April 15, 2021
0

Aldermen get short with one another The end of the latest Parkville Board of Aldermen meeting erupted into a heated exchange as members debated future plans for a local park, effects on adjoining wildlife wetlands and a grant application that...

Sunshine antics at Parkville

Sunshine antics at Parkville

by Landmark Digital Staff
April 15, 2021
0

EDITOR: I continue to read and be amazed at the antics of the Parkville aldermen over this Sunshine Law and violations thing. They keep losing in court yet keep spending more money on legal fees, with the total growing day...

Next Post

Start your engines: Let the 2020 political season begin

Popular News

  • Major subdivision planned along Crooked Road

    Major subdivision planned along Crooked Road

    41 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • City, state will team up to repair Hwy. 92

    13 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3
  • Newest order in Sunshine case favors Jason Maki

    11 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 3
  • Judge tells city attorney ‘put case on front burner’

    8 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 2
  • Say no to new tax

    7 shares
    Share 3 Tweet 2
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Call us at 816-858-0363

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Subscribe Online
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist