Carl Wilkerson

Later this month, Lane County Commissioners will decide on a strategy to prevent job cuts in their already struggling public safety system. Their options are significantly spending down their reserves to balance the budget, or tapping into a fund that was originally collected to promote tourism.

Rural Lane County residents say they’re frustrated about public safety: a handful of deputies patrol a sprawling unincorporated area, and there is very little followup when they call. KLCC spoke to several residents of an unincorporated area near Florence, where there's been a rash of burglaries.

Lane County has a new sheriff. Carl Wilkerson, a thirty-year veteran with the Lane County Sheriff’s Department, was sworn in Wednesday.