County seeks to fill coroner spot

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
With both the Weston County coroner, Cindy Crabtree, and the deputy county coroner, Marina McIlvain, incapacitated due to medical issues, Crabtree has been relying on Crook County coroners to help when needed, according to information provided on Aug. 3 to the Board of Weston County Commissioners. 
The board, with no previous knowledge of the circumstances, discussed possible options and determined that Crabtree could deputize one or two people to temporarily assume coroner duties until she returns to duty or that the board could enter into a memorandum of understanding with Crook County. 
Michael Frolander, Crook County coroner, discussed the situation over the phone with the board, stating that his office had covered the Osage shooting death late last month and would continue to aid Weston County until the issue was resolved. 
Sheriff Bryan Colvard, who was present at the meeting, explained that Weston County has used resources from Crook County in the past. He noted that when Tracy Hunt served as coroner, the county used Crook County pretty regularly. 
“We had a MOU (memorandum of understanding) with them. They would respond to coroner calls, and all Tracy (Hunt) had to pay for was equipment. They (Crook County) would bill the coroner’s office,” Colvard said. “I believe we utilized them quite a bit over the years.” 
The sheriff also said that several individuals in the community could be deputized by Crabtree. 
‘We are in this weird place,” Chairman Marty Ertman said. 
“Not that weird, just a different scenario. We went eight years with a 20% coroner,” Colvard said, noting that Hunt was extremely hard to contact when he was coroner. 
While Colvard said he supported both options, he believed that deputizing a deputy coroner would make the most sense. He encouraged someone with the county to reach out to Crabtree to get her opinion. 
The board approved a motion to establish an MOU with Crook County for emergency situations that required a coroner. The motion included reimbursing Crook County for expenses. 
Commissioner Ed Wagoner, before making the motion to create the MOU, urged Crabtree to deputize a person from Weston County to fill the role until she was able to return to duty. Clerk Becky Hadlock was tasked with reaching out to Crabtree to provide an update at the next board meeting on Aug. 17.