OTTAWA — It is easy for an Oath of Office to become just part of the program. However, at a swearing-in ceremony held for nine elected Putnam County officials in the county common pleas courtroom Friday, Judge Randall Basinger did what he could to highlight the importance of the occasion.
Basinger repeated the oath of office to county commissioners Michael Lammers and Vincent Schroeder, county treasurer Tracy Warnecke, county recorder Cathy Recker, county engineer Michael Lenhart, county prosecutor Gary Lammers, clerk of courts Teresa Lammers, county sheriff Brian Siefker and county coroner Anna Mae Horstman, which read: “being duly sworn say that I will faithfully support the Constitution of the United States and the state of Ohio, and will faithfully discharge my duties as …..”
“Our Constitution works in part because of people like this who run for office,” Basinger said to a large crowd attending the event. “I want to offer my congratulations. It certainly is an honor being a part of this.”
Basinger said it is a good reminder of the commitment an elected official is making.
“It is a start of a new cycle,” Basinger said. “You want to fulfill your duties the best that you can.”
Siefker agreed with Basinger’s sentiments. Siefker also took the oath several years ago when he joined the U.S. Marines.
“I will be a constitutional sheriff,” Siefker said. “That is what we fought for.”
Siefker said there wouldn’t be huge changes with the department, but did say focuses would include heroin and opioid problems in the county, and an increased law enforcement presence in the schools.
“We want officers to be at the school at lunch with the kids or visible directing traffic,” Siefker said.
Siefker said the department would also look into more permanent presence in the schools, such as a D.A.R.E. program or school resource officers.
Lammers said the oath is also very important to him as a deeply religious conservative. He agrees the opiate problem in the county should be an immediate focus. He said in contributed to another issue that he feels needs to be addressed swiftly.
“We are having problems finding workers for factories,” Lammers said. “There are more than 300 openings right now. They can’t find workers because people cannot pass the drug test.”
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