Our next installment in the Little Cottonwood leader series lands on one of your correspondent’s favorites anywhere in the canyon. Not the least of reasons is that he and his dedicated team can be found anywhere on Highway 210 from the mouth to the far end of Albion Basin precisely when you need them to be there.
Mike Morey is Alta’s Marshal, a position he first occupied as a part-time deputy in 1988 but took over as full-time in 1990. He’s held the position ever since, working alongside his four deputies and the dispatchers who man Alta Central’s dispatch. A little-known fact is that his tenure stretches back to 1985 when he started in the Snowbird public safety office, giving him forty years in canyon.
Canyon Blog cornered him on a late afternoon taking him away from his dreaded computer and the never ending slog of police “paper work”.
Canyon Blog: What changes have you seen across your four decades in the canyon?
Marshal Morey: What I’ve noticed most is that Alta has gone from one of Utah’s favorite family destinations to the world’s.
CB: Does that complicate things for the town?
MM: Absolutely. We now regularly do things we couldn’t have dreamed up in the eighties.
CB: So that adds complexity to your responsibilities then.
MM: Not always. Not always, we get to touch the results of our efforts which is why we tell peoples we have to be at our best on every interaction.
CB: I imagine that gives your team a lot of pride.
MM: Yes. There are some incredible instances that highlight the extraordinary and diverse skills of the marshal’s office. A few years ago Deputy Spencer, a former Alta ski patroller, had the opportunity to save a child’s life after they were caught in a roof slide avalanche. Not your typical police call, and without his quick actions and experience what would have been a tragedy is now merely a scary family story.
CB: Anything you’d like to add in closing that you’d like the public to know?
MM: Yes. For such a small town in a much-loved location, we get to be the public’s first touch of the Town of Alta’s government. And I’d like them to know we’re here for them.
Not much for a grateful blogger to add to that other than to say thank you for all you and your team do.