Eddy County Sheriff's Office welcomes new deputy

Deputy Ward Hilger officially reported for duty with the Eddy County Sheriff's Department on December 18, after completing 12 weeks of training in Bismarck at the Law Enforcement Training Academy to attain the appropriate law enforcement licensure. The academy training combines classroom and hands-on training with practical scenarios.

Hilger says that he has always been interested in law enforcement as a career. He grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana but had pursued other interests when he got out of high school. Initially, he majored in music education in college, and then transferred to television and radio broadcasting. He worked for various sports teams doing game production, control videos, photo shoots and graphic design. He then became involved in radio broadcasting.

He met his wife, Heather, when he was working in Aberdeen, S.D. They married and moved to North Dakota for her job opportunity last November. They have three-year-old twin daughters who keep life interesting. For a time, Hilger continued working from home, but was ready to try something new, when he became acquainted with Eddy County Sheriff Lies.

His training phase with Sheriff Lies and the other deputies continues. He says that Lies has a wealth of information to draw from; talking through situations to come up with what will be the best possible outcome. The other deputies have also been very willing to share their experience with him and have made the transition a little easier.

The small community life here is much like the community where Hilger grew up, which he says provides a unique opportunity for law enforcement to really interact with their communities, to know the people they work with and to, hopefully, have a positive impact on their lives. The goal is to treat people fairly, while at the same time upholding the requirements of the law.

He says he is appreciative of the support that the sheriff's department receives from the city and county officials here, is happy to be here and is looking forward to getting to know more people.