Commissioners talk emergency policies for court house

After a total of seven bomb threats, Bannock County Commissioners held a department head meeting Wednesday morning to address the need for safety in the court house.

Meanwhile, Kristopher Allen Wrede was arrested Wednesday in connection with the January 21st bomb threat. He is currently being held in the Bannock County Detention Center.

County Commissioner Howard Manwaring says him and the sheriff believe the threat calls to be from different people.

But nevertheless, safety was on the commissioners minds no matter what future emergencies may be.

“We discussed the need for expediency. We discussed the current situation in the country. And also the need to take any emergency seriously, because you never know if it’s real or just perceived. The point of yesterday’s meeting was to discuss the overall security of our citizens and employees, and make sure they’re protected at all times,” said Manwaring.

He says he you never know the credibility of someone making a bomb threat. That’s why you have to take each and every one of them seriously. Manwaring says he doesn’t know why people make such threats. It could be for number of reasons, they don’t like the government, some of these people might not want to go to court, it could be just about anything he says.

“Court houses are like schools, they’re such an easy target. Court houses are looked at the center of government, so I think that’s why they become a target.”

Manwaring stresses the need for people to get more involved with their community in terms of reporting serious incidents if and when they hear about them.