Two deputies and the Teton County Coroner all responded to the scene of the fatal six-vehicle crash on July 7 on Teton Pass.
Emotion of that day was still fresh on Kat Clauson’s mind as the deputy spoke about it July 16 at the League of Women Voters of Wyoming candidate forum.
“You can’t teach how to deal with the pain of sitting with a family and talking to them about their child that’s passed,” she said, fighting back tears. “Or pulling a canine out of a car after his dad died with his arm around him. I think that is the hardest part of this job, and it is the most incredibly rewarding part of the job. And I think all of us do it really well.”
Unity was a theme for the three deputies running, along with the county’s lone funeral home director, to be the next coroner. That included disappointment with their boss, Dr. Brent Blue, whom they described to varying degrees as a hands-off leader. Blue is stepping away after three terms to run for county commissioner.
Voters will decide from a tight-knit crew of death professionals. Funeral home director Krista Nethercott and deputy Russell Nelson are running in the Republican primary, Clauson and deputy Dave Hodges on the Democratic side. One of each will advance to the general. The primary is August 18.
“It should be an elected position because I think it’s good to have competition as a way of having different ideas,” Nethercott said.
A crowd of about 25 came to hear those ideas at the Teton County Library forum. That was fewer than the 60 or so who came to hear from county commission hopefuls the day prior.
The most divisive issue seemed to be how the current slate view their current boss. While Nelson said he refused to throw Blue “under the bus,” Clauson offered a slew of critiques.
“We’ve had absent leadership for many years and our deputies are flying solo or with each other the vast majority of the time,” she said. “Our coroner currently does not perform postmortems, does not investigate death, and signs death certificates occasionally in his plane.”
Blue was not at the forum but denied the accusations in a follow-up call with KHOL.
“I’m available 24-7 to my deputies, and they’ve never had a problem getting hold of me,” he said, adding: “I can’t work on the plane.”
All four candidates agreed however that they’d like the next coroner to be more hands-on. That means doing investigations in the field and reaching out to relatives, not just signing death certificates. They’d also like more team meetings, in part to debrief the more traumatic parts of the job.
Blue said he lets deputies take shifts because they are paid for that work, whereas he is salaried.
Teton County Commissioners approved a $253,000 budget for the coroner’s office next year, up from $237,000 this year. That includes a $22,000 raise for the next coroner, to match the $72,500 that county commissioners make.
Each candidate offered a different mental health strategy for dealing with the taxing job.
“Bicycle” said Hodges, a former Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy.
“Take a bath,” said deputy Nelson.
“Teton Interagency Peer Support,” said Clauson, noting the coroner’s office will soon become the last county agency to be added to the mental health support network.
“Go pet the cats at the adoption center,” said Nethercott.
One issue that the candidates all agree on? No housing above the morgue.
While the converted Teton County Weed and Pest garage is in need of upgrades, those shouldn’t include a second story of affordable housing, they each said. County commissioners advanced that proposal at a meeting this month.
