Three deputies take on new roles

Three longtime deputies with the Clay County Sheriff's Office have new assignments under Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow.

"It's nice to have experienced officers that you can promote and rely on," he said.

Veteran officer Denny Linn of Spencer was recently named the new Clay County Jail administrator. He replaces Brad Hawley, who was promoted to chief deputy in January.

The 53-year-old was chief deputy under previous sheriff Larry Stanislav and will continue to serve as the school resource officer for the South Clay and Clay Central-Everly school districts. He joined the Clay County Sheriff's Office in 1990. He has 16 years experience as a D.A.R.E. instructor in Clay County.

Linn was previously an officer with the Le Mars Police Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. He received his criminal justice degree from Western Iowa Tech.

Deputy Casey Timmer as been assigned the role of Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force Administrator.

The 31-year-old Spencer resident has been with the department since September 1999. He is a certified Iowa Law Enforcement Academy firearms instructor and a graduate of Northwestern College.

Julian Ortiz has been appointed as a full-time deputy after almost eight years as a part-time officer for Clay County. He is a former chief of police in Alta and was a part-time deputy with the Buena Vista County Sheriff's Department.

The 48-year-old was a special operations officer in the U.S. Marines for eight years and received additional tactical training as a non-commissioned officer.

All three deputies are certified through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.