Former NHP chief Barney Dehl now makes his mark as a library trustee

Barney Dehl made a mark right away as a new Carson City Library trustee.

At his first meeting, the retired law enforcement officer suggested putting up a sign saying that weapons were not allowed at the library.

The prominent sign went up a few weeks ago. Numerous library patrons made the point to library employees and in letters to the editor that the "no weapons" sign was overkill. They wondered whose idea it was.

"I'm the crazy idiot," Dehl acknowledged. "I'm not a gun control person. This is just not the place to do it. I would hate to think there could be a problem and we didn't do something about it."

Nevada Revised Statutes allow for the prohibition of guns in public buildings if signs are posted. But the "no weapons" sign came down two weeks later, replaced with a "welcome to the library" sign.

"I didn't expect the rash of criticism," Dehl said. "Adding the NRS code might take away some of the negative feelings. This is modern times and you have to do things in modern ways."

Back in his days as a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper, Dehl packed water with antifreeze, gasoline cans, blankets and splints in his car to assist stranded motorists or people injured in accidents in remote locations.

"In the early days, you had to apply life saving skills," said Dehl, the first NHP officer to climb the ranks from trooper to NHP chief.

He said the recent era of lawsuits for just about anything makes law enforcement officers think twice before offering someone a ride home or splinting a broken bone.

"I'm glad I lived in the golden years of law enforcement and actually helped the public," Dehl said.

Dehl put in 42 years in law enforcement, the first two as an Army MP in the Korean War. He served 18 years in the highway patrol and was NHP chief from 1978 to 1980.

After 10 months as state director of emergency services, Dehl became chief deputy at the Washoe County Sheriff's Department. From 1995 to 1997, Dehl served as Carson City's undersheriff.

All along, Dehl was a regular patron at the Carson City Library.

"Most of the study material for promotion tests I got at the library here or in Elko," Dehl said. "I would get a lot of my management and supervisory material at the library. A lot of the history of fingerprinting I got right here at this library."

He still favors the reference section - but he's also known to stray over to fiction for Westerns by Elmer Kelton.

"I love Westerns," said Dehl, whose library visits have increased now that he's a trustee. "As you get older, you need to keep your mind stimulated."

Dehl, 59, quickly gained a deep appreciation for the library's corps of volunteers in just his first month as a trustee. Even his decades of patronizing the library barely gave him a hint of what the volunteers do.

"I was amazed by the amount of work the Friends of the Library and the Carson City Library Foundation do," he said. "They go to bookstores and get books donated. These people get virtually no recognition from the outside. The library does things they would never do without volunteers. It would be an 8-to-5, Monday to Friday institution with limited services without the volunteers."

Dehl wants to increase library hours, including opening on Sundays, but he knows that would require a larger staff.

"Somebody has to pitch a greater staff to the Board of Supervisors," Dehl said, adding that he would support library director Sally Edwards' efforts before supervisors. "By supporting Sally, it reinforces what Sally's saying."

He became aware of the library's somewhat limited hours through one of his 10 grandchildren.

"The grandkids give me input I wouldn't think about," Dehl said. "A granddaughter who was studying Indians couldn't come here on Sunday or at night. (The library closes early on Monday, Friday and Saturday). Maybe it should open earlier. If you come here at 10 in the morning, people are waiting to come in."

Library trustees have to deal with an outdated library ideal for a population of 34,000, not the 50,000 that live in Carson City now, let alone the thousands who live near Carson City and use the library. Voters in 1998 defeated ballot measure CC-1, which would have given the library $500,000 a year for 30 years to build a new library and go to a seven-day schedule.

Dehl plans to make use of his innovative talents to stretch the library's dollars.

As Carson City's undersheriff, Dehl, together with the District Attorney's Office, made changes in the probable cause report that deputies fill out so it can double as the DA's critical complaint form.

"One of the things in my career is innovation," Dehl said. "How to keep up with the times and do it economically and efficiently. I was never a believer in top-heavy staff. The way to do that is innovation."