[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING SHERIFF C.A. ``PELK'' RICHARDS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 25, 2003

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sheriff C.A. 
``Pelk'' Richards for his commitment and dedication to the Mariposa 
County Law Enforcement. On Friday, May 2nd his retirement will be 
celebrated at Sheriff C.A. ``Pelk'' Richards' Retirement Dinner in 
Mariposa, California.
  Pelk Richards has been an active member of the community throughout 
his life. He is a Mariposa native who was born in San Diego and raised 
in Mariosa County. Pelk graduated from Mariposa County High School and 
married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy. In his younger years, he 
was a steer and team roper while taking part in the Triangle Roping 
Club and the California Cowboys Association.
  On July 1, 1972 Mr. Richards joined the Mariposa County Sheriff's 
Office as a Deputy Sheriff/Jailer. Pelk was very progressive and worked 
his way up the rank structure at the Sheriff's Office. He was promoted 
to Sergeant in 1977 while receiving the Outstanding Sergeant Award, and 
again promoted to Commander in 1985 and later moved up to Undersheriff 
in 1990. Pelk was sworn in as Mariposa's 21st Sheriff in January of 
1999.
  During his career, Sheriff Richards solved all homicides assigned to 
him and was deemed to be a Court expert in Narcotics. In 1990, he was 
awarded the ``J. Edgar Hoover'' Law Enforcement Officer of the Year 
Award. Pelk was also responsible for writing 417(b) California Penal 
Code-Protecting Peace Officers Legislation. Immediately after taking 
office, Sheriff Richards gathered his command staff and created a 
Mission, Vision, and Value Statement which held to the mission ``to 
control, prevent, and reduce crimes in all our communities, while being 
courteous, professional, and respectful.'' He also developed a 
Terrorism Response Plan for Mariposa County in response to the 
terrorist attacks of September 11th.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to honor Sheriff C.A. ``Pelk'' Richards for 
his dedication to Mariposa County. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
wishing Sheriff C.A. ``Pelk'' Richards many more years of success.

                          ____________________