WINNEMUCCA - The Nevada Highway Patrol welcomed native Nevadan Lt. Tom Ames, a former sergeant who relocated from Fallon to Winnemucca this past summer.
Ames began his career with highway patrol in March of 1989 in Elko. He spent five years there before requesting a transfer to Fallon due to an illness in the family.
He spent the next 18 years working for the Fallon NHP. In 2001, Ames was promoted from trooper to sergeant.
When he was given the opportunity to make the move to Winnemucca with a promotion to lieutenant this past summer, he took it.
Ames said he and his family are settling in to the area well.
"It's a small community similar to Fallon," he said. "I'm not an urban individual. I like rural settings."
While Ames is still "getting his feet wet," he said he is taking every opportunity to get out and meet people, whether in the business sector or other law enforcement agencies.
"Every chance I get at work, I try to get out and stop in and meet somebody," he said.
While Ames' home base is the Winnemucca office, his area of responsibility extends beyond the city limits. Ames will be serving Lovelock, Battle Mountain, Austin, and from Orovada to the Oregon border as well.
"I am on the road a lot," he said, "and still trying to meet and greet."
Ames said he is excited about the new opportunity and hopes to integrate law enforcement into the community. In addition to a "tip of the week" column in the paper that Ames plans to carry over from his years in Fallon, he encourages the community to bring any questions or concerns to the NHP.
"People always have questions and we are always here," Ames said. "Even if you call and leave a voice message, we will answer your question."
Ames looks forward to having a relationship with local media in order to reach more community members with important information that law enforcement needs to communicate.
"We want to mass produce the message in conjunction with the media," he said, "so we can get the message out there a lot faster."
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