The Kansas Highway Patrol is a State Agency but the individual Troopers live and work within their assigned County. Right now Sherman County is short on at least 1 trooper to work in this county. Although there are still 3 active working troopers living in Sherman Co. At the time of this writting it is unknown to me if there is a new trooper in training to be stationed in the Goodland/Sherman co. area. that will be stationed in Sherman Co.

A lot of people think the KHP just write speeding tickets on the Interstate and Highways. Nothing could be further from the truth because there are several different things a trooper handles. They do work and try to keep the highways safe by stopping speeders and arresting DUI drivers. The more offenders they can get off the highways the less they will have to do on accident investigations. The less accidents the less they will have to administer Emergency Medical Care to victims of an accident.

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Besides the ovious work they do on the highways troopers are also the ones responsible for protecting the Kansas Governor and other dignitaries. They will assist the Sheriff Department and Goodland Police with any civil disturbances, riots, robberies, natural disasters, etc. They inspect school buses, making sure the bus is safe before the school can transport children. They also inspect trucks on the highway for safety violations. In times when an arial search is needed for lost or missing person the KHP have the planes to do this type of search. The arial searches are also used to hunt for criminals that have managed to run off and hide. Then of course the Spy in the Sky has been known to clock a few speeders for the ground Troopers to take care of. In recent times the troopers are getting more training and tools to work with, to help stop the drug flow. For one of their more fun assignments they get to work the security for the State Fair!

The KHP also has specialized teams, one is called 'CHART' short for Critical Highway Accident Response Team. CHART can be called in to investigate any accident that involves a death. KHP also have 'SRT' short for Special Response Team. This is a team that specializes in removing a dangerous person from a building. Troopers belonging to these teams may have to come from several counties away but when needed they go to help. This in turn is a major help for the smaller S.O.'s and P.D.'s that can't afford the man power to have these types of teams.

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Most of the time the area troopers use their own dispatchers for calls they may be on, but occassionally calls do come and go through the Sherman Co. Communications. Sometimes when a call comes into the local dispatch it is faster to call the trooper on the radio and give him the information than to teletype Salina for them to relay the info on to the trooper. Plus once in a while there may be tower problems where the area trooper can't reach their own dispatch by radio. KHP base all their dispatchers in Salina, Ks. From there they dispatch to all the Troop areas in the state. This area is in Troop D which used to be dispatched from Norton, Ks. The following map will show the different Trooper Areas.


To become a Kansas Trooper you must pass a number of physical and mental tests. Then if your scores are high enough you may get hired as a Highway Patrol Trooper. Then you begin several weeks of training at their Training Center in Salina. KHP has their own training so the trooper doesn't have to go to the KLETC. After several weeks of classroom training the new trooper will get to go to the area he/she will be stationed. For a few weeks they will work in the field and gain training with an experienced trooper. After the fun of getting away from the classroom for a few weeks and gaining experience in the real world, the trainee then has to return to Salina for more classroom instructions. When they pass all their classes they start to work in their designated county. They may be on their own but the other Troopers in the area are still helping with any questions that come up.

2Lt. Kevin Winston has lived in Sherman County for several years and has been promoted first to Sergeant then to Second Lieutenant. He has been the head of the troopers for several of the NW Counties which include Sherman, Cheyenne, and Thomas counties since he was promoted to Sergeant. When Kevin first became a Sergeant the State agreed to change the position from Colby/Thomas Co. to Goodland/Sherman Co. It was a good deal for the state and for Sherman County when Kevin didn't have to move to get a promotion.

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This is the basics of what is involved to become a KHP Trooper and the various jobs they do while working.

At the time of this writting, 11-03-05 the following is the list of KHP Troopers in Sherman County.

• K-440.......................Kevin Winston-2Lt.
• K-194.......................Joe Greene
• K-508.......................Brian Wilson