“Big Jack” Leaving Office After 22 years as Oneida Sheriff
(The Idaho Enterprise Thursday, October 15, 1964)
(by Mary Matthews)
When, in January 1965, Sheriff John A. Evans turns his office over to his successor, the halls of the Oneida Courthouse are going to seem a little quieter without his booming laugh and hearty welcome to all and sundry who come into the building.
Sheriff Evans was elected to his first term in 1942 and has served continuously since then.
Retiring with him will be his deputy, Arthur T. Williams, affectionately known as “Little Arthur”, the name applied years ago to distinguish him from his father who weighed twice as much as his son. Deputy Williams has served for 17 ½ years.
“Big Jack” Evans knows by first name practically every resident in the county and can call by name most of the peace officers of Idaho, including the state patrolmen.
Sheriff Evans’ first deputy was James Chivers who served for 2 ½ years in that capacity.
Best Feature of Job
The best feature of his job has been the always new activity with different people, no cases ever having the same circumstances or the people involved the same. Out of his experience with many people in many situations over the years, he asserts that “people are nice.” Working with people has been very educational and given him much satisfaction in his job.
Sheriff Evans hates most to be called in the night to break the news of an accident or a fatality to the parents of young people.
During his tenure in office, one murder and many suicide cases have been investigated, but his most dangerous moment came early in his career as an officer when he was called just before daylight by persons reporting three men stripping a car just out of town. When Sheriff Evans arrived at the scene he found the three men to be notorious thugs from Pocatello, the Holmes brothers and Floyd Brogsdale. They requested the Sheriff to allow them to ride into town under arrest with him in his car after he prevented the trio from reaching their get-away car. Instead, he herded them ahead of him into town and to a cafe where an employee called the Malad City Police Dept. for help.
However, the “closest call” he had came in his own office while he was holding a hit-run driver in temporary custody. A special police officer came into the office; the suspect asked the make of the gun he was carrying and, as it was withdrawn from the holster; the gun discharged. The bullet barely missed the sheriff on the opposite side of the room.
(picture of two men on the steps in front of double doors. Caption says, Pictured in front of the Oneida Courthouse are Sheriff John A. “Big Jack” Evans, who is retiring after 22 years service in the office, and Deputy Sheriff A. T. “Little Arthur” Williams who has served 17 ½ years in that capacity.)
Many Funny Incidents
The serious side of the job is more than over-balanced by humorous incidents, Sheriff Evans said. One in particular he remembers was the request that he attempt to trace and recover a china nest egg stolen from a chicken coop along with five of the real kind.
He has even been asked to be lenient because the accused or his parents had voted for the sheriff in the last election.
Helping Young People
Sheriff Evans has tried to help young people involved in brushes with the law rather than build a record of conviction which would give these young people criminal records. He said, “I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t made a mistake. As soon as they get over the age of testing their elders and the laws, the small number who do this will become our most staid citizens. In my opinion, 95 per cent of the people in Oneida County don’t need law enforcement.”
Young people are easily influenced to change their ways if parents cooperate with the law enforcement agencies.
One of the problems of enforcement is that violators have been advised to make officers prove their statements; then when proof is established the parents request leniency.
Sheriff Evans has a pet hate-being used as a bogey man by parents to make their children behave. He says this has a profound influence on the child in his later attitude toward all law officers.
Let Tempers Cool
Sheriff Evans has learned to make a practice of not being too hasty in making decisions as he has found that a great many problems can be worked out by dealing with both sides after tempers have cooled and before a big issue is made of an incident.
Most Frustrating Aspect
To law enforcement officers, Sheriff Evans said, the most frustrating thing is to have a person refuse to testify or sign a complaint when that individual has full knowledge about some unlawful act.