Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@shawanoleader.com
The Shawano County Board voted unanimously Wednesday to name the newly renovated detective offices in the county courthouse after Supervisor Arlyn Tober, who was first elected to the board in 1974.
Tober said the honor took him completely by surprise.
“Usually these honors don’t come until you’re dead,” he said.
Tober has represented the town of Pella on the County Board since 1974, the last 12 as board vice chairman. He noted that he has also, at times, represented residents in Grant, Marion, Herman and Richmond.
Tober has been on the Finance Committee since 1992, and he served on the Public Safety Committee from 1992-1999 and again from 2010-2011.
“I try to avoid the three P’s — personal issues, personalities and politics. Any one of them can get you in trouble,” Tober told his fellow board members. “Always remember, though, that you’re doing the county’s work. That’s what you were elected to do.”
Tober, whose first committee assignments included the Law Enforcement Committee, said he endured a trial by fire when the Alexian Brothers Novitiate near Gresham was seized by members of the Menominee Warrior Society on New Year’s Day 1975.
The resolution honoring Tober was proposed by the Public Safety Committee. Supervisor Bert Huntington, who serves on the committee, said it was an obvious way to honor a board member who has dedicated his life to the county.
“Arlyn has served this county for 40 years, and if anybody needs these offices dedicated to them, it’s Arlyn Tober,” Huntington said. “He has been involved in everything, and I think it’s a great idea that we do this.”
County Board Chairman Jerry Erdmann echoed Huntington’s sentiments, saying Tober was a “good, honest man.”
“What better way than with an area downstairs that upholds justice dedicated in his name,” Erdmann said.
A plaque bearing Tober’s name will be placed in the hallway, next to the detective offices.
The offices were recently renovated, at a cost in excess of $50,000, to ease overcrowding at the Sheriff’s Department, across the street from the courthouse. The space became available when the county Health Department moved upstairs.