Going after the Sheriff’s ‘stache

Last year, when deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office raised money for the American Cancer Society by growing mustaches, Sheriff Garry Lucas instead said it would take money for him to shave his off.

Deputies raised $1,000 in his name. Lucas went to a barbershop and, for the first time since 1973, found himself with a clean upper lip.

“Mustache March” has returned. But Lucas is demanding a considerably higher ransom: $5,000, or the ‘stache stays.

Lucas said Thursday that deputies easily met the $1,000 goal and so he felt he needed to raise the stakes. Besides, he joked, his mustache is longer now.

Last year, Commander Mike Nolan died from an aggressive form of brain cancer. Lucas said other deputies and their family members are affected by cancer, too.

“It is one of those diseases that we are making progress on, and I figured another $5,000 for research would not be a bad thing,” Lucas said.

Just as they do when a bad guy is on the loose, the deputies are going to be asking for the public’s help. For information, e-mail Sgt. Shane Gardner at shane.gardner@clark.wa.gov

Lucas was elected last fall to a sixth four-year term. How large does he and his mustache loom over the department? Here’s a pic from Dash’s 2009 swearing-in ceremony. (The mustache is partially visible in the upper right.)