The March snow blizzards of 2026 have ripped the veil off of those who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. I’ve just recently been blessed to witness first-hand those who talk the talk and walk it as well. I’m referring to the brave, compassionate and empathetic law-abiding local employees of the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.

I’m a single 58-year-old disabled female military veteran.

I’m of medium stature with petite bone structure and of average weight. I’m not a big person by no means. This is important to know in order to understand the whole wonder of what I’m about to share concerning the Delta County Sheriff’s Office.

In the evening of March 15th, 2026, I shoveled the over-two-foot snow drift around my back door and Jeep. It took me over two hours to clear my back door, create a path to my Jeep, clear the snow off of my Jeep, and clear the snow that was causing my Jeep to be snowed in. Unfortunately, I ended up with severe back pain that caused me to not be able to sleep that night and into Monday morning. By the time Monday morning came, I had a low grade fever due to the pain. It was painful to move or even get dressed or put on my snow boots.

My jaw dropped when I opened up my blinds and saw that we had another snow blizzard worse than Sunday’s blizzard. There was five feet of snow drift around my rental cottage. I was in no shape to go outside and clear the snow. I contented myself to just settle in and make the best of the situation. That is until I realized that I had a gas heating system. I walked to my front window where the outside heating vent is located. My heart sank as I saw there was five feet of snow drift covering the small pipe that vented out the carbon monoxide from the gas heating system. I was in too much back pain to trudge through three feet of soft snow to shovel the five-foot snow drift that covered the outside heating vent. I quickly breathed a prayer to my Hebrew God for guidance. I then sent over a text message to my landlord who is currently visiting a different country.

After I saw that my landlord wasn’t responding, I called my federal fiduciary for advice. She suggested I call the police for help. I’m not from Michigan and my five adult children live in different states. Because of my military disability, I have acquaintances, but no reliable friends to help me out in any emergencies. I somewhat took the advice of my federal fiduciary and called the Gladstone volunteer fire department. I left a message explaining my dire situation with possible carbon monoxide poisoning due to my gas heating vent outside being blocked by the five-foot snow drift. The cottage that I rent has very outdated window panes that were frozen shut so I couldn’t properly vent my home from carbon monoxide.

When I realized that the Gladstone fire department wasn’t able to return my call, I contacted 911. The female dispatcher was empathetic to my dilemma. After we talked for a while, she ended up getting a hold of Sergeant Mike Groleau of the Delta County Sheriff’s s department. Sergeant Mike Groleau came over.

This is the part of the story where the hero doesn’t wear a cape, but the antagonist wears a paper made crown on its head calling themself a king. The hero walks the walk that he talks, and the antagonist just talks the talk. The hero is the Delta County Sheriff’s office and the antagonist is the group of those who want to defund the Gladstone police and fire department.

My question for the antagonist is: “Would any of these people who talk a good talk about defunding come out and tread through three feet of snow to shovel five feet of snow drift from an outside heating vent that is just a small white pipe close to the ground for a complete stranger?”

That is what Sergeant Mike Groleau did for me, a nobody. I’m such a nobody that when my landlord did respond to my text message for help he yelled at me and berated me because I wasn’t able to go outside myself to clear the outside vent.

When Sergeant Mike Groleau appeared at my back door to help, he didn’t yell at me like my landlord did. Instead, he smiled just like my adult son would have — my son is a police officer in Harrisburg, Penn. — and took my small shovel that I gave to him.

Sergeant Groleau trudged through the three feet of soft snow to the 5-foot snow drift and worked on clearing the outside heating vent. He took no money for it. He shared with me that this is what he has been doing all day. Then, with the same warm smile that he greeted me with, he left treading through feet of snow to his vehicle, parked on the side of the highway.

I’m grateful to Sergeant Mike Groleau and the Delta County Sheriff’s Department. They walk the walk that they talk. Wealthy people who are well-connected don’t see this side of humanity. I, as a low-income, single disabled female military veteran nearing the age of 60, experienced the side of humanity where authority meets compassion and law enforcement meets empathy.

Defunding emergency services is not the solution that a group of wealthy people are pushing here in Gladstone. It seems to me that the wealthy want to squeeze blood out of a turnip by defunding these vital resources for us low-income people.

Sylvia L. Pontius

Gladstone