DEPUTIES ON TASK FORCE FIZZLES

Sheriff’s Office begs off Fireworks Task Force duty.Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood says his deputies are too tired and overworked to be chasing fireworks on the 4th of July, so he says his department will not be part of the task force aimed at catching illegal fireworks users. Youngblood said Thursday his deputies had been working mandatory overtime, then came the Erskine Fire and everyone had to work 12 hour shifts with no days off. He said it’s not safe to have people with guns and a lot of responsibility not at their best, so he opted out. Kern County Fire says they will replace the deputies with arson investigators, so the enforcement will go on.