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BLANDING — The recent resignations of two Blanding police officers have the department's chief and two remaining officers working hard to cover this tiny southeastern Utah community of 3,500.
Blanding Police Sgt. Corey Workman tendered his resignation March 17, according to Blanding City Manager Jeremy Redd. Three days later, officer Jeffery Whipple submitted his resignation.
"Both cited personal reasons," Redd said. "They were both in good standing with the police department at the time of their resignations."
Workman had served on the Blanding force for 11 years, while Whipple had worked for the department for almost a year.
Blanding Police Chief Lyle Bayles, who is covering graveyard shifts due to the staffing crunch, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment about the resignations, which came as a surprise to at least one city official.
"I wasn't expecting it," Mayor Calvin Balch said.
The mayor acknowledged that the sudden resignations had given birth to a number of rumors in the small city. He would not discuss those rumors or provide any additional details about the resignations. He did note, however, that neither man is the subject of any external investigations.
Redd also said he is "not aware of any internal or external investigations" involving Workman or Whipple. "They certainly could stay in law enforcement," he said, "but I haven't heard what they plan to do."
As of Tuesday, the city had received 19 applications for the two open positions.
"We have a lot of good applicants and we look forward to hiring the best people," Redd said.
