Getting to Know Officer Tuttle

By Ashley Humbird Splash contributor

Jordan Tuttle is a not only a new police officer to the Liberty Lake community, but a returning member of the community after growing up in the area. We would like to introduce him and the share a little about how he has come to be the newest member of the Liberty Lake Police department as of the time of writing this article.

Police officers play a vital role in maintaining law and order in our society; they are responsible for ensuring public safety, preventing crime, and protecting our property and rights. With the addition of a new officer to the Liberty Lake Police Department, the community can rest assured that Liberty Lake will continue to be safe and secure.

Officer Tuttle celebrated his “dirty thirty” birthday in the Fall of 2022 before he had decided to apply for the open position in Liberty Lake. Turning thirty is a time for celebrating personal growth and achievements while looking forward to new challenges and opportunities that the future will bring. Officer Tuttle quickly adapted himself to the age.

Office Tuttle was born in 1992 in Spokane Valley and moved to Liberty Lake while in grade school. He graduated from Central Valley High school in 2010 after being drafted for an ice hockey team in Canada while he was a Junior. Jordan had played ice hockey since he was 13 and became an accomplished athlete. He was drafted by the Sturgeon Falls Lumberjacks team near West Nipissing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to Canada at the beginning of his senior year to play for the team, but moved back two months before graduation so that he could participate in the Central Valley High School graduation.

Despite his achievements as a hockey player, his career goal has always been to become a police officer. His family has a history of serving in law enforcement, including his grandfather and uncle. He has a memory from his childhood of an officer going out of his way to make Jordan feel comfortable while dealing with a stressful situation. “I got locked inside a bathroom stall (at the Spokane County Court house) and one of their officers crawled under the door to let me out, and then walked back with me and played cars with me and gave me a sticker.” Aaron shares about his memory. “The officer took the extra minute to make sure that this little kid, me, was calm and ok. It really stood out to me.”

Although he was offered the opportunity to move to Europe and play professional ice hockey at the age of 20, Officer Tuttle chose to pursue his childhood goal of a career in law enforcement. After a few interviews with different law enforcement agencies, he was given advice that he needed to obtain some experience in the field.

He applied and was hired as a Corrections Officer at the Benton County jail in October of 2017, but, “I told them that working here was just a stepping stone. I wasn’t going to stay there. But during the time I learned how to communicate there.”

During his time as a Corrections Officer, Jordan gained insight that has stayed with him as he moved into his role as a Police Officer. “When I take someone to jail, or I’m trying to make that determination, I think of sitting inside of that cell or area, how is it going to change how this person behaves in the future.”

In the beginning March 2020 Jordan had applied and was hired into the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and was set to begin the academy training. The pandemic halted in-person training and he didn’t begin training for his new position until the summer. On November 19, 2020 Jordan Tuttle graduated from the academy and began as a patrol deputy with the Benton County department.

After meeting his wife and having a daughter born in 2022, the family decided to move to the Spokane area.

“Liberty Lake is a smaller department, but they’re growing and there might be more opportunities for what I want to do,” Officer Tuttle shares about the decision to apply at the Liberty Lake Police Department. “It’s a family environment and it’s an important feeling that I got when I did my ride along here.”

He applied for a position at the Liberty Lake Police Department days after Thanksgiving in 2022. He reminisces about the interview that he was nervous and that “it went terrible, we’re not going to be able to move.”

Soon after, he received a call for a follow-up interview. He was then offered the position and started his official first day with the Liberty Lake Police Department on February 7th, 2023. The call volume is different from what he was used to in his past role as a Deputy in Benton County. On a typical day, he’d have 10-15 calls to respond to across a wide area. In Liberty Lake, he’ll receive 7-10 calls in a small vicinity.

Officer Tuttle is glad to be back living in the area, but is not looking forward to the day when he has to pull over a fellow classmate for speeding and write up a ticket. Now that he is back in the area, he is enjoying the surrounding trees, mountains, and numerous hiking trails with our beautiful, mostly below 100-degree summer weather in the Liberty Lake and surrounding area.

“It’s a pleasure to have a Jordan as a part of our organization. He was born and raised in the City of Liberty Lake and his connection to the community shows in the quality of his work. In the short time he has been with us, Jordan has quickly become one of our most proactive officers who is dedicated to keeping our city safe. His positive demeanor and overall professionalism has made a lasting impression on the entire organization.” Lt. Darin Morgan shared about Officer Tuttle.

“The community here is very friendly and supportive. Which is a huge change from all the areas I’ve been in,” Officer Tuttle shares about his time so far in Liberty Lake. “Getting hired here at the department was an easy choice for me to make because it is a family department and family orientated. They have a strong support and understanding that family is important and makes you feel a part of it.”

Student of the Month Citizen of the Month

As he wraps up four years at Central Valley High School, Zak Azar can be proud of his journey. The senior maintains a 4.0 grade point average and is a member of National Honor Society. He will represent CV as co-salutatorian at graduation. Azar is an accomplished musician who has played violin for the last eight years, He has been part of CV’s Chamber Orchestra for three years and the Symphony Orchestra for two years. He has also been a member of the Spokane Youth Symphony for the past two years. Azar participates in CV’s Environmental Club and competes in Civics Bowl for the Bears. The team recently advanced past the first two rounds of a competition airing on KSPS. Azar will attend the University of Washington where he plans to study International Business. He has also volunteered locally for SNAP.

Athlete of the Month

Ridgeline senior Alivia Bruno maintains a 3.92 grade point average and served as coordinator of the first “Verde Loco” school spirit event last year. She helped promote service projects like a blanket drive and food drive as well as leadership events. Bruno qualified for state twice in cross country and this season competed in the CHAMPS West Regional Meet and Nike Cross Regionals where she placed fifth in her category. As a sophomore at Central Valley, Bruno earned All American honors at the Junior Olympics in Kentucky. In track, Bruno competes in the 100-and-300meter hurdles, high jump and 4 x 400 relay. She was part of a Falcons’ 4 x 400 team that finished fifth at state last season. Bruno is a Running Start student at Eastern Washington University. She will continue her studies and track career at Concordia University Irvine.

A longtime resident of Liberty Lake, Scott Sutherland has made a dynamic impact as a teacher and coach at University High School. He led the school’s Alternative Center from 1998 to 2016, supporting and mentoring nontraditional learners on their respective roads to success. The program produced 230 graduates in Sutherland’s tenure. Prior to that, Sutherland was a resource room and special education teacher from 1990 to 1998. He now teaches science at U-Hi. A graduate of Eastern Washington University, Sutherland has been involved in baseball at University High for the past 25 years. He served as head coach from 2007 to 2013, leading the Titans to consecutive Greater Spokane League titles in 2008 and 2009. Scott and his wife Tammy have been married 18 years and have six kids in their blended family. They have called Liberty Lake home since 2000.

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About and for Liberty Lake seniors

Liberty Lake Farmer’s Market Season Preview

By Nina Culver Splash contributor

The Liberty Lake Farmers Market is preparing to launch its 2023 season with a record high number of vendors, with 81 farmers, crafters, brewers, bakers and chefs signed up to sell their products.

The season is just around the corner, with the market opening May 20 in Town Square Park at 1421 N. Meadowwood Lane. The market will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October 14.

The vendor list was just finalized and is up 10 vendors from last year. Some of the 81 vendors are part time and will only be there on some weekends. There are many returning favorites and there are 26 new vendors, eight of which are farmers.

Board president Holli Parker said it’s important to the board that farmers are a key part of the market. It gives people a way to buy from local producers without driving from farm to farm to get the fresh fruit and produce that they want. Items such as grass-fed beef, mushrooms and locally brewed craft beer are also available.

“We don’t just want to be a craft fair and prepared foods,” she said. “All of our farmers that we’ve had in the past are coming back.”

The volunteer-run market first opened in the spring of 2002 with only eight vendors and has been growing steadily ever since. When it began Parker thought it needed baked goods, so she would go to Cobblestone Bakery to purchase items each week and sell them at the market. “I was a vendor the first couple of years,” she said.

She then became the day manager for a time, a position that is now held by her son, who grew up at the market. Parker said she began working with the market because she wanted to be involved in the community. “I love our community, first of all,” she said. “I feel like we’ve grown with the city.”

When the market first began there was only one other in Spokane and Parker said she’s glad to see farmers markets proliferating in different neighborhoods over the last few years.

The market stayed open during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, though the vendors were more spaced out. People have said that they liked it when the booths were more spread out because it felt less crowded, so attempts have been made since then to not pack the booths in tightly, Parker said.

“We’re trying to keep that openness to it,” she said.

The layout of the market will be slightly different this year since new vendors were added, Parker said.

Parker said she’s noticed that people who used to come to the market as children now come back as adults. The weekly market is also a great time to reconnect with friends and neighbors that have been behind closed doors during the winter, Parker said. “It’s nice, every week, to stop and chat with people I haven’t seen,” she said.

A full slate of musicians from fiddlers to singers to accordion players are already scheduled to perform each week the market is open.

The crafters signed up this year include Creekhouse Crafted, Just Plate Crazy, So Knot Crazy, Spokane Pen and Ink and Melissameli Jewelry. People who are hungry can visit Big Daddy’s Banh Mi’s, Crepe Café, Seds Delicious Dogs, Scone Ranger, Madfire Kitchen or the Tamale Box.

Other food vendors include Bean & Pie, Big Barn Brewing, Caramel Kitchen, Hierophant Meadery, Kenai Red Fish Company, Lisa’s Desserts, the Malted Mutt, LakeWolf Creamery, Liberty Ciderworks, Mama Torrez Salsa Co., PNW Coffee Roasters and Shareable Sweets.

The lengthy list of farms signed up for the market includes Browning Beef, Drangonfly Urban Farm, Gourmet Foragables, Hidden Hills, Inland Garlic,

Makana Farms, Maggie’s Garden, MoonBear Mushroom, Pacific Produce, Piper Farm, Ramstead Ranch, Royal Highlands, S&P Homestead Farm, Sidewalk Floral, Sunset Orchards, Vang Produce and Woodard Family Farms.

The market’s popular Pie Festival is scheduled for Aug. 19. People can buy prepared pies or purchase the produce they need to make their own. There will be pie walks and a pie eating contest. It will feature local musician Keith Harris along with pies of many flavors and varieties.

“It’s so much fun,” Parker said. “We have a pie song for our pie walk that he wrote for us.”

The Pie Festival is one of three festivals that the market hosts each year, though the other festivals change from year to year. This year’s other two festivals are still in the planning stages. “We keep reinventing those each year except for our Pie Festival,” she said. “Pie has been our staple.”

Parker said she hopes people will plan to stop by every Saturday this summer to shop and be a part of the community. “We want everyone to come and shop and meet their neighbors and have some good food,” she said.