A recent public forum hosted by the Ray County Sheriff’s Office in Camden brought residents together for an evening of questions, discussion and direct interaction with law enforcement. The forum was originally scheduled to be led by Sheriff Gary Blackwell, who was called away in response to an accidental death investigation. Lieutenant Colonel Tom Noon instead led the discussion and answered residents’ questions. Noon explained limited staffing and the size of the county affect response times across Ray County. “We only have, typically, two deputies per shift and that’s a struggle,” said Noon. “Even running code, sometimes it can take 30 minutes to get to a call. That’s tough, especially when somebody’s hurting.” Noon noted the department is working to improve coverage through future staffing adjustments, including the potential addition of a midshift deputy during peak hours. “That would give us a third deputy for coverage during the peak times and things like that, to help…