Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 14, 1990 TAG: 9004140163
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Spence, who also runs the Rockbridge Regional Jail, was appointed by the county's Board of Supervisors to fill the vacancy created by David DeHart's departure April 3. DeHart, the commission chairman, resigned to make more time for family and work, he said.
"I appreciate their confidence," Spence said of his appointment. "I feel it will be a good working relationship."
Spence, as jail administrator, also reports to the jail commission, which sets jail policy.
"We asked the city attorney to contact the attorney general and ask whether the appointment of the sheriff to the jail commission is a conflict of interest," Buena Vista City Manager Clay Goodman said Friday.
Goodman also is Buena Vista's representative to the jail commission.
But supervisors said they checked on the legality of the move before appointing Spence late Thursday night. There were no opposing votes.
Board Chairman Daniel Snider said supervisors had postponed replacing DeHart until the state attorney general's office could give an opinion on appointing Spence.
He said supervisors got word Thursday that having the sheriff fill the vacancy was all right.
Supervisors also noted they are required by new state law to appoint the sheriff to the jail commission anyway as of July 1. The law requires that county sheriffs serve on the boards of regional jails when the county has more than one appointee on the board, the supervisors said.
Asked if state legislators knew the Rockbridge Regional Jail was run by a sheriff when they voted to have sheriffs serve on regional jail boards, Supervisor Maynard Reynolds said, "I doubt it."
Most regional jails are run by full-time administrators and not county sheriffs, several local officials have noted.
The appointment of Spence to the jail commission lasts only until the law takes effect July 1, the supervisors said.
"We didn't have much choice," said Reynolds.
Spence said if any action was required by the jail commission that created a conflict of interest for him, "I would just step aside."
"I feel it was a good thing to do," Spence said of his appointment. "There's a lot of wisdom in it, if you think about it."
The sheriff said he could help the jail commission with his knowledge of day-to-day operations at the jail.
Reynolds said the vote to appoint Spence to the jail commission followed an executive session Thursday night. He said supervisors also informed Spence that some things at the jail would have to change, including the occasional use of jail staffers as deputy sheriffs.
In addition, said Reynolds, the sheriff should not take inmates to church outside the jail. "I think the chaplain should be dealing with the prisoners to solve their problems," Reynolds said. "The sheriff is not a preacher."
Spence, who has said he wants to "change lives" at the jail, has sometimes taken inmates to religious revivals and prayer meetings, according to several sources.
A recent report on jail management practices, done for the jail commission, also recommended that inmates go to church inside the jail. Spence said when the report was released that the problem - as well as several others the report cited - already had been taken care of.
by CNB