Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 9, 1990 TAG: 9003081626
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bill Whitsett, 34, a Floyd County native, was unanimously chosen from a field of eight. He starts March 15, Town Manager Ken Vittum said.
"I'm homesick," Whitsett said in a telephone interview from his Virginia Beach office, where he is regional investigative supervisor for Food Lion Corp.
Whitsett, a graduate of Radford University with bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice, was a Christiansburg police officer 1981-87. He also has taught at New River Valley Police Academy and was a 27th District magistrate in Christiansburg 1987-88. He ran unsuccessfully for Floyd County sheriff in 1983.
Whitsett said he applied for the position because he misses the New River Valley and his son, Zachary, who has been staying with Whitsett's parents in Floyd County.
Council received 20 applications for the job; eight were interviewed. Whitsett will head a department of six town officers.
He said that once he gets settled into his new job he plans to pursue a doctorate in sociology or public administration at Virginia Tech.
As an investigator and head of detectives for Food Lion, he said he is responsible for investigating incidents at nearly 100 stores on the East Coast between Delaware and North Carolina.
"I work 70 to 80 hours a week now. I'm spread a little thin," said the former Air Force brat, whose parents moved from place to place when he was growing up.
Whitsett said when he begins his new job, he plans to take a close look at two of the department's programs he is most interested in - the community crime watch and crime prevention. He also plans to work closely with the Giles County sheriff.
"Initially, I'm just going to keep my ears and eyes open and get to know the people and the area," Whitsett said. "It'll be a feeling-out period. Then I'll start to evaluate."
by CNB