SHERIFF DEFENDS I-77 PATROLLING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 15, 1992                   TAG: 9201150235
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE                                LENGTH: Medium
SHERIFF DEFENDS I-77 PATROLLING
It was just a routine speeding stop, but the car pulled over Sunday morning by the Wythe County Sheriff's Department on Interstate 77 led to the seizing of 10 pounds of marijuana and arrests of two Pikeville, Ky., men.
Capt. Doug Cooley and Reserve Deputy Jeff Pike stopped the car for going 95 mph and discovered the marijuana in various-sized bags.
Anthony Herbert Charles, 20, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, speeding and driving on a suspended license. Neal Thomas Ratliff was charged with possession with intent to distribute.
Sheriff Wayne Pike said the arrests can answer those people who argue that the Sheriff's Department has no business patrolling the interstate.
"Well, why didn't somebody else catch this guy?" Pike asked.
Pike was talking to the Wythe County Board of Supervisors about his department's running low on money because of state cutbacks.
The sheriff said his officers are not on their regular duty tours when they patrol the interstates. A special grant covers that work. "They could be home watching television," he said.
He noted that state police have been cut and are understaffed, too, and said his department tries to work with them to cover the interstates when they have to send troopers to other counties.
That, he said, is why big-truck accidents are down 80 percent in Wythe County in recent years. Their drivers know the county is well patrolled and they slow down.
Pike said the visibility of officers has helped curb crime. For whatever reason, crime statistics are down. There have been no murders, bank robberies or store holdups in years, which is not the case in surrounding counties.
To stretch out his department's funds until July, members are doing less patrolling. It has dropped from 52,000 miles in July to 33,000 miles in December. "However, we cannot do that and give our citizens the service," Pike said.
The department also is cutting office expenses, even no longer returning long-distance calls. "We embarrassingly have to tell people . . . they'll have to call back," he said.
Pike also has eliminated his narcotics officer and drug-sniffing dog.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB