Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9501030106
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Olinger, 52, told squad members this fall that he would not seek the captain's rank for a 20th year. Instead, he was elected first lieutenant-personnel officer.
The crew's new captain is MaryEllen Cotellese, 31, an emergency room nurse practitioner at Montgomery Regional Hospital. Cotellese, who has been on the squad for about eight years and is a paramedic, takes over Sunday.
Olinger, an investigator-sergeant who has worked for the Virginia Tech Police Department for 24 years, said stepping down as the top officer of the rescue squad was necessary to make a serious bid for sheriff in the November 1995 election.
"The captain's job ... takes a lot of time," Olinger said. "About 75 percent of it is administrative duties," involved in overseeing a $200,000 budget.
The crew has about 60 members today, as opposed to the 25 members who belonged to a joint fire and rescue squad when Olinger first became captain. The squad covers a 53-square-mile area encompassing the town and parts of the surrounding county.
"Back then we answered about 300 calls a year. Now we're pushing about 1,900," Olinger, who has been a squad member for 27 years, said.
Cotellese said she's glad Olinger accepted the first lieutenant post.
"He's been very supportive of me for years ... I'm glad that he's going to be staying on," she said, as she learns the difference between managing a hospital trauma team and managing a volunteer squad.
Olinger will be presented with a resolution recognizing his 19 years as captain at the Jan. 10 Blacksburg Town Council meeting.
Olinger announced his candidacy for sheriff in June, saying he will seek the Democratic nomination.
The November 1995 election has generated talk of several candidates, but only Olinger and Garnett Adkins have declared their candidacies. Adkins, a deputy for the Radford City Sheriff's Office, said Friday that he will run as an independent.
Sheriff Ken Phipps, a Republican and retired state trooper, has not said publicly if he plans to seek a second term. Phipps took office in January 1992 after defeating 14-year Democratic incumbent Louis Barber.
by CNB