Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501110060
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Short
He is seeking the Democratic nomination to run in the November election.
Akers, 62, retired last November after 18 years with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, most recently serving as a warrants sergeant. Before joining the warrants division, he worked in the jail and on patrol.
"I've had so many people throughout the county ask me" to run, Akers said. "If I get the nomination, I know I can be the next sheriff."
Akers publicly announced his candidacy in newspaper advertisements Sunday. Business cards promoting his candidacy have also cropped up in convenience stores across the county.
Akers said he originally thought of illustrating his slogan, "Is it time for a change?," with a graphic of a baby. But when he went to have the cards printed, the clerk suggested a clock would be easier to reproduce.
Akers, a Pulaski County native, moved to Montgomery County about 20 years ago after leaving the Army. Akers was a master sergeant with the Military Police and served in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Germany and stateside.
Jerry Olinger, a Virginia Tech police sergeant, also has announced he is seeking the Democratic nomination for sheriff.
Garnett Adkins, a Radford deputy sheriff, is running for Montgomery sheriff as an independent candidate.
Republican Sheriff Ken Phipps, now beginning the fourth year of his first term, has not publicly announced his plans for November.
by CNB