Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501160052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
Phipps announced Friday he would not seek re-election this November. Haga said he would seek the Republican nomination for the office.
Both men are retired state police officers. Phipps defeated 14-year Democratic incumbent Louis Barber in November 1991 and took office in January 1992.
``I've thought about this long and hard. I've had a lot of people who wanted me to continue,'' Phipps said. ``But I felt after the completion of the term, I would have 36 years in law enforcement ... [and it's] time to hang it up and go on down the road to other things.''
Haga said he wanted to build upon the advances he and Phipps have started with the sheriff's office.
"I see it as an opportunity. I've been in law enforcement for 25 years" at the city, state and county levels, Haga said. "It's an opportunity to go on with my career."
He said his years of experience, "hands-on knowledge of the administration of the sheriff's office and everyday working knowledge of the sheriff's office," were pluses for his campaign.
Haga said he will continue to promote openness of the sheriff's office to all residents and other law-enforcement officers. Haga said he and Phipps are continuing to look at ways to improve the department's operation to benefit the people it serves and its deputies.
For example, four-day, 10-hour work weeks are being examined as a possible replacement for the one-week swing shifts road deputies now work. The sheriff's office is looking for ways to get the maximum coverage for the county, particularly during night hours, when most crimes are committed.
Phipps said he is satisfied with his accomplishments, although he has not been able to achieve all he set out to do when he took office.
"I've tried to do what's right. It didn't always turn out that way, but the effort was there," Phipps said Friday.
Phipps said he is most proud of upgrading equipment, including switching from .357-caliber revolvers to semi-automatics; establishing a SWAT team; and placing a woman in the investigations unit to enhance enforcement of sexual and domestic abuse laws.
``I had some situations that took my time away from the things I wanted to do ... '' Phipps said. "We feel like at this time, that we're hitting on all eight cylinders for the first time. We came out of the block crippled."
Phipps' string of difficulties began during his campaign for sheriff. Because of an aggressive campaign Phipps waged against Barber, the transition in the Sheriff's Office was not smooth.
During the campaign, rumors about Barber's personal life surfaced. However, Phipps condemned the personal attacks and said he had no role in their circulation.
Nine months after taking office, Phipps fired his chief deputy, Roy Bolen, just before Bolen was indicted on charges relating to the repair of sheriff's office vehicles at a garage Bolen owned.
A Circuit Court judge cleared Bolen - a former state trooper who decided not to run for sheriff in 1991 after learning he would have to quit his state job - of the conflict-of-interest charges. State law allows public officials to claim ignorance as a defense to the conflict charges.
Rickey L. Hodge, an investigator with the sheriff's office, pleaded guilty in December 1992 to interfering with the property rights of the county Board of Supervisors, a misdemeanor. He resigned rather than accept reassignment.
The charges stemmed from the sale of a car in which Hodge owned an interest. The county bought the car for undercover use, believing it had been repossessed, according to Special Prosecutor Fred King.
Also in 1992, Phipps wrestled with the possible loss of almost one-quarter of his 35-employee jail staff when the state Compensation Board eliminated funding for eight jailers, saying the positions were needed more elsewhere in the state system.
Phipps challenged that decision and the Board of Supervisors partially funded the positions until the Compensation Board agreed to a $56,000 lump-sum settlement. The matter finally was resolved through attrition and reassignments.
Watching those jailers fear for their jobs was one of the hardest parts of being sheriff, Phipps said.
Phipps said he originally ran only for one term but did wrestle a little with his decision not to run again.
"There's a lot of things about this job I really love, and I know I'll miss that," he said, as he spoke of his employees who daily come "eyeball to eyeball with very emotional situations."
Haga, who suffered two heart attacks in mid-1994, said his doctors had approved his running.
"I don't have any concerns whatsoever," he said. "My doctors have given me a clean bill of health. I'm strong. I'm not experiencing any trouble."
Haga becomes the fourth announced candidate for sheriff.
Jerry Olinger, a sergeant with the Virginia Tech Police Department, and Frank Akers, a recently retired Montgomery deputy, are seeking the Democratic nomination. Garnett Adkins, a Radford deputy, is running as an independent candidate.
Haga said he wants to avoid a repeat of what was regarded as a negative campaign in 1991.
"I have told the [deputies] that I expect no help whatsoever in this campaign," asking only that that they continue to do their jobs well, he said. "On the other hand, I don't want to see them working for the other side."
"I will not enter into a negative, mud-slinging campaign," Haga said. Other candidates have expressed similar sentiments.
"All in all, I'm satisfied. I feel good about it," Phipps reflected in his office Friday.
by CNB