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

DATE: FRIDAY, May 19, 1995                   TAG: 9505190078
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                 LENGTH: Short

SHERIFF DISPUTES EX-DEPUTY'S STATEMENT

Roy Bolen is one of three candidates who will seek the GOP nomination Saturday at a mass meeting in Christiansburg Middle School.

Phipps, who is not seeking a second term, took issue with Bolen's comments that he didn't think the Sheriff's Office had fought hard enough for jail positions taken away by the State Compensation Board. The sheriff also disagreed with Bolen's comments about pay inequities.

Phipps said the Sheriff's Office appealed the State Compensation Board decision and hired a law firm to represent it. When the appeal was denied, the office sought help from the Board of Supervisors, which temporarily funded five of the positions. The county is still paying for two of the positions, the sheriff said.

The State Compensation Board also has to approve the salary levels for new hires or transfers, Phipps said.

"In a new position, the hired person must start at the base pay. ... If a position was vacated from a higher bracket on the pay scale and an individual was hired from [another agency] and his current salary was in line with that, he could transfer accordingly," Phipps said.