Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510230012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-20 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
There had to be gold hidden in there somewhere, he joked. Why else would so many people want to replace him when he retires after one term?
When the dust settled from the three people seeking the Republican nomination, five people seeking the Democratic nod, one long-time independent candidate and another independent entering late in the game, county voters were left with four candidates for sheriff, a job which pays $59,054 a year.
The candidates are: Democrat Jerry Olinger, an investigator with the Virginia Tech Police Department; Republican Doug Marrs, lieutenant of investigations for Christiansburg Police Department; independent Garnett Adkins, a deputy sheriff at the Radford City Sheriff's Office; and O.P. Ramsey, also running as an independent, captain of law enforcement for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Four contenders means the next chief law enforcement officer of Montgomery County could win with as little as 26 percent of the vote.
While local leaders talk about administrative experience and ask how relations among police and sheriff's departments can be strengthened, county voters have taken the cross-examination for their vote back to the basics.
When the sheriff's candidates knock on doors, county residents are more likely to quiz them about more routine patrols in their neighborhoods and better enforcement of speeding laws, especially in school zones. All the candidates are stressing getting back into communities through regular contacts with deputies and meetings with the sheriff.
The candidates were interviewed recently, with questions posed by readers and the Roanoke Times staff. Here are their responses:
How would you promote better cooperation with other Montgomery County law enforcement agencies?
Ramsey: "I don't know of any problems right now. ...If I'm elected sheriff if there are any, there absolutely will not be," for long.
Ramsey said he's always had a good relationship with Blacksburg Police Chief Bill Brown and has worked well with Christiansburg and Virginia Tech departments, too.
"I'm not on an ego trip ... .The only way we can do it is, we work together," for the protection of the citizens of this county.
Olinger: He thinks administrators of each department should meet once a month to discuss matters of mutual concern.
Olinger doesn't see a big problem now. As an investigator with the Virginia Tech Police Department, he points to his own department's good working relationship with Blacksburg police. Tech and the town recently signed a mutual aid agreement that means officers from each department will back up the other when needed and gives Tech officers police powers within the town.
Marrs : "I think it's imperative that we get along and I think we go to great lengths to get along. ... Having worked and served the communities of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, I feel like I have the ability to build a consensus ... and one of the best relationships that have ever been. All I want to do is work with them and get the job done."
Adkins: "If elected as sheriff, I would strive hard to have the best working relationship with every department in the New River Valley."
He, too, thinks it would be good for the chiefs and the sheriff to sit down and talk regularly.
Each candidate has stressed the need for more visibility in outlying areas of the county. How will that be done with the office's limited number of patrol deputies?
Adkins: He would "go in and take a real hard look at the schedule all the way through" to see "what it's going to take to cover a county of 400 square miles."
There should be four deputies on duty for each shift, he said, but often vacation, sick leave, court and schooling make that difficult.
Adkins said top personnel must be ready to fill in when necessary.
"If it takes myself and the rest of the supervisors to work this county, it's going to be done. ... The schedule of your people is the most important thing."
Adkins said the sheriff must also be ready to fight for extra positions.
Marrs: Citizens are "concerned with response time, concerned with the officers [not] being out there in the area," he said.
"I think a lot of that is management."
Marrs would assign deputies to specific areas and have them stay in those areas except for when another deputy needed back-up. He thinks a roving sergeant could also help.
Olinger: He would survey the whole department and see which division could stand to lose a person to the road.
"I'm not opposed to even the sheriff ... getting out and doing other things beyond administration."
Ramsey: "We do have a big problem of being undermanned ... this is one of the areas where I need [citizens'] help."
Ramsey has lots of ideas to consider, including a citizens' auxiliary such as COPS, citizens on patrol.
He said the Sheriff's Office already assigns deputies to specific areas. But with one deputy covering an average 100 square miles, it's no wonder residents don't feel like they often see a deputy on routine patrol. Deputies are too busy answering complaints.
The State Compensation Board gives sheriff's offices one deputy for every 2,000 residents. If Montgomery County residents want more road deputies, they need to help Ramsey lobby the county Board of Supervisors to supplement that allotment, he said.
Will you house out-of-jurisdiction prisoners to help relieve the tax burden of running the jail?
Marrs: "I strongly wish to explore that area," Marrs said, noting that a sheriff's office can charge more for out-of-jurisdiction prisoners.
"To me, that is one way we can lessen the tax burden on Montgomery County citizens."
Olinger: The jail staff makes up half the employees of the Sheriff's Office, Olinger said. "I would look into housing prisoners for other agencies" as long as doing so wouldn't make the county jail exceed its rated capacity.
Ramsey: "We currently, if we have room, will take a federal prisoner. ...If we can make money, absolutely we will do it."
But Ramsey said most of the time, there is not enough room to house other jurisdictions' prisoners because the jail is full with local prisoners.
Adkins: It's a good idea to make extra money for the county when possible, he said. "The program will be looked at [but] I believe in taking care of your local and your state" prisoners first.
Police are under a microscope these days in light of the O.J. Simpson verdict and the role Mark Fuhrman's racist beliefs might have played in that. How will you promote cultural diversity and understanding to avoid a similar situation?
Olinger: "You need to have diversity training," such as a program Tech has, and have policies that outline expectations.
"If you have an officer that's out of line then you need to take action against them. ... You cannot tolerate it."
Marrs: "I think we have to be sensitive to those issues ... and when we see it, immediately take action."
"If the employee knows that the management does not tolerate it, then I think you have a lot less likelihood of having it occur in your workplace."
Adkins: Working more closely with the community and local citizens, through monthly community meetings, will foster better relations overall.
"To have an open door policy, you have to mean it and do it ...If a citizen has a complaint on any deputy ... the complaint is going to get looked at and the person who made the complaint will receive a reply."
Ramsey: "There's not a lot that you can do as far as individual people's attitudes," he said.
"Everyone is to be treated fair, everyone is to be treated the same. And I promise the people [that I will have] deputies that do that. If not, he won't be a Montgomery County deputy," Ramsey said.
The problem of radio dead spots came to light with last year's shooting of Christiansburg Police Officer Terry Griffith when a deputy couldn't talk with his dispatcher on his portable radio. What will you do to correct the problem?
Ramsey: The county has started working on resolving the problem since the Board of Supervisors gave them money to order equipment. Other funding has to come to complete the project. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, is looking into federal grant monies that might be available to help, Ramsey said.
"I will not let that issue die."
Adkins: "To me, a department should never be unable to get in contact with the road officers. ... If you need to spend money on anything in your department, ... the No. 1 priority is getting good communication for your road officers."
Marrs: He would continue the effort to fix the radio system.
Olinger : As chairman of the communication system for the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council, he recognizes the importance of a good communications system.
"I think they need to look at grant money," Olinger said, and consider going to a more reliable high-band frequency where you work with repeater systems instead of low-band frequency using antennas.
Name: Garnett Adkins
Age: 40
Ticket: Independent. Entered the race in July 1994.
Community ties and family: Married, one child. Lifelong county resident. Christiansburg High School graduate; attended Concord College for business management classes. Worked for Kroger for 10 years, then spent 13 years with Thriftway as a store manager. Member, Virginia State Sheriffs Association, New River Fraternal Order of Police, Pilot Ruritan Club and the Montgomery County Moose Lodge.
Current job: Deputy, Radford Sheriff's Office
Law enforcement experience: Has been with the Radford Sheriff's Office since 1989, where he has gained experience in court security, civil process and jail operations. Graduate, Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy, Salem.
Why he's the best candidate: "I feel that my management background, along with my law enforcement experience, has well prepared me for all the challenges a sheriff will face. I'm a people-oriented person, which will help me deal efficiently and on a fair basis with both employees ... and with the public. I will be a working sheriff. The people of Montgomery County put the sheriff into office, and I will work hard for them and the employees of the Sheriff's Office."
The sheriff's inner circle: Adkins won't say whom he would pick to be his chief deputy if elected sheriff. But, he said, "my chief deputy will not come from outside the department. ... I believe in promoting from within."
A good sheriff is one who: ``is willing to get out into the community ... and hear the concerns of the people who put him in office.''
Pet peeve: The biggest complaint he hears from residents is they want the sheriff to be more visible in the community. "People want to see the man, that is plain and simple. They want to see him at community functions, ball games, and they want to see him in uniform."
Favorite quote: "Always think before you act."
Name: Doug Marrs
Age: 48
Ticket: Republican. Announced candidacy for nomination in February. Won nomination, beating two other challengers, in May.
Community ties and family: Lived in Montgomery County since 1968. Turned to police work after brief stint as a guard at Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Member, VFW Post 5311 and First Church of God in Blacksburg, where he is chairman of the finance committee and has served on the church's board. He is married and has three daughters.
Current job: Lieutenant of investigations, Christiansburg Police Department
Law enforcement experience: Joined Christiansburg Police Department in 1971 after 2 1/2 years as a Blacksburg patrol officer. Became Christiansburg's first investigator in 1977.
Why he's the best candidate: "The fact that I have been in the management end of law enforcement for a long, long time." As lieutenant of investigations, Marrs is third in command at the Christiansburg Police Department. He has supervised employees, been involved in budget and policy decisions, written grant proposals and taught at regional police academies.
The sheriff's inner circle: He has not decided whom he would appoint as chief deputy or to other key positions. "I cannot promise something that I haven't got," he said, adding that there are "good quality people at the Sheriff's Office that I am observing."
A good sheriff is one who: "has the ability to get along with the community he serves and the foresight to listen to the community that he serves."
Pet peeve: "I think the Sheriff's Office needs to be sensitive to the needs of the people in the various communities." The staff should follow up with action on community problems, then check back to see that the community is aware of the action that has been taken.
Favorite quote: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy.
Name: O.P. Ramsey Jr.
Age: 49
Party: Independent. Entered race in June.
Community ties and family: Lives in the Riner area. He and his wife have five children. Member of the Montgomery County Moose Lodge and of several specialized police organizations, including Virginia Homicide Association, Virginia Division of Forensic Science Alumni Association and International Association of Arson Investigation.
Current job: Captain of law enforcement with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
Law enforcement experience: Joined the Sheriff's Office in 1992 as an investigator. Worked as an evidence technician and lieutenant of investigations before being promoted to captain. Worked for 231/2 years with Blacksburg Police Department as a patrolman and relief dispatcher before being promoted to investigator. Named evidence technician there after completing training with the state's Division of Forensic Science. He has an associate's degree in police science from New River Community College.
Why he's the best candidate: Ramsey says he's offering law enforcement without political ties. He also stresses his experience in the Sheriff's Office, his training and administrative experience - in police work, the military and a brief stint as a foreman for a concrete products business.
The sheriff's inner circle: Ramsey is the only candidate to publicly name his chief deputy if elected. He plans to retain Dan Haga, who currently holds that position. He plans no other changes. "We've got some outstanding people here."
A good sheriff is one who: "first is a professional police officer ... believes in the future and progress, has the best-trained department he can and is always looking to make things better."
Pet peeve: "The Sheriff's Office is treated like red-headed stepchildren. We're excluded from things ... we're told by the county that we're state employees. The state says 'No, you're county employees.' We're in never-never land." Running a Sheriff's Office is "a lot more responsibility and a lot more major problems than anybody realizes."
Favorite quote: "God help me change the things I can, accept the things I can't and the wisdom to understand the difference between the two."
Name: Jerry Olinger
Age: 53
Ticket: Democrat. First person to announce candidacy, in June 1994. Beat four other contenders for the Democratic nomination.
Community ties and family: Married, two grown children. Born and raised in Montgomery County. Blacksburg High School graduate. Life member of the Blacksburg Volunteer Fire Department; life member, Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad - captain, 19 years. Member, Hunter's Masonic Lodge, Montgomery County Moose Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police and several other organizations.
Current job: Investigator sergeant, Virginia Tech Police Department
Law enforcement experience: Virginia Tech Police Department since 1970; promoted to sergeant in 1974; assigned to investigations, 1986. Graduated from Central Police Training School, Virginia State Police Academy; associate's degree in police science, New River Community College.
Why he's the best candidate: Has worked in public service roles for more than 27 years. As Virginia Tech's police department recently completed requirements to become a certified professional law enforcement agency, it had to meet more than 400 standards of evaluation. Olinger says what he learned during this will "help me make the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office a top-notch law enforcement agency, one that the employees and citizens can be proud of."
The sheriff's inner circle: Says he hasn't decided who would be his chief deputy, or on any other personnel changes he would make. "I haven't made any threats or any promises," he said. "I really haven't offered anything to anybody," although he did discuss a position with someone more than a year ago. "The only person I know who is leaving over there come January 1 is the sheriff."
A good sheriff is one who: "establishes a good working relationship for employees [and] maintains an open door for citizens." A good sheriff also "must never forget the citizens elect you, and they can un-elect you if they don't think you're doing a good job."
Pet peeve: Visibility. "People just want to look out their window and see that brown car." Residents also complain that there is a large drug problem in the county, and that county decal laws are not adequately enforced.
Favorite quote: "A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins."
Keywords:
POLITICS PROFILES
by CNB