ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996             TAG: 9602080003
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER 


2 MORE DEPUTIES ON PATROL

Doug Marrs, in his first week as Montgomery County sheriff, put two more patrol deputies on the road.

He did that by reassigning the deputies from other job titles. Marrs said he is looking for other ways to meet citizens' needs by increasing the number of patrol deputies available to respond to calls.

"I think things are going well," Marrs said last week, after his first full week as sheriff.

Another change to be made soon will be reverting to a swing shift where deputies rotate working different eight-hour shifts. Deputies had been working on permanent, 10-hour-a-day shifts since last February.

As of Jan. 28, the swing shifts will start again, with deputies working a daytime shift and then rotating to one of the evening shifts.

Marrs said that as he campaigned for sheriff, he heard from many people who said they needed more coverage at certain times of the day.

Shifting two employees back into road positions and changing the shifts will help meet the citizens' needs, he said.

Marrs has also completed his selection of top office personnel.

Shortly before taking office, Marrs announced Michael J. Cox would be his chief deputy and Neal Turner would come on board as administrative lieutenant. Cox was a sergeant in investigations at the Christiansburg Police Department. Turner was safety director at Marshall Concrete Products and has worked for Montgomery County Public Schools and as a deputy sheriff.

Tommy Whitt remains as lieutenant of patrol. Lt. Joe Morgan remains in charge of the civil division.

Bill Tolley has become Marrs' lieutenant of investigations. Tolley was an investigator assigned to the Montgomery County Drug Task Force under Sheriff Ken Phipps' administration. He worked as chief deputy and lieutenant of investigations under Phipps' predecessor, Sheriff Louis Barber.

Ron Hamlin, Phipps' lieutenant of investigations, has stayed in the Marrs' administration as an investigator.

Marrs did not hire any of the three people who were appointed during Phipps' last week in office. One of those was Billy Haga, a son of former Chief Deputy Dan Haga. Tony Haga, another of Haga's sons already employed at the Sheriff's Office, kept his job.

Dan Haga and O.P. Ramsey, captain of law enforcement, were not appointed when Marrs took office.

Marrs took applications and advertised he was interviewing candidates for positions within the Sheriff's Office in mid-December. He said he concentrated on interviewing those who were already employees of the Sheriff's Office.

He received other applications, and those will be considered for future openings, Marrs said. One of those applicants is one of the three hires made by Phipps in his last week in office.

"I'm trying to make what I do fair," Marrs said.


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