ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, November 19, 1996             TAG: 9611190077
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER

NEW CHIEF DEPUTY, LIEUTENANT NAMED IN MONTGOMERY

The Montgomery County sheriff's chief deputy has resigned for health reasons.

Sheriff Doug Marrs said Mike Cox was forced to resign because of heart problems. Cox, like Marrs, is a former Christiansburg police officer. He took the chief deputy's job in January when Marrs took office.

Cox could not be reached for comment Monday. He told students of the Sheriff's Office first Citizen Police Academy on Nov. 5 that he had not chosen what job to pursue next.

Marrs promoted Neal Turner to the rank of major and appointed him to be chief deputy effective Nov. 1. Turner was promoted from lieutenant of administration and assumes the job of overseeing day-to-day operations of the Sheriff's Office. He is in charge when the sheriff is not available.

Marrs said Turner brings "a tremendous amount of administrative experience" to the job. Turner has worked at the Sheriff's Office for six years and prior to that was supervisor of transportation for the Montgomery County schools and director of safety and employee education for Marshall Concrete Products in Christiansburg.

Turner said Cox gained the respect and admiration of his co-workers. "He's the ultimate mentor," Turner said.

Turner said Cox was not only able to grasp the law and decipher what it meant at the local level, but was able to share that understanding with others and teach them.

Cox started his career with the Pulaski Police Department in 1975. He then worked at the Christiansburg Police Department as a patrol officer, investigator and then sergeant of investigations.

Turner's replacement as lieutenant of administration is Charlie Thornton.

Thornton had been a shift sergeant in the patrol division. He has worked for the Sheriff's Office for 12 years. His new duties will include overseeing the department's grants, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, Neighborhood Watch programs and the office's policy manual.

LENGTH: Short :   45 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  (headshots) Thornton, Turner.