Posted 3:58 pm Sunday, November 04, 2012
Send to Kindle
Still and Price vying for open sheriff post
BY KELLY GOOCH
kgooch@tylerpaper.com
Candidates vying to be the new Rusk County sheriff are highlighting their experience and goals.
kgooch@tylerpaper.com
Candidates vying to be the new Rusk County sheriff are highlighting their experience and goals.
Democrat Oscar Still faces Republican Jeff Price, who won a primary runoff against Darryl Norris with 54 percent of the vote. Republican Sheriff Danny Pirtle did not seek re-election.
Jeff Price
Still, 59, is a self-employed resident with more than 40 years of organization and management experience. He is a farmer, and also has been involved in the timber business. He said he's learned how to weed out bad employees and keep good people employed.
So even though he doesn't have law enforcement experience, he said he does have management and organizational skills as well as employment skills.
He also pointed out his lifelong connection with Rusk County and the fact that his first paying job was working for a county precinct barn.
“I learned a lot just working with my dad and dealing with people,” he said. “Back then, employees of the county would communicate more with the citizens of the county. … My dad was the type who always talked to people. I learned a lot from that too.”
Still said the first thing he'd do in office is look at employees to ensure they are doing their job correctly. He said he also would choose a good chief deputy.
“That's a major thing — a good chief deputy. Then we will take a look at all employees and all policies and see whether changes need to be made,” Still said.
Additionally, he said he would work to improve deputy response time and focus on drug enforcement and creating more drug awareness programs.
“One thing I will stress is safety of the county. I feel like a lot of improvements can be made on that. … I intend to put more pressure on criminals … in remote areas of the county,” Still said.
Price, 48, has worked for the Henderson Police Department for 28 years, with the last 15 in administration.
So even though he doesn't have law enforcement experience, he said he does have management and organizational skills as well as employment skills.
He also pointed out his lifelong connection with Rusk County and the fact that his first paying job was working for a county precinct barn.
“I learned a lot just working with my dad and dealing with people,” he said. “Back then, employees of the county would communicate more with the citizens of the county. … My dad was the type who always talked to people. I learned a lot from that too.”
Still said the first thing he'd do in office is look at employees to ensure they are doing their job correctly. He said he also would choose a good chief deputy.
“That's a major thing — a good chief deputy. Then we will take a look at all employees and all policies and see whether changes need to be made,” Still said.
Additionally, he said he would work to improve deputy response time and focus on drug enforcement and creating more drug awareness programs.
“One thing I will stress is safety of the county. I feel like a lot of improvements can be made on that. … I intend to put more pressure on criminals … in remote areas of the county,” Still said.
Price, 48, has worked for the Henderson Police Department for 28 years, with the last 15 in administration.
“I've got the training and the mileage and experience and the know-how for the job,” he said.
If elected, he said his basic goals are to cut response time to calls and increase officer training.
Price said he also wants to focus on making the sheriff's office a more professional agency as far as the way it's viewed and the way officers, secretaries and dispatchers communicate and deal with the public and other public agencies.
He has said he wants residents to have the professional department they need and deserve.
“I want every citizen in every neighborhood in Rusk County to feel they have a sheriff, investigators and deputies they can rely on. While I have come to know most of the folks in Henderson, I want to get to know more of the residents out in the county,” he said last year via email.
Price has looked at running for sheriff in the last eight years or so, but had not planned to run for four more years. However, when Sheriff Pirtle decided not to run, he saw it as the most opportune time, Price said.
“It's time to move on to the next step. Everyone's always looking to further their career and move up to the next step,” he said. If elected, “I'm going to do the best job I can. My intentions are to do what I can to be the best sheriff I can possibly be for (residents).”
Other contested races in Rusk County are Republican LL “Bud” Dooley and Democratic incumbent Freddy Swann for Precinct 3 commissioner; Republican Tim Barton and Democratic Incumbent Kenneth Miley for Precinct 3 constable; Republican Elton Brock and write-in candidate Robert Boatwright for Precinct 2 constable; Pat Brack and Art Rousseau for Henderson mayor; Dennis “Denny” Eby and Mary Sue Vinson Wolfe for Henderson ISD school board District 4; Mary Leigh Dike and Pam Raney for Overton ISD school board Place 1; Viki Moore Penny, Kevin Doss, Bobby G. Briscoe, Larry Hayes, Edwin A. Simon, Robert Loftis and Shunta Henry for four open spots on the Laneville ISD school board; and Johnwayne Valdez, Adolphus Bagley, Mike Risinger and Thomas Cox (write-in) for three open spots on the Mount Enterprise ISD school board.
If elected, he said his basic goals are to cut response time to calls and increase officer training.
Price said he also wants to focus on making the sheriff's office a more professional agency as far as the way it's viewed and the way officers, secretaries and dispatchers communicate and deal with the public and other public agencies.
He has said he wants residents to have the professional department they need and deserve.
“I want every citizen in every neighborhood in Rusk County to feel they have a sheriff, investigators and deputies they can rely on. While I have come to know most of the folks in Henderson, I want to get to know more of the residents out in the county,” he said last year via email.
Price has looked at running for sheriff in the last eight years or so, but had not planned to run for four more years. However, when Sheriff Pirtle decided not to run, he saw it as the most opportune time, Price said.
“It's time to move on to the next step. Everyone's always looking to further their career and move up to the next step,” he said. If elected, “I'm going to do the best job I can. My intentions are to do what I can to be the best sheriff I can possibly be for (residents).”
Other contested races in Rusk County are Republican LL “Bud” Dooley and Democratic incumbent Freddy Swann for Precinct 3 commissioner; Republican Tim Barton and Democratic Incumbent Kenneth Miley for Precinct 3 constable; Republican Elton Brock and write-in candidate Robert Boatwright for Precinct 2 constable; Pat Brack and Art Rousseau for Henderson mayor; Dennis “Denny” Eby and Mary Sue Vinson Wolfe for Henderson ISD school board District 4; Mary Leigh Dike and Pam Raney for Overton ISD school board Place 1; Viki Moore Penny, Kevin Doss, Bobby G. Briscoe, Larry Hayes, Edwin A. Simon, Robert Loftis and Shunta Henry for four open spots on the Laneville ISD school board; and Johnwayne Valdez, Adolphus Bagley, Mike Risinger and Thomas Cox (write-in) for three open spots on the Mount Enterprise ISD school board.
