Watch Jefferson County

The question for the candidates running for Sheriff are in! Unfortunately, we did not receive nearly as many questions as we had hoped for. In all, there were only 25 questions submitted. I did my best to pick the 5 that I thought were the most representative of the total 25. I will post the remaining question to the website over the next few days.

These are the 5 questions will be sent to the candidates.

• There has been a perception that cooperation between the Sheriff's office/local LE agencies, and WV State Police has not always been optimal. What steps will you take to improve both the perception as well as actual cooperation between these agencies?
• What are your funding priorities? If faced with budget cuts, what services would you target for reduction or elimination?
• What would the candidates plans be to better patrol smaller neighborhoods in the county such as Middleway, Summit Point, Leetown, Kabletown, etc. In particular, speeding through these smaller towns is rampant and although I know it's difficult to patrol, I'd like to see an increased effort.
• ATVs and trail bikes have become a significant problem in Jefferson County - ranging from noise nuisance at the bottom end, to nightmarish traffic hazards mid-range, to get-away vehicles from break-ins and drug delivery vehicles at the high end. The scofflaws who use these vehicles illegally
  have learned from several years of experience that they will neither be apprehended nor prosecuted due to LE's inability to catch them, especially since all they have to do is go "off road" and the chase has to terminate. It is our understanding that money has been appropriated by the County
  Commission for procuring and manning one or more ATVs whose main purpose is to catch these lawbreakers. Unfortunately, although the money has apparently been in hand for some time, nothing obvious has been done to stop this problem. What positive steps will you take to address and
  hopefully stop (or at least lessen) this maddening problem?
• Do you believe in the concept of Community Oriented Policing Services? If not, why not? If so, how would you ensure implementation throughout the County?