Sheriff

Peter Dougherty, president of the Jefferson County Board of Education, Tuesday was appointed to replace ousted Jefferson County Sheriff Bobby Shirley on a 3-2 vote following public interviews. Jefferson County Commission members Walter Pellish, Dale Manuel and Patsy Noland voted for Dougherty. Commissioners Jane Tabb and Lyn Widmyer went for retired Charles Town Police Chief Louis Brunswick. Steve Groh, an assistant county prosecutor, the third candidate interviewed Tuesday, received no votes.  The three candidates were singled out for interviews from an original list of 16 applicants.

Jefferson sheriff to apply for training CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Jefferson County Sheriff William Senseney plans to apply for a training program conducted by the FBI in Quantico, Va. The Jefferson County Commissioners voted Thursday to write a letter of approval for his application. The 11-week course on police management is paid for by the federal government. Senseney, who has already served one term as sheriff, said he believes the training would help the county by allowing him to better run the department.

Sheriff has deputy positions MARTINSBURG. W.Va. - The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department has job openings for sheriff's deputies. The Deputy Sheriff's Civil Service Commission will give examinations for deputy sheriffs at 7 p.m. on March 19 at the Berkeley County Courthouse. To hold the position, an appointee must: Become a resident of Berkeley County within one year of hiring. Be between the ages of 18 and 45. Be in excellent health and pass fitness standards for entrance into the academy.

Delegation seeks raise for sheriff By LAURA ERNDE / Staff Writer ANNAPOLIS - The next Washington County sheriff will get $67,500 a year if a proposed pay hike passes the Maryland General Assembly. The Washington County delegation to the legislature voted unanimously Wednesday to seek the pay hike this year rather than wait a year for the issue to be studied by a citizen committee. Lawmakers feared that if they waited and next year's bill didn't pass, the sheriff's salary would be stuck at $55,000 until 2007.

Jefferson County Sheriff Bobby Shirley said his No. 1 priority, if he is elected to a second term, is protecting the public's safety. Shirley, 61, of Earle Road, a 26-year department veteran, said all he needs to do to accomplish that goal is be re-elected to continue the policies he put in place since he came to the job four years ago. Shirley's annual salary, set by state law, is $44,800 plus 2 percent, not to exceed $15,000, of delinquent taxes...

Jefferson County Sheriff Bobby Shirley pleaded not guilty in federal court Monday to charges of violating the civil rights of a bank robbery suspect and falsifying records during an investigation of the incident. A jury trial was scheduled for Aug. 7 by U.S. Magistrate David J. Joel, who presided over Shirley's initial appearance in court on the charges and arraignment. The case was transferred to U.S. District Judge John P. Bailey after District Judge Gina M. Groh disqualified herself from the proceeding due to concerns her impartiality might be questioned, according to court documents.

Smith ousts incumbent Berkeley County sheriff By BOB PARTLOW / Staff Writer, Martinsburg MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Democratic Pikeside businessman and former Berkeley County sheriff's deputy W. Randy Smith ousted one-term incumbent Republican Berkeley County Sheriff Ronald Jones by a sizable margin in Tuesday's balloting, according to unofficial final totals Wednesday. continued With all 46 precincts reporting, Smith won by a margin of 12,207 to 9,565.

Washington County Detention Center officials Thursday received an award from the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards for achieving 100 percent compliance on an audit performed on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2007. Washington County Sheriff Douglas Mullendore, Warden Major Van Evans, Capt. Rick Blair and Sgt. Mike Rafter were on hand to receive the award. The award indicates that the Washington County Detention Center adhered to standards established by the commission of correctional standards, the sheriff said in a news release.

tarar@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - A commission appointed by the Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday recommended pay hikes for the sheriff and the Board of Education's elected members, which would go into effect with terms that begin after the November 2006 elections. The 2004 Washington County Salary Study Commission recommended that the salary for the sheriff be increased from $67,500 to $90,000 a year, saying the raise is justified based on the sheriff's workload and to keep the pay equivalent with that in other jurisidictions.

SMITHSBURG - From the time he was a child, Bill Davis liked to draw. As an adult he found a way to make a living at it. An artist and owner of Country Gallery at 12931 Bradbury Ave. in Smithsburg, Davis also does custom framing and restoration work. And for the past couple of years, he has been giving art classes at his studio, which is upstairs in the gallery. Born in Downsville, Davis said he began his artistic odyssey at the age of 5. "Art was always a big part of my young life," Davis said.

Since March, four Berkeley County sheriff's deputies have tendered their resignation for a variety of reasons, but the department's comparatively low - “bottom of the list” - salaries certainly are not helping retain officers, Sheriff Kenneth Lemaster said Friday. “You look around and we're not being competitive,” Lemaster said of the county's $30,548 starting salary for certified, entry-level deputies. Compared to other law enforcement agencies in the Eastern Panhandle, Berkeley County's starting salary for deputies is more than $6,000 less than Shepherdstown, W.Va.'s municipal police department and even further behind practically every other municipal and county agency in Berkeley and Jefferson counties, according to a survey of starting salaries last week.

A bank robber beaten by police after a 2010 high-speed chase has agreed to settle his lawsuit against former Jefferson County Sheriff Robert Shirley and six sheriff's deputies, his attorney said Wednesday. Attorney Harry P. Waddell said the West Virginia Counties Risk Pool will pay his client Mark Daniel Haines $90,000, and claims will be dismissed against Shirley and a total of six Berkeley and Jefferson County sheriff's deputies. State Police Trooper Joseph Bush has refused to settle, said Waddell, who filed a motion May 15 to add two former Shepherdstown (W.Va.)

The Washington County Sheriff's Office is looking for an Alzheimer's patient who walked away from NMS Healthcare on Marsh Pike, police said Tuesday. Eugene James Brown, who also suffers from depression and dementia, was last seen at NMS Healthcare of Hagerstown at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Residents in the Reidtown Road area said they saw Brown walking in the neighborhood at about 11 a.m. and that he was headed toward Pennsylvania. Brown is described as a black male who has short hair or is bald.

Berkeley County Council on Thursday passed over the lowest bid for security cameras and instead awarded the contract to a local firm offering a warranty. On a 3-2 vote, the council awarded the contract to Inwood, W.Va.-based RCS Security Inc., which bid $40,273 for 45 cameras and mounting brackets for the new public safety building. County Council President Anthony J. “Tony” Petrucci joined council members Jim Barnhart and Elaine Mauck in voting to award the contract to the Inwood firm.

Between the two of them, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Corporals Dustin Tabler and Vincent Tiong made 79 of the 123 DUI arrests the department racked up in 2012. Sheriff Pete Dougherty recognized Tabler's 47 arrests and the 32 DUI arrests by Tiong on Wednesday during a National Police Week event at the department's headquarters in Bardane, W.Va. According to Tabler and Tiong, an arresting officer normally needs up to 3 1/2 hours to process a DUI arrest. “That's true for the newer people, but we've got it down to a science,” Tabler said.

Between the two of them, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Corporals Dustin Tabler and Vincent Tiong made 79 of the 123 DUI arrests the department racked up in 2012. Sheriff Pete Dougherty recognized Tabler's 47 arrests and the 32 DUI arrests by Tiong on Wednesday during a National Police Week event at the department's headquarters in Kearneysville, W.Va. According to Tabler and Tiong, an arresting officer normally needs up to 3 1/2 hours to process a DUI arrest. “That's true for the newer people, but we've got it down to a science,” Tabler said.

Groupon Grassroots selected Vested Interest in K-9s Inc. as its charity partner for the event, which raised more than $155,000 in eight days, according to the news release. Through an online $10 donation, people could purchase a groupon, which is a tax-deductible donation, through a secure website, according to the news release. All funds were allocated to purchase ballistic vests for police department K-9s. Vested Interest in K-9s, a nonprofit organization, will be able to provide bulletproof vests to more than 150 K-9s across the nation as a result of the funds raised, according to the release.

The Berkeley County Sheriff's Department is asking the public's help in finding a woman who has been missing from her home for two years. Mary Jean Olshefski-Beatty was last seen on March 4, 2011, leaving her home at Jenkins Road in Bunker Hill, W.Va. She left the home on foot, according to her daughter. Olshefski-Beatty, who is in her late 50s, is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 245 pounds, according to a news release. She has blue eyes and brown hair. She has a Pegasus tattoo on her right ankle and a butterfly tattoo on the left side of her chest, the release states.

Four people who have been charged with setting a number of fires across Washington County were arrested after one of them called deputies to his Williamsport home, where evidence was found linking him to the investigation, according to court documents. The statement of probable cause obtained Wednesday from Washington County District Court alleges that Tyler William Murray, 20, of 16615 Coney Court, called authorities to file a complaint that someone had tried to break into his vehicle and set his trash can on fire.