3 DISPATCHERS, DEPUTY QUIT IN BOLLINGER

MARBLE HILL -- Bollinger County Sheriff Dan Mesey is looking for another road deputy after Mike Pinkley resigned this week.

The sheriff has also had to hire three new dispatchers within the last few weeks to replace three women who resigned.

Mesey said the dispatchers' letters of resignation all cited a lack of insurance coverage and no benefits from the county. They have all taken other jobs with better pay.

Mesey replaced Pinkley as chief deputy April 1 over concerns about his productivity. Mesey said Pinkley then resigned Tuesday.

This was the second time Pinkley has resigned from the sheriff's department, Mesey said. Pinkley had been on the job about a year this time.

Mesey has started interviewing for the third road deputy position. He and his deputies have to cover about 900 miles of gravel roads in Bollinger County.

Losing good employees is a problem for his department, Mesey said.

"We lose deputies all the time," he said. "We train them and get them acclimated and then they go to work somewhere else for more money."

Mesey said it's difficult to hire a deputy when he has to tell applicants they'll be paid $13,000 a year, will have no benefits and will have to provide their own vehicle, for which they are reimbursed about $500 a month for mileage.

Mesey didn't fault the employees for leaving the department or the county commission for the tight budget.

The department has five full-time dispatchers, Mesey said, but two of those also handle other duties, such as administrative details and the jail.