LIVELY RACES FOR STODDARD SHSERIFF ON BOTH DEMOCRATIC AND GOP TICKETS

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Stoddard County Sheriff Steve Fish faces a challenge from Bloomfield Police Chief Rick Stanfield in the Democratic primary, and controversial former Morehouse police chief Doug Triplett is one of three candidates for the Republican nomination.

The primary election will be held Aug. 1.

Fish, who is completing his second term, was the police chief in Dexter for 14 years before becoming sheriff. He also is a former Dexter police officer and former Stoddard County deputy sheriff. He started his career in law enforcement with the Phoenix, Ariz., police.

Last year, some 60 methamphetamine labs were busted in Stoddard County, making it among the state's most active areas for the drug. About half those busts resulted in arrests.

This year, the rate of busts is running about half as high, Fish says. "We have put a tremendous amount of pressure on the drug makers. We have put a lot of people in jail."

Fish said surrounding states are starting complain that the meth makers are fleeing from Missouri. "(That) is OK with me."

Thefts and burglary also dropped 17 percent in the county last year, Fish said.

He is running on his record. "When I ran eight years ago I promised people we were going to go after drug dealers, drug makers and burglary," he said. "We have done just that."

"... We plan on keeping the pressure on the drug dealers and drug pushers."

Fish and his wife, Susan, have two children.

Stanfield is a former Sikeston police officer, former Pemiscot County Sheriff's deputy and former Missouri Highway Patrol trooper who has been chief of police in Bloomfield only eight months.

He is the third generation of his family to be a police chief. His brother, Billy Joe Stanfield Jr., is the coordinator for the Bootheel Drug Task Force.

A resident of Dexter, Stanfield said he has been thinking about running for sheriff for three years. "I think we can do a lot of good things in Stoddard County," he said. "There are a lot of things we can implement with the schools and churches, and a long-term plan for a reduction in drugs."

Stanfield said he did not want to criticize Fish's handling of the office but added, "Obviously I don't agree with a lot of the things that happen or I wouldn't be running for sheriff at all."

He and his wife, Tina, have one son.

On the Republican side, Triplett is the most recognizable name because his has been in the newspapers often recently. He was impeached as police chief at Morehouse and has been charged by New Madrid County prosecutor H. Riley Bock with child endangerment, felonious restraint and failure to bring a juvenile to juvenile court in relation to his handling of three different cases. Those cases go to court Friday in Charleston.

Triplett was chief of police of Morehouse from October 1998 until last April 15, when he was impeached for not living within the city limits. He says he was gotten rid of in retaliation for his ticketing of Mayor Pete Leija's son for careless and imprudent driving and for jailing key people for drugs. "I wouldn't play the good old boy network," he said.

"... A lot of shady stuff is going on," he continued. "And I'm a person who doesn't buckle under pressure."

Triplett says he has been threatened and that his truck was firebombed.

Triplett was a criminal investigator and military policeman during his 13 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also was a police officer and deputy sheriff in Virginia before moving to Stoddard County.

"I believe the people in this community haven't really had equitable justice," he says. "A department should manage their resources and treat all persons with fairness and dignity."

"... We have to meet the contemporary challenges and needs of society," he said. "I don't believe that is happening."

He lives in Essex and currently is taking a double load of courses at Southeast in pursuit of a master's degree in administration/business. Triplett is the single parent of a 15-year-old daughter.

One of Triplett's opponents for the Republican nomination for sheriff is Jay Forkum, whose law enforcement experience is limited to a secondary assignment as a military policeman while in the U.S. Army. He is a shift manage for Tyson Foods in Dexter, his employer for the past 10 years.

He said he is running because "It's time for a change for the future of our children."

He wants to change the department's coverage of rural areas of the county. "I would like the sheriff's office and deputies to be known on a first-name basis in the county," he said.

Forkum, 33, and his wife, Theresa, have three children.

The third Republican candidate, former Dexter police officer Bill Stroup, could not be reached for comment.