MESEY: BOLLINGER COUNTY PICKS NEW SHERIFF

MARBLE HILL -- Bollinger County voters Tuesday elected Republican Dan Mesey to be the county's new sheriff. Voter turnout for the special election was described as heavy.

Mesey netted 1,753 votes to defeat opponents Kindal Ward, a Democrat, and independent candidate Jimmie G. Bollinger. Ward, the department's acting chief deputy, received 907 votes and Bollinger 611.

County Clerk Diane Holzum said 3,271 or just over 43 percent of the county's registered voters went to the polls. She called turnout "really heavy for a special election."

Mesey, 44, has worked for two years as a part-time investigator with the sheriff's department. He retired in 1988 from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department after being with that department for 23 years.

Reached Tuesday night, Mesey said he looks forward to "creating a very professional sheriff's department."

He said one of his foremost tasks will be to establish for the department a six-member, non-partisan advisory committee made up of three Republicans and three Democrats.

"The purpose of the committee would be to work with me in examining current procedures in the sheriff's department," Mesey said.

He said he would seek recommendations from the committee about community issues and intends to make the department "very attentive to the community's needs."

Some personnel changes are also on the agenda, said Mesey. He said it is possible new employees will be hired to replace existing ones. In addition to the sheriff, the department has two full-time deputies.

"We plan to advertise and hopefully attract people interested in the position of a full-time deputy and also dispatchers," he said.

He said present employees will be evaluated along with potential ones for the positions.

"We'll choose people who fit into our program and demonstrate a sincere willingness to contribute to the community," said Mesey. "We'll set certain high standards and be firm with those standards. This doesn't mean that current employees don't meet these standards."

Mesey said other immediate goals for the department are enacting money-saving procedures, lessening the department's response time, supporting neighborhood watch programs and organizing a patrol plan.

He said his election reflects the people's desire for "professional" law enforcement. "I think it's a reflection of the people of Bollinger County's sense of pride," he said.

Mesey will serve as sheriff for 1 years, at which time a general election will be held. He said he has been told his first day as sheriff will be Thursday.

Mesey replaces Januar Peters, who resigned in March after authorities charged him with stealing. A state audit of the county's books showed Peters had misappropriated more than $5,000 in county funds and that most of it had ended up in his personal bank account.

Bollinger county has about 7,600 registered voters, Holzum said.