Sebastian County sheriff hopefuls meeting voters

The three Republican candidates for Sebastian County sheriff are reaching out to voters with a week left before the May 22 primary.

Going door to door is important to make sure their messages get out, said Sebastian County Chief Deputy Hobe Runion, who has been with the sheriff's office since 2000 and is running to replace retiring Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck.

Runion, 54, said he also is relying on billboards, yard signs, social media such as Facebook, a website, and ads on TV, radio and in newspapers to get his name before voters.

He said the biggest challenge the new sheriff will face is how to curb overcrowding in the county jail. The jail population has been reduced over the past couple of years but still averages more than 400 people in a jail built to hold just over 350, Runion said.

County officials have talked about expanding the jail but haven't been able to find money in the county's budget to hire the additional deputies needed.

One reason for the overcrowding is a growing crime rate that is fed, in part, by the opioid epidemic, which Runion said is higher in Sebastian County than in other parts of the state and country. He said he is on an opioid task force composed of doctors, law enforcement and community leaders that seeks solutions to the opioid addiction problem.

Candidate Randy McFadden of Mansfield has 20 years of law enforcement experience in Sebastian and Washington counties and recently took advantage of a cruise night in Barling to meet voters who were sitting along the road in lawn chairs or parading by in new or vintage cars.

McFadden, 59, said residents have told him they are ready for a change. They want deputies to be more visible within the community, have quicker response times to calls and work harder to solve crimes.

He said he would like to see more community policing with public agencies and businesses working together to reduce crime.

McFadden said he believes the opioid addiction problem accounts for much of the crime in the county as people commit crimes to feed their addictions.

The Sebastian County Quorum Court is considering moving the sheriff's office from its South A Street location to the Emergency Operations Center at Massard Road and Zero Street, and renovating the sheriff's office building for additional jail space. McFadden suggested that a portion of A Street be closed, which would provide more space between the jail and sheriff's office to expand the jail further.

McFadden said he supported the formation of a citizens advisory committee to look into the county's jail needs and how to pay for them.

He also suggested using prisoners for public works projects such as cleaning streets, cemeteries and parks. The sheriff's office also should expand its use of technology for communications and other uses, McFadden said.

Former Fort Smith police Major Jarrard Copeland, who served 25 years in the Police Department, has been going door to door over the past five months in addition to buying billboard, newspaper and television ads to publicize his candidacy.

Copeland, 51, said people have complained about the lack of the sheriff's office's presence in south Sebastian County and the lack of cooperation between different county agencies and the sheriff's office.

He said he wants to make schools safer and would support teachers being armed if they are qualified and trained in the use of firearms. He also would support posting resource officers in every school.

Education is key to curbing the opioid problem in the county, Copeland said. He said young people should be taught about addiction to the drugs, and their parents and grandparents should be taught how to protect their prescriptions from being taken from medicine cabinets.

Jail overcrowding needs to be brought under control or it will become a hazard to the safety of inmates and jail staff, Copeland said.

If elected, Copeland said, he will look more closely at the jail's budget and prioritize spending in an effort to find more money for additional jail staff. He said he also wants the public to be more informed about the county's financial situation in case a new tax has to be sought to generate money for the jail's staff needs.

NW News on 05/15/2018

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