Candidates take stand on county patrolmen

By By Lynette Wilson / staff writer
Oct. 24, 2002
One debate that never dies is the one about whether the position of "county patrolman" has outlived its usefulness in Lauderdale County.
Sheriff Billy Sollie does not support county patrolmen citing the fact that in a 20-month period county patrolmen wrote 11 tickets while deputies wrote 5,596 tickets.
District 3 Supervisor Craig Hitt said he doesn't support county patrolman, but other supervisors do. Here's what the four Democrats running for the position of District 4 supervisor think about the issue.
Joe Norwood, a television cameraman with more than 10 years experience covering the news for WTOK-TV, said he thinks the money used to pay each county patrolman $24,000 a year could be better spent.
Norwood, however, is the lone candidate running in the Nov. 5 election to take this stand. Also running are Rickey Harris, a county patrolman; Melvin Wright, a retired hospital worker; and John Nelson Jr., a private investigator.
Wright said state law allows for county patrolmen and, therefore, he is for them.
Nelson, a retired Meridian police officer, said he supports the county patrolmen.
He said the position needs to be expanded.
Harris said the fact that he is a county patrolman gives him insight into the issues affecting District 4.