DRUGS AN INCREASING PROBLEM, CANDIDATES SAY

Stokes, Chandler Campaign to Become Davie Sheriff

For the two candidates competing to become the sheriff of Davie
County, the major issue facing county law enforcement is the
increasing problem of illegal drugs.

"The drug problem in Davie County is being ignored," said Andy
Stokes, the Republican candidate.

He beat long-time sheriff Allen Whitaker in May during the
Republican primaries. Stokes will face Danny Chandler, the
Democratic candidate, on Nov. 7.

Chandler also wants to tackle the drug problems. "A lot of your
crimes come from drugs," he said.

They said that drugs have become increasingly prevalent as Davie
County continues to grow. According to statistics from the N.C.
Department of Justice, the population in Davie County grew from
29,735 in 1996 to 37,927 in 2005.

Over that period, the number of arrests made in Davie jumped 128
percent. In 1996, 12.6 percent of all arrests were for the sale or
possession of illegal drugs. Arrests for the sale or possession of
drugs accounted for 5.8 percent of all arrests in 2005.

If elected, Stokes said he would establish a narcotics and
drug-education unit in the sheriff's office and would work to
increase cooperation between the sheriff's office and other
law-enforcement agencies, such as the Mocksville and Cooleemee
police departments.

"You get so much more done when you're working together," he said.

He also said he would expand the county's DARE (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) program to middle- and high-school students.

"I'm convinced that to solve this problem that the answer will come
from the kids themselves," he said. "The kids are smarter than we
give them credit for."

Chandler said he also would like to look at ways to improve the DARE
program and agrees with Stokes that it should be expanded to middle-
and high-school students.

He also would like to form a drug task force to tackle the problem
and increase coordination among law-enforcement agencies throughout
the county.

Both promote their extensive law-enforcement experience.

Stokes, who ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1998, spent 31 years
with the N.C. Highway Patrol and worked as a magistrate for Davie County.

Chandler worked for 20 years as a deputy in the Davie County
Sheriff's Office and now works at the Mocksville Police Department.

Both say that another of their top priorities is to restore
credibility to the sheriff's office.

Over the past two years, the sheriff's office has been the subject
of three investigations by the State Bureau of Investigation.

The first started after an anonymous letter alleged misconduct by
Lt. Jimmy Phipps. The allegations included time-card fraud and
misuse of county property.

District Attorney Garry Frank concluded last year that the sheriff's
office had problems but said that they did not warrant criminal prosecution.

A second SBI investigation last year looked into an incident in
which Whitaker prevented arrest warrants from being served on a
friend of Phipps' who was accused of impersonating a law-enforcement officer.

Frank said this spring that there was a "strong appearance of
impropriety and favoritism" in the case, but he gave Whitaker the
benefit of the doubt and did not press criminal charges.

The second investigation also looked into the disappearance of
marijuana that had been seized by the sheriff's office. Kevin Adams,
a sheriff's deputy, was fired and charged with misdemeanor marijuana
possession. He was found not guilty after a one-day trial.

A third SBI investigation resulted in a 15-count indictment in July
against former Detective Robert Trotter, who is accused of taking
more than $12,000, 11 guns and a diamond-ring set from the evidence
room that he oversaw. The case has not yet come to trial.

The sheriff's office also has had major turnover, with many
sheriff's employees either being fired or abruptly resigning.

Stokes said he would make some personnel changes if elected.

"I think there is a bit of top-heaviness in the supervision side of
the department," he said. "I do not plan to have a chief deputy or a
lieutenant of enforcement. I plan a whole new administrative structure."

He said he would have supervisors in each section of the department,
and that those supervisors would report to him.

Chandler declined to say what kind of personnel changes he would
make if elected.

"If you don't have good management and good supervision, you're not
going to have a good department," he said.