GENERALISSIMO HEGE

Over Davidson County way, we see that Sheriff Gerald Hege has suffered the
indignity of being fingerprinted by the same machine his department uses
for common criminals. How the mighty are fallen. On Monday, a Superior
Court judge brought in from Cabarrus County suspended Hege, something
virtually unheard of in North Carolina, after the sheriff was hit by a
blizzard of felony counts alleging embezzlement and obstruction of justice.

Hege seems to regard himself as the generalissimo of Davidson County. He
says he's the toughest sheriff in the country and dresses the part in
military-style combat garb and dark sunglasses. He painted his jail's cell
walls pink, keeps inmates in a 24-hour lockdown, and allows no TV or
newspapers.

Hege can pretty much do what he wants because he holds an office given
special privileges by the state Constitution. The county commissioners
can't remove him, though a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 29 might.

The past year has been tough for Hege. Some of his deputies got caught
dealing drugs. Now he's in trouble for, among other offenses, allegedly
taking $6,200 from an undercover investigation fund to pay for re-election
parties and other purposes.

Hege is one of those individuals with an outsize opinion of himself with
little evidence to justify it. The old days of the untouchable Southern
"You in a heap o' trouble, son" sheriff are gone; somebody just forgot to
tell Hege. Until Monday, that is.