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SHERIFF'S CANDIDATES SQUARE OFF IN FORUM

ROANOKE RAPIDS - Two candidates for Northampton County sheriff squared off and the incumbent sheriff's wife spoke on his behalf during a forum in Roanoke Rapids Monday night.

Incumbent Wardie Vincent could not attend the forum sponsored by Concerned Citizens of Northampton County but his wife spoke on his behalf.  "Wardie comes to you as a candidate who is qualified," Betty Vincent, said.  "He has worked on every level ( of law enforcment )."

Vincent said her husband has experience preparing budgets, but more importantly, he is involved in the community and contributes his time to different organizations in the county.

"His accomplishments have been many," Vincent said, citing her husband putting school resource officers in both county high schools and sheriff's office substations in Woodland and Seaboard.  Vincent said her husband secured many grants since taking office in 1998.

Vincent said her husband wants to serve the county with respect for all residents.  "While in office, he has done that.  He has had some hard decisions to make.  One of his goals is 'one goal, one people, one justice.' He doesn't ask any of his officers to do what he would not do himself.  His decisions have been just decisions."

Another candidate, Frank Timberlake, commander of the Ahoskie-based Roanoke-Chowan Narcotics Task Force, talked about strong community policing and citizen involvement to thwart the drug problem.

"I'm not going to tell you a lot about me," Timberlake said.  "I'm concerned about what we can do for the county."

Timberlake said he has no problem combating drugs.  Most crime, he said, is tied to the drug problem.  "I'm your man for narcotics.  We just don't get users, we get the dealers."

Timberlake said one thing that particularly bothers him is when he sees a drug kingpin driving through a park and giving a child a dollar.

"I want to see a patrol car stop by and not see the officer give the child a dollar, but challenge him to a free throw."

Timberlake said citizen groups like Concerned Citizens of Northampton can help by pressing county leaders to use available laws and ordinances on abandoned and rundown buildings to help drive drug dealers away.

Timberlake is also concerned for senior citizens.  "We have senior citizens who don't come out of their homes because they're scared ( criminals ) will come and take that little Social Security they get."

Timberlake wants to start the "Are You OK?" program, which checks on senior citizens.  "If I've got to sell fish plates, chicken plates and barbecue plates, I want to get that in."

In addition to the School Resource Officer program, Timberlake would like to see a junior deputy program where children learn the role of an officer.

Answering a question from an audience member, Timberlake said the best way to catch the big drug dealers and kingpins is to use the federal court system.  "When a drug dealer gets 27 years, he's got to serve 27 years.  That's a deterrent."

The last candidate, Tony Burnette, a former Northampton County narcotics agent and former chief of the Seaboard and Rich Square police departments, said he was running a grassroots campaign to win the election.

"I bring you experience to the table," he said.

Like Timberlake, Burnette believes in a strong community policing program.  He believes officers need to be visible and get out of their vehicles in high-crime areas.

Burnette said he helped Sheriff Vincent set up the two substations and would like to see more.  "I want to see a substation in Gaston and Lake Gaston," he said.Burnette said a Lake Gaston substation will help cut down on response times from the county seat of Jackson.

Burnette is also concerned for young people.  He said while chief in Rich Square he started an after-school program where children could play basketball in the Rich Square-Creecy Elementary School gym.  "My juvenile crime rate fell.  I didn't have to worry about enforcing the juvenile curfew."

Answering the same question about catching the big drug dealers and kingpins, Burnette said local law enforcement needs to use the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.

The community also helps capture these people.  "People solve crimes.  We can't do anything without the people calling us," Burnette said.