Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

I am the current sheriff of Alleghany County and have been sheriff since December, 2006. I have been a law enforcement officer for 26 years. I started out as a NC highway patrolman, then worked for the Alleghany County Sheriff's office for 13 years, then worked as a probation/parole officer for 8 years and the past 4 years I have been sheriff.

Through the past 26 years I have been trained and certified in firearms, unarmed self-defense and k-9 handler. I have had additional training in narcotics detection, meth labs, drug identification, gang awareness, satanic crimes, interviews and interrogations. I have been a member of the NC Probation/Parole gang task force. I have also been a member of the Narcotics Enforcement Officer's Association.

Since being elected sheriff, I have graduated from the first Sheriffs' Leadership Institute developed by the NC Sheriffs Association. I am also a sergeant-at-arms for the NC Sheriffs' Association. I am a member of the Alleghany County prescription drug task force and also a member of Alleghany Lives.

I am happy to be a lifelong resident of Alleghany County where I have lived with my wife for 25 years, Sherry Edwards and our son, Heath Edwards, who is a marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. We are members of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. I am a former assistant scout master for Sparta Boy Scout Troop 299 and a past master of Piney Creek Masonic Lodge. I have also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.

Four years ago when I was running for sheriff, my three main goals were to restore trust and credibility to the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office, to have regular office hours and make myself available to the citizens of the county and to be dedicated to protect and serve every citizen of Alleghany County. I feel that I have accomplished all of these goals and now I would like to continue to work to keep our county safe.

My officers and employees are the best trained and equipped in our history. The officers have been trained in school and other hostage situations. We have a certified sniper with the equipment to get the job done if necessary. We have two officers that are certified k-9 handlers. We have a drug dog and we will soon have a new bloodhound. For the first time we have a certified chaplain as a member of the sheriff's office.

We are ready to continue the hard work to combat drug abuse especially prescription drug abuse. We recently formed a prescription drug task force to inform doctors and citizens of the dangers and risks of prescription drug abuse.

During the past four years, breaking, entering and larceny incidents have been a high priority. We have solved close to 80% of these crimes. The state average is 23%.

We now have a Statewide Automated Fingerprint Identification System (SAFIS). We have identified many criminals who gave false names or dates of birth and we have also deported illegal aliens with the use of this new system.

I am excited about the improvements that we have made in the Sheriff's Office. I would like to continue to use my experience and love of my country to provide leadership and to protect and serve all the citizens of Alleghany County.