On WCBI Friday evening Sheriff Dolph Bryan was interviewed. It was indelibly clear the loss that our Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department faces with his loss in the primary election. For thirty six years he has been our excellent sheriff! Dolph Bryan has always managed his deputies and employees in exemplary fashion. He has treated everyone fairly, expeditiously, and with justice for all. If you are black or white, old or young, male or female you were always treated fairly, justly, and equally. His tenure in office was unblemished! He was our sheriff!
But now his tenure as sheriff ends. He created the fine (but appropriately sized and designed) sheriff’s office and jail downtown at a reasonable price. The county had the vision to turn the nearby vacant Starkville Electric Building into a fine (metal) courthouse, while our police department and chief kept insisting on an 8-1/2 million dollar edifice.
Let me make a serious suggestion to our mayor and board of aldermen. You have the power to appoint Starkville’s chief of police. At the end of Chief Lindley’s term, recognize that Dolph Bryan would be a truly superior chief of police for our city. Dolph Bryan has been a resident of Starkville all his life. He has grown with our city. He would be a truly superior chief of police! And he might be much better equipped to guide us through development of a much more efficient design for what clearly is a much needed (but less costly) new police facility. You as aldermen might even consider combining our city police and sheriff’s offices into one combined efficient unit as we grow into a more sophisticated and metropolitan area. Use Sheriff Bryan’s expertise, energy and knowledge to continue to benefit our city, community, and our county.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Ford
MSU Professor Emeritus
Starkville, MS
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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