Pike dems meeting in executive session to discuss fate of Office of Sheriff

Pike County Democratic Party is currently meeting in an executive session to discuss the fate of the Office of Sheriff.

The party is meeting at Piketon High School and voted to go into the private meeting at 7:29 p.m.

According to party chairman Dave DeWitt, four people have signed up to be considered for the position:

• Bob Barbee
• Tracy Evans
• Tim Dickerson
• Jim Nelson

DeWitt says the party will bring in each candidate one-by-one and allow each one of them time to introduce themselves and state why they are best for the position. The party’s 18 central committee members will be allowed to ask questions.

The position became available after the voluntary suspension of Sheriff Charles Reader on Wednesday. Reader is facing sixteen criminal charges ranging from theft in office to conflict of interest. He pled not guilty at his arraignment July 2.

Barbee was tapped as the person to run the day-to-day operations by the county commissioners on Thursday until the Democratic Party chooses an interim replacement. Barbee is the current second-in-commond at the Sheriff’s office. Prior to working for PCSO, Barbee was in the military.

Evans is the current Pike County Prosecutor’s investigator. Prior to being named in that position a few months ago, he was laid off by Reader where he was a major at the Sheriff’s office.

Dickerson is the county’s EMA director and is in charge of the county EMS program, as well.

Nelson is a medically-discharged retired police chief of Piketon.

The above is not an exhaustive list of each candidate’s qualifications and is only what is readily available to the Guardian at this time.

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