Sheriff Jeff Herrig cited for 40 years employment with the county.
by Clarke Davis
Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Herrig’s first job in law enforcement was in lake patrol at Perry Lake in 1982. They worked 60-hour weeks for $1,000 a month.
“If we needed to call dispatch, we’d have to find a pay phone and use a dime to call,” he remembered.
Herrig, 62, was recently honored by the Jefferson County Commissioners and presented with a certificate of appreciation for 40 years of employment with the county.
The sheriff said law enforcement was really something he had his sights set on after graduating from high school. The next summer he went back on lake patrol and then got hired full time that fall.
His training that first year went something like, “Here’s the keys.”
“I didn’t know the first thing about the cars, the radios, or anything else, but it was a profession I thought I’d like and wanted to stay with it.
Today, the Corps of Engineers still contracts for law enforcement with the county and the sheriff gets about $70,000 for the summer to provide officers, cars, and fuel.
“The patrol deputies who want the overtime pay are the ones currently assigned lake duty,” he said. “Even a detective will occasionally work a shift, but they have to wear a uniform and drive a marked car.”
Back in ’82, Herrig said there were four on lake duty. Former Sheriff Roy Dunnaway, John Wolfe, Orin Turner, and himself. He and Orin were on the day shift.
“We kind of looked to Orin, a certified deputy, for guidance,” he said. (Orin was also the son of a former sheriff and had lived in the old jail growing up.)
Jeff remembers the fun they had and the shenanigans they pulled on each other. One pulled on Dunnaway involved hooking a fluorescent light to his radio antenna so that when he tried to use the radio the light would come on.
Herrig credits his longevity to the fact that he enjoys and likes people and “the people wholeheartedly support law enforcement in this county.”
Herrig is an Easton-area native and 1979 graduate of Pleasant Ridge High School. When not involved learning the ropes in law enforcement he worked as a meatcutter at Bowser’s and Showman’s meat plants in the county.
His parents owned a convenience store and pizza shop east of Easton called the Hilltop. Jeff’s specialty was being a top notch pizza maker.
In ’82 and ’83 he worked for Sheriff Carl “Ike” Eisenhower, who resigned later in ’83. The county Republican precinct captains selected Dunnaway to follow Eisenhower and Dunnaway hired Herrig to remain on the force full time.
“Roy knew I wanted to be the sheriff someday and I’m grateful to him for the years we spent together,” he said.
Herrig became Roy’s undersheriff in 1993 upon the retirement of Bobby Foster. Herrig had the distinction of becoming the first lieutenant on the force and when Dunnaway retired and resigned in 2008, the GOP precinct people again got to pick their sheriff and recommended Herrig.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made the appointment official April 4, 2008. Jeff was elected by county voters that fall and has been re-elected four times since. He does plan to run again in 2024.
Herrig and his undersheriff, Robert Chartier, oversee 19 patrol officers that includes one security person for the courthouse and two school resource officers. There are 14 corrections officers who operate the jail, three detectives, and four people in administrative support.
Herrig operates a $4.6 million annual budget.
“I think the budget was $500,000 when Roy took over,” the sheriff said.
Herrig has been active on the state and national level over the years and just recently attended the National Sheriff’s Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich. He has served on the executive board of the Kansas Sheriffs Association for 11 years and was its president in 2015.
He has been appointed by governors to serve on the Kansas Advisory Committee for Juvenile Justice as well as the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training.
Gov. Kelly has also appointed him to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Advisory Committee. That comes on the heels of his efforts to get recognition for county law enforcement officer George Burnau on both the national and state memorials. Burnau died April 29, 1920, while on duty.
Jeff’s wife, Melinda, is a registered nurse and wound specialist employed at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka. The couple together have eight children, 17 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.