A 21-year veteran of the Danville Sheriff’s Office has announced he will run for the seat Sheriff James “Jim” Dooley will vacate at the end of this year.
Lt. Thelbert Childress joined the sheriff’s office in 1988 as a deputy sheriff and by 1992 he was holding a supervisory position and had reached the rank of sergeant.
Currently, Childress holds the rank of lieutenant over records and transportation, and is the deputy jail administrator supervising four platoons.
Since 2002, he has been in charge of making sure life, health and safety standards at the jail are in compliance with the state Department of Corrections’ mandates.
“We’ve gotten high scores,” Childress said. “That helps offset liability and lawsuits for the city.”
He also is the commander of the emergency response team at the jail, becoming a general instructor through the police academy and, since 2000, has been certified in defensive tactics through the Department of Criminal Justice.
“I set up the training, ordered equipment and came up with the policies,” Childress said. “We saved the city $10,000 by being able to have our training here.”
If elected sheriff, the candidate said he would like to institute the addition of another inmate work crew, noting that he would consider having that crew made up of women inmates.
“It would relieve the taxpayer burden,” Childress said. “They can do litter pick-up, cut grass, or other things to help the city out in the public works area.”
Childress said he also would like to see the sheriff’s office become more visible to the community.
He said the office is very involved in the March of Dimes and Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraisers, but would like to see more involvement with youth in the community.
“Children seem to have a lack of discipline anymore,” Childress said. “I’d like to see us do more outreach to groups like the Boys and Girls Club.”
Childress, 44, has lived in Danville his whole life. He graduated from George Washington High School in 1983.
He and his wife, Deen, have been married for 12 years and have three children, Charnell Brown, Ebony and Thelbert Jr., who all attend Danville public schools.
Childress is a deacon at Bibleway Worldwide Church, which he has attended since 1973.
• Contact Denice Thibodeau at dthibodeau@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7985.
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