Clinton County Sheriff Jim Guffey has only been on the job for a month now, but he and his staff have been working hard to transition employees and deputies and performing the duties required of the sheriff’s office.

Guffey, 52, was one of several new local officials to be elected in last year’s general election and took office on January 5.

The new sheriff is a Clinton County native, born and raised in the Piney Woods Community and graduated from Clinton County High School in 1980.

After school, Guffey briefly worked with Shelton Brothers Builders prior to going into the military in 1981 and he remained there until his retirement at the rank of 1st Sergeant in 2004. About nine years of his military life was abroad, serving in Germany and Korea, among other locations.

Upon retiring from the military, Guffey began his law enforcement career, serving as a deputy sheriff for six years, then as a city police officer for almost three and a-half years prior to being elected sheriff last fall. He also completed training at the Police Academy in Richmond, Kentucky in 2006.

Guffey said the reason he decided to seek the office primarily was because so many people had asked him to run for the job, as well as his background not only in law enforcement at the local levels, but his military experience, also of which he listed as his primary qualifications.

The sheriff feels that the duties of the office is varied, mainly law enforcement, but there is also a priority on taking care of the courts, serving warrants, summons and answering all calls.

“My office is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., we don’t close for lunch and if need be, would work extended hours,” Guffey said. “We are here to help and assist people.”

Clinton is a small county, with still a relatively low crime rate, especially in violent crime, but a couple of areas where criminal activity is high is that of drugs and break-ins, two that Guffey says often run hand-in-hand and those will be his main areas of concentration. “Drugs are what illegal activity often evolves around,” he said.

Guffey also said the sheriff’s office has an absolutely good working relationship with other law enforcement agencies, including the Albany Police Department, Kentucky State Police and others. “We can’t do it ourself, you have to work hand-in-hand and assist each other,” he said.

Guffey said one of the major differences in being a sheriff for the county and, for example, a city police officer, is taking care of the (district and circuit) courts and serving all the papers involved in the court system, be it criminal or civil. But he added, his main focus is still on crime and working to try and solve those crimes.

The sheriff also suggested that the public could help in reducing crime and solve some crimes that may occur by calling the sheriff’s department, or other law enforcement. “If any illegal activity is reported, the call will remain anonymous,” said Guffey. “We want to gain the public’s trust and confidence that if they report suspicious activity, their names won’t be public.”

Guffey named the new staff for the sheriff’s department, with Cindy Thrasher and Kristy Clunie working in the office and his deputies are David Bookout, Chris McGuffin and Rodney Shelton.

The new sheriff also said his department would work to release important information to the public, but not any details that may compromise an ongoing investigation.

Guffey added that he and his deputies were there to focus on crime such as drugs and break-ins and protecting the public, not writing a bunch of tickets.

The new sheriff thanked everyone who supported him, saying that working a full-time job it was hard to get around and thank everyone in person. “I’m here to do the best job that I can and I’ll work my hardest not to let anyone down,” he added.

Guffey and his wife of 28 years, the former Sherry Jones, have one son, eight-year-old Derrick.