Quarter century career ending for Jeff. Co. sheriff

Roy Dunnaway struggles with the words when he tries to explain why he is retiring.

He's been Jefferson County sheriff for 25 years and is one of the longest tenured sheriffs in the state. He unpins his badge at the end of the month.

"I've noticed that things bother me more now than they used to," he said during an interview last week in his Oskaloosa office. "I get notified of any death in the county - a car wreck or whatever. When they call me in the middle of the night, I know it ain't very good."

Dunnaway, 66, has been getting those middle-of-the-night calls since he began his law enforcement career in the late 1960s, first as a Perry city marshal andof Sheriff Carl Eisenhower, who had resigned. In all those years, only twice has Dunnaway faced election opposition. Although there are a few, not many sheriffs these days stay in office for 25 years, said Darrell Wilson, former Saline County sheriff who now is director of the Kansas Sheriff's Association.

Not only does the sheriff have to be honest and respected by the community and his colleagues, he also has to get along with county commissioners, Wilson said.

"I used to tell other sheriffs to get ahold of Roy to learn how to do things," he said. "If you have a problem with your commissioners, call Roy and see what he would do."

Wilson says that several years ago, when Dunnaway was president of the sheriff's association, Wilson and his wife