Feb 5, 2013 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – Greene County sheriff candidate Erik Ketchem of Waynesburg recently emphasized the key issues driving him to seek office.

Ketchum said, “We live in an evolving county of natural resources such as natural gas and the coal industry. With the natural gas industry, which has established itself here and the traffic problems that it has created for us in our county, I believe we have an untapped resource to deal with these problems in our Pennsylvania sheriff’s departments.”

Ketchum said returning municipal police powers to the sheriff’s departments is the first step in dealing with one major hurdle faced by the county.

“The sheriff’s departments will be at the forefront of the 2nd amendment debate that is forthcoming in our country. As a member of the NRA, I believe in the right to bear arms and the right for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves,” Ketchum said. “It will take a sheriff with courage and conviction to take on this fight. I am that person that’s ready for it!”

As a 17-year veteran of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Ketchum has been the labor foreman for its community works department in Greene County for the past seven years.

A recent release said, “I have also worked at many churches in our county and also many of our townships building handicap ramps.” Ketchum clarified that the work was completed by inmates under his supervision as labor foreman.