MARTINSVILLE — Rich Myers has traded one uniform for another.
The longtime member of the Indiana State Police is Morgan County's new sheriff, replacing Robert Downey.
The Morgan County Sheriff's Department has about 140 employees, including 32 road officers and about 60 people who work at the jail.
As the county's chief law enforcement officer, Myers says drugs and school safety are among his top concerns.
Not unlike the rest of the nation, Morgan County is wrestling with opioid addiction.
Myers says he will be working with local superintendents to improve school safety
The new sheriff does not need a road map to negotiate the hilly and curvy roads of Morgan County, where he has lived his entire life and spent much of his state police career.
Myers joined ISP as an 18 year old — too young to be a trooper but old enough to install microwave dishes and radio antennas on the department's many communications towers.
He became a trooper four years later and was assigned to the Lafayette District.
Then it was on to the Putnamville District where he patrolled Morgan County for 19 years.
More recently, Myers was often the voice and face of ISP as a public information officer in Indianapolis.
He's served on the ISP Bomb Squad, worked security for the governor and for the Indiana State Senate.
Myers retired from the state police in December as a first sergeant.
He's a 1982 Eminence High School graduate and lives outside Martinsville with his wife and daughter.
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