I attended the lunch for retiring Claiborne Parish Sheriff Ken Bailey on Friday. Both the fried catfish and the company were great. I am pictured here with Sheriff Bailey. Sheriff Bailey began working for the sheriff’s office in 1986 and was first elected sheriff in 2003. He was reelected three times, serving a total of 16 years as Claiborne Sheriff. It was a privilege to serve as DA and work closely with Sheriff Bailey during the time that Ken had been sheriff.
In addition to Sheriff Bailey, we also celebrated the careers of retiring deputies Jimmy Brown and James Spillers. Everybody enjoyed the meal provided by Homer Seafood, sponsored by Sheriff-elect, Sam Dowies. It was also great visiting with my old friend Gil Dowies and Claiborne Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Pepper. Gil and I have been friends since before I took office as DA in 1991, but I’ve known and admired his dad Carroll since my days at Tech. Carroll was an active alumni and huge supporter of Tech athletics. But to those of us on the basketball team he was much more. His encouragement meant the world. Brian’s dad Randall Pepper had been the District Attorney Investigator for most of the time that I served as DA. I had no employee who did more to help me in trying to make a difference in our communities than Randall. I am forever grateful for his friendship and service.
