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Holcombe served county well
Fred Holcombe, our longest-serving sheriff, died Sunday; his legacy to Jackson County is the officers he trained.
Both of the county’s two top law enforcement officers consider Holcombe a role model.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t use something I learned from Fred Holcombe,” said Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison.
“When he talked, people listened,” said Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe. “He was straightforward and honest.
Holcombe wasn’t schooled in law enforcement, but he became an innovative sheriff. He started a community policing effort before it was a trendy thing to do, and he looked for common-sense approaches to solving problems.
Given his Whittier roots and farming background, Holcombe was often perceived as an “old mountain sheriff” when he was actually among the most progressive in the region.
His down-to-earth manner was certainly a hit with local voters, who put him in office in 1962 and kept him there for 24 years.
He was a credit to us all, and he will be missed.
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