Four Run For Sheriff

Four men with varying

backgrounds, but a shared love of McDonald County, are vying for the title of sheriff in the upcoming Aug. 4

election.

Four men with varying backgrounds, but a shared love of McDonald County, are vying for the title of Sheriff in the upcoming Aug. 4 election.

Incumbent Sheriff Michael Hall is running for re-election as well as former Sheriff twice-over, Rob Evenson. Zeb Winton and Chris Creekmore are also seeking to secure the position.

Chris Creekmore

Chris Creekmore was born in Exeter, Calif., and raised in Porterville, a town in Central California. He graduated from Porterville High School before moving to Missouri in 1997 and attending Missouri Southern State University.

He graduated from police academy in 1999 and has been steadily employed as a law enforcement officer since 2003. He has served as a police chief for the past 13 years in Lanagan.

Creekmore summarizes his priorities for the Sheriff’s Office concisely – “equipment, training and personnel.”

Rob Evenson

Rob Evenson was born in Pittsburg, Kan. His father was serving in the Marine Corps, so the first few years of his life were spent on Marine and Navy bases. In 1973, he became a McDonald County resident. Evenson attended Noel Elementary School and graduated from McDonald County High.

Evenson graduated from police academy in 1988 and has served as a law enforcement officer since 1989. He began working for the Noel Police Department and the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office while still in college. Evenson then served for a year at Pineville Marshal’s Office, filling in after Marshal Lloyd Perkins retired.

In 1991, Evenson received an Associates Degree in Law Enforcement and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Adminstration from Missouri Southern State University. Three years later, he was hired as an investigator for the Barry County Sheriff’s Office. He has served continuously in that capacity with the exception of his two terms as McDonald County Sheriff, the first from 2001 - 2004 and the second from 2009 - 2012.

When asked what led him to run for his third term as McDonald County Sheriff, Evenson responded, “I know that I am closer to the end of my career than I am to the beginning and, while I enjoy my time in Barry County, I would like to finish my career at home. Service is key to law enforcement and I feel that I have more to offer McDonald County.”

Evenson not only offers service, he also offers experience.

“Any sheriff will tell you that their first term is a big learning experience. As with anything else in life, the more experience you have at something, the better you will get at it,” Evenson said. “After 31 years in law enforcement, I can tell you that I don’t know everything. But I have learned who to call and where to go for information and assistance with nearly every problem.”

Evenson believes that increased communication with the community and more positive interaction with citizens would help deter some crime and solve a lot more.

“The majority of my time in law enforcement has been spent in investigations. I believe that a positive relationship with the community we serve is what will solve crime. Communications between the people and the police will make it tougher for criminals to operate. Seventy five percent of police work is being able to communicate with people and building a partnership where the people, as well as the police, are dedicated to fighting crime,” he said.

At the top of his to-do list is addressing the ever-rising issues of property crime and drug abuse. Evenson says the two crimes go hand-in-hand and he hopes to fight both problems by working with the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team and training deputies to sharpen their investigative skills.

“I want to thank the people of McDonald County for everything. I was lucky enough to have grown up here and there’s no better place in the world to be from. My ultimate goal is to work towards making McDonald County a better place to live and a better place for our children to be raised. I want to thank all that have supported me over the years. I also want to commend my opponents for running a clean race. I’m asking for your vote on August 4th.”

Michael Hall

Michael Hall was born and raised in Powell, where he has lived his entire life with the exception of his time attending college. He has been in law enforcement since August of 1996 and has served as McDonald County Sheriff since January 2013.

Hall said he was led to run for his third term for two simple reasons – he loves to serve the county and he loves what he does.

In his seven years serving as sheriff, Hall has carried out a number of changes.

He has continued to assist with and personally teach the DARE program in local schools.

“I believe that is a very beneficial class to teach kids about drug affects and making good decisions,” Hall said.

He has also organized a field training officer (FTO) program to help better orientate deputies and formed the special response team (SRT) to assist in serving high-risk warrants.

Hall has actively attended extracurricular classes and training throughout his terms, such as the National Sheriff’s Institute and the FBI Executive Leadership Program.

“I have also talked with other sheriffs throughout the state if I had a question, something that I did not know or needed help with,” he said. “I continue to work with them hand-in-hand by sharing information and resources when needed.”

Hall has also overseen the complete renovation of the Sheriff’s Office and detention center.

All while remaining fiscally conservative and within budget each year.

If re-elected, Hall says he hopes to continue working with other law enforcement and legislators to keep criminals in jail or prison longer with truth in sentencing.

Zeb Winton

Zeb Winton was born in Yukima, Wash., and moved to Goodman as a young boy. He attended Goodman Elementary School, graduated from Neosho High School and completed the Criminal Justice Program at Missouri Southern State University. Winton has three years of experience in law enforcement and runs a private investigation business, Phoenix Investigations.

Winton said that his growing concern regarding the direction of local communities led him to run for sheriff, as well as his concern for the welfare of the county’s citizens.

If elected, Winton says he has five main goals. The first is to provide additional training throughout the departments.

“It’s crucial for officer safety and the safety of the community as a whole,” he said.

Another goal of his is to provide the MCSO with a better budget in order to secure better equipment. Winton said he intends to accomplish this by speaking with Commissioners.

Winton would also like to push for incident reports to be completed in a timely manner.

“With that being said, I would like to add more road deputies per shift to keep the workload down and call response times up,” he said.

Winton said that improved relations with surrounding departments and the Ozark Drug Enforcement Team is a priority as well.

“Another ambition as sheriff would be to help resolve issues related to thefts in the county,” he said. “This has been a growing issue that needs to be addressed.”

“I am a firm believer in the United States Constitution. I am pro-life. I will not infringe on second amendment rights that are within the law. I truly look forward and am honored to have the opportunity to serve this great county.”