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The West Virginia Sheriffs’ Association recently held a two-day “New Sheriff School,” and 28 of the 35 brand new sheriffs and eight current sheriffs were in attendance. Logan County Sheriff Sonya Porter was the only woman in the group

Porter said attending the school was a very positive experience and gave the new sheriffs and their support staff an overview of a sheriff’s responsibilities.

“It was great to have the opportunity to able to learn from experienced sheriffs and to be able to come together and share resources and information,” said Porter.

Porter learned being a sheriff isn’t all about law enforcement; tax collection is the primary duty of the sheriff, even though the sheriff must also provide law enforcement services in their county, provide court security and create and administer budgets.

“I think many of the newly elected sheriffs were surprised by the amount of work and responsibility that goes into collecting and keeping track of taxes,” said Porter, “Being the chief treasurer of the county is a new aspect to my duties. I have been in law enforcement for 19 years, everything from court bailiff, patrol deputy, drug and violent crime task force member and chief deputy — tax collection is a new duty. I learned a lot from the W.Va. State Auditor’s Office about those duties during this seminar and I know that I can always reach out to them for assistance. But, I am so grateful to have a great Chief Tax Deputy, Gloria Blevins, who has 20 years of experience to assist me with this new duty.”