T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas and his dog Loki, who he takes to work daily, are getting ready for their next chapter. Lucas is retiring as the new year begins.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Sheriff David Lucas is gearing up to ride off into the sunset.

Lucas will be retiring on Jan. 5 after 46 years in law enforcement.

As he reflected on his career recently, Lucas said he never thought of becoming sheriff until it happened naturally. He began his work in 1979 with the Barnesville Police Department and then joined the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office in 1981 as a road deputy.

Lucas became Belmont County sheriff in 2013 and said that as soon as he took office, he quickly made a list of several short-term goals. His first goal was to fix the Belmont County Jail’s staffing shortage.

“The jail division was in complete disarray. They were way understaffed,” Lucas said. “In 2008 we went from 84 beds to 144 beds and no personnel was added to the jail. How can you almost double your capacity and not add staff?”

So, adding more employees to staff the jail was his first priority when he became sheriff.

“When you’re having an enormous amount of overtime every pay period, you’ve got a problem,” Lucas said. “We were so understaffed. We had four people a shift — one on the control board and three on the floor trying to service (inmates).”

He added that running a jail is a very complex operation, and he sympathized with the jail’s staff for being overworked.

“That was my first priority and where we’re at today shows on the overtime. There are very few hours of overtime and even some pay periods where there is no overtime,” Lucas said. “You have to have the proper amount of people to do the job effectively because it’s our responsibility to make sure they’re (staff and inmates) safe in the jail.”

He added that he now has eight staff members working on the jail division floor instead of the three that were there when he first became sheriff.

“Another thing that was in disarray was the chain of command. There was no rhyme or reason to what was going on in the rank structure,” he said. “What we’ve got going on now is a command structure, no different than the military. If you want to go up the ladder, you have to earn it.”

For example, if you are a deputy and want to become a corporal you have to work hard to earn the promotion instead of it just being handed to you because of time served, he said. He added that for the workers to move up the command ladder, the department utilizes several tests as well as peer reviews to ensure the best candidate receives the position.

Lucas has established a reputation for being tough on drug-related crimes. His Criminal Interdiction Unit completed many drug investigations and arrests throughout the years. He said his motto has always been: “Drug dealers, pack your bags and get out of Belmont County. I don’t care where you go, but get out of Belmont County.”

He added that he believes if Belmont County doesn’t have a solid police presence, then businesses won’t come into the community.

“People in the community know if they call us and there’s a problem, we will investigate it. And if there is evidence there, we will prosecute it,” he said. “My main thing is I was elected by the people of Belmont County, so that’s my major concern. It’s not on me to worry about if these drug dealers go to another county or they go over the (Ohio) river to West Virginia. My job is to get them out of Belmont County, and that’s what we do.”

Lucas has also played a pivotal part in community outreach. He’s spearheaded programs such as Crime Stoppers of the Upper Ohio Valley, Operation Toy Lift, The National Law Enforcement Youth Program, Citizen Academy for Adults and several others.

“We’re on the right track now and a lot is getting done,” he said.

Another big accomplishment Lucas achieved just this year is completion of the David M. Lucas Dog Park. The facility originally was called the Belmont County Dog Park, but due to his continued dedication to the community the Belmont County Board of Commissioners decided to change the name of the dog park at its grand opening as a surprise for Lucas.

“I wanted to do something for the community, so I went to the commissioners about the project,” Lucas said. “Because I work so close to the community, here’s something that I wanted to do and the community was there for me.”

He added that although he took his equipment to use to build the dog park, he credits the nearby Belmont Correctional Institute for being a huge factor in getting the park built.

“They worked side by side with me to get this done,” Lucas said. “Just because I’m retiring I’m not done being a part of and giving to the community.”

Another accomplishment Lucas is proud of is the sheriff’s office having its own building at the Belmont County Fairgrounds. He said that for years, the sheriff’s office would work out of any location where it could find space at the fairgrounds during the fair.

“This past year was the second year for having our own building, our own command center. It’s brand new,” Lucas said. “Another thing I worked out with the fair board is we do all of the security and it doesn’t cost the fair board or the county any money.”

Lucas said some people have referred to him as “old school,” and he is aware that he can be hard nosed from time to time but always gets straight to the point.

“I just want to thank the community for backing me. The voters for the last three terms have trusted me to be their sheriff,” he said. “I’m just a little country boy from Somerton. We grew up with nothing, and I am proud of that because it shows that if you have a dream you can do anything and become anything.”

He added that he believes if you put your nose to the grindstone and refuse to give up, you can achieve your dreams.

“I feel like I’m one of the examples to come from a little place in Somerton to where I am now. I only got here because the people allowed me to get here,” Lucas said. “I think that Sheriff-elect (James) Zusack is going to take it from here and take it to an even higher ground.”

Zusack will officially become the new Belmont County sheriff at midnight Jan. 5.

Lucas said he plans to enjoy his retirement with friends and family, adding that he’s seen too many people throughout his life work until they’re too old to enjoy retirement and he refused to be one of those individuals. He added that he has a vacation home in Florida and plans to spend the cold months enjoying the warm Florida weather.