Josephine Moore: County honors passing of torch for two county officials

Josephine Moore, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·3 min read

Dec. 21—In the same room where election officials tabulate the votes that put county officials in office, two county employees were celebrated Tuesday for their years of service.

For former Raleigh County Sheriff turned Raleigh County Clerk Danny Moore, dozens gathered Tuesday in the upstairs courtroom of the Raleigh County Courthouse to wish Moore a well-deserved and enjoyable retirement.

Current Raleigh County Sheriff and soon to be Raleigh County Clerk Scott Van Meter was also honored at the celebration.

Van Meter has served as Raleigh sheriff since 2016 but will leave that position in January and begin his newly elected role as the county clerk.

Moore said he has no doubt that Van Meter will do well in his new position.

"He's like me," Moore said. "You treat people like you want to be treated yourself, and I think that is the biggest thing. If you take care of those folks, then they're going to take care of you."

Moore said he was humbled by the number of people who came to wish him well in his retirement and reminisce on his years serving as a Beckley Police officer as well as the sheriff and county clerk.

"It humbles you, to say the least," he said. "I've known most of them for many, many years. Raleigh County is blessed to have all these people ... and it just goes to show you that we support each other. It's been a pleasure."

Moore said his only plan for retirement is to lie on a beach somewhere.

While Van Meter still has two years left on his current term as sheriff, he said he decided to pursue the role as county clerk in order to spend more time with his family.

"I need to take care of my parents," Van Meter said. "They live far away, and I need to spend more time with them."

He added that when it comes to any career in law enforcement, there is no such thing as a 9-5 day.

"I've been almost 31 years at it," Van Meter said. "It's time for somebody else to step in and do their thing."

Since starting as sheriff, Van Meter has increased the number of deputies from 47 to 56. He's also had a hand in the construction of the new sheriff's headquarters being built in Pinecrest Industrial Park.

"I can't take credit for all that; the county commission have been great to us, the public's been great to us," he said. "The deputies, and the guys and girls that work for us, they do such a great job and I've just felt so lucky. Everything just came together, and I can't take credit for all that. It's been a team effort."

The Raleigh County Commission will have a special meeting after Christmas to appoint the new Raleigh County sheriff. The appointed sheriff will serve for two years until the county will be given the chance to vote for a new one in the 2024 election.