Crowded field of candidates compete for coroner position
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008
Editor's note: This story is part of a series of stories on contested races The Daily Record will run leading up to the May 20 election. BENTON COUNTY - The four candidates seeking the position of Benton County coroner want to put the past behind them and restore integrity to the office.
Former Coroner Kimberly Scott was accused of taking medications seized from death scenes for her personal use and later entered a guilty plea to the charge. She resigned from office as part of a plea agreement and was placed on probation. Wesley Lewis has served as interim coroner since Scott's resignation.
Kenneth Lepp, Daniel Oxford, Craig Schatz and Caris Smith are all seeking the position. Kenneth Lepp Lepp wants to combine his experience in law enforcement and the funeral industry to serve in the office of coroner.
Lepp, a Benton County Sheriff's Office deputy, touts nearly 25 years of experience in law enforcement, emergency services and as a funeral-home assistant. Lepp has also previously worked for two county coroners.
Lepp counts on having good dialogue in the department and showing that he's a professional. "I believe I can gain the trust of the department," he said.
Lepp said that in the past," some coroners were very lax in what they were doing, and some coroners wanted to be'Quincy. ' They wanted to take over and examine and do procedures that were unnecessary and were detrimental to the investigation of law enforcement."
Lepp said he's been trained in evidence packaging and crime-scene protection. He also has experience in case-file preparation, gang recognition and investigation. "I've got a varied education and work experience," he said. "And it's kind of unique. Having worked for the coroner, I can see their side of it and the law-enforcement side of it. "Daniel Oxford Oxford, of Gravette, has worked as a deputy coroner for more than 10 years.
Oxford said there was a time toward the end of Scott's time as coroner that "she quit attending the death scenes, would come into the office for a short period of time and then stopped coming in at all. "Oxford said he gave up his own business in 2006 and volunteered to ensure that the Coroner's Office was run as usual.
"I ran all aspects of the Coroner's Office and didn't get paid a dime for that," he said.
Oxford said that the night of Scott's arrest, the first call he made was to the Benton County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division, and was told to continue running the office. "From the very instant she was arrested, I was in contact with CID and the Prosecutor's Office," he said.
Oxford said that over the years, he's developed a good relationship with the Arkansas Crime Laboratory, emergency medical services and the families he encounters when he approaches death scenes.
Oxford said he has the recommendations of statewide organizations, families and a resolution from the Benton County Quorum Court that notes that he "stepped in without hesitation"upon Scott's arrest.
"I have the training and experience and dedication to run the Coroner's Office, and that's what I intend to do," he said. Craig Schatz Schatz believes the past is the past, and if elected coroner, he wants to move the county in a positive direction.
Schatz sad his experience in the funeral industry would be key to the Coroner's Office. As a licensed funeral director in Oklahoma, Schatz said he went to death scenes and worked with law-enforcement officials and the state medical examiner.
Schatz was a licensed funeral director for more than 20 years in Oklahoma before moving to Arkansas in 1990. He then worked with the Callison-Lough Funeral Home firm until 2002.
Schatz has lived in Rogers since 1998. He commented on why he decided to run for the position: "I kind of missed the funeral home side of it. You're dealing with people at the worst time in their life, and I like serving the people," he said.
Schatz said that if elected coroner, he plans to bring integrity back to the office. "In the funeral business, professionalism is No. 1," he said.
Part of that professionalism is communication with county and law- enforcement officials, Schatz said. "You've got to act like a team," he said. "The Coroner's Office is just one member of the team. You've got to have communication with everybody," he said. Caris Smith Smith, 29, of Rogers, received an Associate of Applied Science degree in criminal justice from Nor thwest Arkansas Community College on Friday.
Smith's major emphasis in study was in forensic sciences, and she worked with the Bentonville Police Department's Crime Scene Unit for six months. There, she received training in packing, preservation and processing of criminal evidence. "I got a lot of hands-on experience while I was there," she said.
Smith decided to run for coroner out of an interest in forensic science and investigations.
"I just thought that it would be a really good fit for me," she said. "I'm sure I could handle it. I thought I really had something to bring to the office with my education, and that I could bring back the integrity of the office," she said.
Smith said her experience at the BPD gives her the communication skills necessary to be a good coroner.
"Having worked with the Police Department the way that I can, I think I could work hand in hand with other police departments in the county," she said.
Coming Monday: County Sheriff.
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