After spending 21 years helping to keep Logan's county seat safe, Barry Dill wants to help shape the entire county's future.
A Russellville police officer since 1988 and chief of police since 2005, Dill is seeking the office of Logan County Judge/Executive. He is running in a
contested Democratic primary. There are no Republican candidates, so the May winner will become the county's chief executive officer in 2011.
"I want to provide the county in which we live and work, a new and fresh vision-- a vision where personal values influence decisions that affect each
and every citizen, a vision that is progressive yet holds on to the small community charm that we possess and so cherish, and a vision of a better
future for our children." he says.
"My vision is of a community that my nine-year-old son will not want to leave when he graduates from college. It is a vision of prosperity within the
community where jobs are available, and our children are willing and desire to stay for those jobs rather than having a necessity to move away from our
community. It is a vision of the county government body working with the city governments within the county to achieve common goals and objectives."
A Logan County native, Dill lived at Green Ridge as a boy before the W.E. and Evelyn Dill family moved to Todd County. His dad has worked for Rockwell
and TVA. A 1984 graduate of Todd Central High School, Barry worked at Farmers Hardware and Blanton Lumber before going to college.
He has a degrees from Hopkinsville Community College in law enforcement and two from Western Kentucky University-- a bachelors in sociology with a
minor in criminology and a masters in public administration. He also studied law enforcement at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of
Louisville's Police Institute. He has been an honor student throughout.
Dill is married to the former Amy Guffy, the daughter of Tommy and Linda Guffy of Lewisburg. Her mom worked at the Lewisburg Dollar Store for 27 years.
Amy works as an opthamology assistant at Graves Gilbert Clinic in Bowling Green.
They are active members of Second Baptist Church. Their son Connor is a student at Stevenson Elementary School, where Barry is president of the PTO. He
has also been president of the local Fraternal Order of Police and is vice chairman of the JECOB Board for communications.
"While growing up on a small farm, I learned the values of putting in a full day's work, and from my father I learned that a job worth doing is a job
worth doing right. Both of my parents taught me the value of truthfulness and being faithful to my promises no matter what the personal cost," he says.
"They instilled the values in me that I believe are the driving force behind my desire to be elected Logan County Judge/Executive."
He says he believes the county has enough surplus funds accumulated to reduce the payroll tax. He wants fiscal court to create a position for a grant
writer to bring "free money" into the county. He's also in favor of land use planning, seeing it as a form of protection for citizens rather than
government intervention.
He considers himself a leader, not a politician. He says he will give straight answers instead of just ones people want to hear, and that he will
recommend people for employment by the county on the basis of their qualifications, not their political connections.
"As a Criminal Justice and Business teacher at Draughon’s Junior College, I frequently told my students that you can accomplish in life only what you
apply your talents and skills to accomplish," Barry Dill says. "I want to apply my talents and skills as a police officer, educator, manager, and
administrator to be the leader for Logan County."