Surry County officials made some personnel announcements this week, trying to fill the shoes of the late John Shelton, center. Here Shelton is seen honoring county Fire Marshal Doug Jones (in white) for 35 years of service in 2017. Behind them are board members at that time, from left, Commissioners Van Tucker, Eddie Harris, Larry Phillips and Larry Johnson.
Jeff Linville | The News
Dale Harold has taken over medical examiner duties. Here he is seen being honored for 15 years of service back in 2017. Behind him are, from left, Commissioners Van Tucker and Eddie Harris.
Jeff Linville | The News
Eddie Jordan, left, receives the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award in 2016 from Tom Mitchell, chief of the N.C. Office of Emergency Medical Services. Jordan is assisting now in supervising emergency management.
Submitted photo
David Speight, center, is seen receiving one of 25 stuffed bears from the Copeland Ruritan Club in 2015. The longtime emergency official is serving as interim EMS director.
Submitted photo
Nick Brown, seen at a county commissioners’ meeting last year, has 15 years of experience with the county. He has been named county communications director for the 911 center.
Jeff Linville | The News
DOBSON — County officials approved several personnel changes this week related to emergency management and the EMS — most of which were necessitated by the death of John Shelton.
County Manager Chris Knopf brought forth a list of recommended changes to the Surry County Board of Commissioners this week for approval. Four of the five related to Shelton, who passed away on Jan. 17 with 43 years of service to the county.
In the 1996 children’s book “It Takes a Village,” the story tells how parents can use the help of others around them to raise a child. When it comes to trying to replace all the many duties that this longtime official performed, it is obvious that it takes a village to replace John Shelton.
“David Speight, who’s a 30-plus-year employee of the department and one of the shift supervisors, will be serving as emergency services director in the interim,” Knopf recommended to the commissioners.
“Two other individuals, Dale Harold and Eddie Jordan, are going to provide the day-to-day on emergency management,” the county manager continued.
Along with this, Harold has been named interim medical examiner.
“And the other one that is on here is the 9-1-1 Communications Center,” Knopf said. “Nick Brown, who has been serving as the interim director of communications – for almost a year now – has been named to that post permanently.”
Fully expecting board approval, Knopf said he already reached out to department heads to inform them of the permanent placement on Monday.
“And we will get his former position, assistant communications director, posted shortly,” he added. “We’ll get that filled and get him some help.”
The county board didn’t need any discussion to agree with Knopf’s recommendations and passed a motion to approve all changes.
On Tuesday, Chairman Mark Marion spoke about what a loss it was when Shelton died, both as a friend and what he meant to the county. No one person could fill his shoes.
The county manager’s office said Tuesday that Shelton believed in keeping his people well training, whether it was paramedics learning about advancements in their field or leadership training for those working directly under him. Shelton made sure he had a solid staff around him who could take over in the event of something like this.
Harold
One of those being groomed for leadership was Dale Harold.
Harold is a 20-year veteran with the Surry County EMS, including the past five years as the director’s assistant supervisor.
He said he started his emergency career while a junior in high school in 1997 with a volunteer rescue squad unit in Virginia.
He graduated from Carroll County High School in 1999 and the next year he became a career paramedic with Surry County EMS.
He received his paramedic certification from Surry Community College in 2003, then later earned his bachelor’s degree from Jefferson College in Roanoke.
The Ararat, Virginia, resident said he worked his way up the ranks, becoming a crew chief in 2005, then an assistant supervisor in 2015. In 2018 he became the field training officer for critical care paramedics.
The county manager’s office added that Harold also has been a part-time EMS instructor at SCC and Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital.
Harold said Shelton had been working with him for the past year on taking on a leadership role in emergency management and for a shorter time to become the next medical examiner. One year was good, but with all of Shelton’s experience and knowledge, Harold said he wished it could have been five years of mentoring.
The duties of a medical examiner can vary by location, but typically the job includes examining the condition of a body, determining the cause of death, issuing death certificates, and maintaining the death records.
In some places the M.E. also performs autopsies, but Surry has routinely sent bodies to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for such work.
Jordan
Sharing the duties of interim emergency management directors is Eddie Jordan, who already took retirement with the state after 34 years in emergency services.
In 2016 Jordan received the state’s highest honor: the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. This came as he was retiring from a post with the N.C. Office of Emergency Medical Services.
At that time Jordan told The News that he started his career with the Surry County EMS in 1981. He spent 18 years with the county before accepting a post at the state office, which handles things like testing and credentialing for EMS personnel throughout North Carolina. He said his duties included coordinating education for EMS personnel.
“I worked in this region, so I was able to stay here in Mount Airy,” he said at the time of the award, noting he was required to travel to Raleigh once or twice a week.
Jordan said at the time he had hopes to return to the local EMS after his state retirement had gone into effect, and he has been back with the department.
Speight
David Speight has been a familiar face around Mount Airy for more than 35 years.
Like Harold, Speight said he started volunteering with a rescue squad while still in high school — in his case, the Mount Airy unit in 1983 before he would graduate from North Surry in 1985.
In November 1988 Speight started with the EMS’s volunteer reserve program, while also working with the rescue squad. He moved up to a paid full-time position in 1993, working on the road. He would earn his paramedic certification in 1995.
At the same time, he was moving up in the rescue squad. He became assistant chief, a position he held for a decade, then he would be chief for 11 years. Speight said he is still on the board of directors with the squad.
Around 2004 he became an assistant supervisor in the EMS, then moved up to supervisor in 2008. He served in that role until the new interim title.
Meanwhile he served as both vice president and president with the Surry County Association of Rescue Squads.
Asked about any awards, Speight said he received an honor from the North Carolina Jaycees one year for outstanding young public service in the state.
Reach Jeff at 415-4692.
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