Not Above the Law

It's been said that alcohol not only impairs your body it also impairs your thinking. Guess Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith experienced this first hand Thursday evening when he was trying to come home from a Buckeye State Sheriffs Association dinner in Columbus. Allegedly speeding and weaving along I-70 Sheriff Smith was pulled over by a State Trooper near Cambridge. The trooper said he detected booze on the sheriff's breath and administered sobriety tests. Apparently with blood shot eyes the sheriff didn't do too good following the pen and he reportedly registered .13 on the breathalyzer.

Thankfully the trooper did his job and took our sheriff off the road. Smith tried to influence the trooper with the "good old boys" defense begging that he be let go since he was a fellow lawman according to the papers. Smith was charged with OVI, speeding and failure to stay with-in marked lanes. His only hope now is that the pee test comes back favoring him. He's scheduled to be in court next Wednesday.

Smith of all people should have realized that he apparently had one too many to get behind the wheel. It's too late now to wish he had spent the night in Columbus to sleep it off. He's not the first person to get busted for enjoying a cocktail hour and maybe later on having one for the road but it looks like he was in denial that he was impaired. Now he has brought down a whole raft of crap on himself and his political career.

According to Tom Gaimbroni, of the MJ, Smith is up for re-election next year and is expected to be opposed by Wellsville native and Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano. We will have to wait to see what develops but right now it looks like there is a good chance to see a Democrat as our next elected sheriff. It's been decades since we've witnessed that.

ole nib