Local News

Magistrate becomes chief deputy

BUCKHANNON -- Another familiar face is returning to the ranks of the Upshur County Sheriff's Department, leaving a county magistrate position open.

Mike Coffman, who has been elected as an Upshur County magistrate four times, was appointed by Sheriff Virgil Miller and approved by the Upshur County Commission to be his chief deputy of administration.

"Mike will basically be the second person underneath me," Miller said Thursday.

Coffman's duties will include being chief deputy for the law enforcement division as well as overseeing issues in the tax office when Miller is not available.

Miller referenced Coffman's law enforcement experience as well as his education -- a graduate of Buckhannon-Upshur High School, earning a criminal justice degree from Fairmont State University and pursuing a master's degree from West Virginia University.

"I think he is well-qualified to be the chief deputy of the Upshur County Sheriff's Department and specifically to oversee the law enforcement division," he said.

Commissioner Sam Nolte moved, seconded by commissioner Terry Cutright to approve the appointment of Coffman effective Thursday at the rate of $25.26 per hour.

Cutright asked if the money was already in the budget and Miller answered it was. The motion passed unanimously.

Coffman said he is excited to move his office downstairs and return to the Upshur County Sheriff's Department after 12 years as magistrate.

Coffman said, "I have always been in law enforcement since I was 21 actually as a deputy sheriff in Lewis County and Upshur County. It's something that once it gets in your blood, it is kind of always there."

Coffman started his career in Upshur County as a part-time correctional officer while he attended college.

He was hired as a deputy sheriff in Lewis County where he served from 1997 to 2005 and returned to Upshur County as Miller's chief deputy of administration during Miller's term as sheriff then. Coffman then ran and was elected as magistrate in 2008 and won re-election in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

"Sheriff Miller asked me if I would be interested in this position, after I had already filed to run and ran and was successful," Coffman said. "I talked it over with my family and we thought it would be a good move. It was something I have always missed.

"Also, when I won the office of magistrate, my son was small and we did not have my daughter. As they got older and got into sports, the magistrate's office was challenging to get to their stuff a lot of times. You have to be on call every other weekend and it made it challenging."

Coffman said he enjoyed his work as magistrate but the time required tied him down when it came to spending family time.

"I'm very excited about the new position and I thank everyone who supported me in the past," Coffman said. "I hope they understand this change. I feel it is the best for me and my family at this point."

Coffman feels his past experience as a deputy as well as his years as magistrate and his work toward a legal studies master's degree from WVU (he is expected to finish in another year) will help him as chief deputy.

"It's another tool," he said of the degree. "Being in the court system has given me a good boost to have and to be an effective leader for the department. I look forward to it. I know most of the deputies down there and I think we will accomplish good things."

Coffman is the son of retired sheriff David Coffman, who ended his second term Dec. 31, 2020.

Judge Jake Reger said Thursday he and Judge Kurt Hall will make an appointment to the magistrate position who will serve until the 2022 election.

"We will try to get it filled as soon as we can," he said. "We've already had people submit applications and we are interviewing them."

Four people have applied, but Reger declined to name those individuals at this time.

Reger said the only requirement to serve as magistrate is a high school diploma. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals supplies training, which is currently offered virtually due to COVID-19.

"We have two new magistrates in Lewis County and they have been through it before they took office," he said.

Once the judges make an appointment, there is a 20-day period where someone may object to the appointment. The person can then be sworn in to the office.

Reger said objections are rare, although he knows of one case in another county where a magistrate candidate was appointed, and then officials determined the candidate did not have a high school diploma. That appointment was contested, he said.