By Reagan Di Trolio
Published: Jul. 29, 2024 at 9:05 PM CDT|Updated: Jul. 30, 2024 at 12:16 PM CDT
LEBANON, Mo. (KY3) - KY3 asked the candidates running for Laclede County sheriff several questions before the August 6 Republican primary.
Current Sheriff David Millsap is retiring. The race features retired Army veteran and Laclede County Deputy Matt Frederick and Greg Mattes, who is also a deputy with Laclede County Sheriff’s Office and has been in public service for over two decades. The race does not include a Democrat in the general election in November.
The candidates each received one minute to answer our questions.
Question 1: What do you think is the number one crime here in Laclede County, and how are you planning to fix it or get it under control?
Greg Mattes: “I would say the number one crime everything revolves around drug use. We’ve been battling it since the 60s. We’re going to have to try to do something different. The one thing I would like to do is send every one of our deputies to classes on drug trends, the new drugs that are coming out, what to look for, how to battle those. We need to send some deputies to what they call DRE school, this drug recognition expert school. It’s a long school, but I think it’s well worth sending some deputies to.”
Matt Frederick: “The number one crime here in Laclede County that I see is drug issues that we have here. There’s a lot of drug crimes. We talk about the drug issues going on and how it affects people and how it affects others, and what we see are the folks that are addicted to drugs. They are typically the folks that are often responsible for a lot of property crimes. So the two are linked together. So what I want to do is, what I have been doing, I’ve got a very strong arrest record within the agency for this sort of thing. I also get sought out by Lake Area Narcotic Task Force officers to go out in the community and assist with traffic stops and other investigations that they have in regards to drug investigations, and we just make arrests and we find ways to get these folks help.”
Question 2: When you’re out talking to people in public, what do people say is one of the most concerning crimes to them? What would you do to reassure them?
Greg Mattes: “Again, we’re going back to drug use, which leads to pretty much all other crimes. That’s what I’m hearing out there. The people are asking, ‘What are we going to do about that?’ Back to my first answer, we’ve got to get deputies educated. We’ve got to give them the tools and resources. We’ve got to work with the drug court that’s set up here, which I did earlier when I was still here. It’s a great program that works, and I think we need to tap into the resources that we have in our community to help these folks get off the drugs and to seek out a better way of life.”
Matt Frederick: “Whenever I talk to folks in the public about what kind of crime they feel is most prevalent around here, it just depends on the population. Whenever I’m in Conway and I go to the Conway Senior Center, and I ask them that question, the answer is speeding. So it just depends on the area of the county and the folks that are in that area what the biggest crime is, and if it’s speeding, then we work on traffic control and traffic control devices. Folks have issues with property crimes. Well, then we talk to them about neighborhood watch and what we can do as far as what they see and what their neighbors see, so that we know what to look for.”
Question 3: Do you think the Sheriff’s Department gets out in the community, at events and speaking publicly? If so, what are some of the programs you’re most proud of? Or what programs could be added?
Greg Mattes: “As far as deputies getting out there outside of work, or stuff that’s involved with work in the community, there’s always been just one or two that the sheriff has picked to do that I’d like to be able to get all the deputies out there. Our community needs to know who their deputies are and build relationships with them. That’s one thing I did on my own, was went out there and stopped at the coffee shop, stopped at the feed stores, just to get to know the people. And it wasn’t just once it was it was more than once. So that way we could build that relationship with one another.”
Matt Frederick: “So at the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office, I was tasked by Sheriff David Millsap to be the community service supervisor, and my job is to go out and speak on behalf of the sheriff and listen to issues that we have in the county and find ways to address them. So I work. I come over here to the Hughes Senior Center, and I work with them, and I talk with them about scams. Scams for seniors are a big deal. Last year, there was over $3.4 billion scammed out of seniors, just the ones that reported it. So we get out in there and we talk with them. We go to the fair, we talk with kids there. I go out to the schools. We have DARE program now in Conway, and we’re going to get that to another county school this year, and we just try to work on making good decisions in the community, and we try to let folks know what criminal trends are going on, what they can do to assist to bring that trend down.”
Question 4: From your law enforcement career, what is your most proudest moment in your career? Can you give us an explanation on why it’s your proudest moment?
Greg Mattes: “There’s been several proud moments in my career. It’s when I get those stories back from the people I’ve had interaction with, whether it’s arresting them or whether they were victims. But hearing their story afterward, hearing the people I’ve arrested come back and say, ‘You know, you did something or you said something on our way to jail. You encouraged me and showed me there’s a better way or a better path. You told me that you believed that there was something better in me.’ Hearing that feedback that their life has changed. Seeing kids out there that run up to us and give us hugs is changing that atmosphere that the national news has made on law enforcement which I believe is unfair. There’s bad apples in every industry, I’m out here to show that there are good apples.”
Matt Frederick: “One of my proudest moments actually happened last year. I’m on the literacy council and I was attending a literacy council graduation and I had a young lady, I think she was about 15 years old, she came up to me and she said, ‘You’re Frederick, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yes I am.’ She goes, ‘You’ve arrested my mom a lot.’ I said, ‘Okay well who is your mom?’ She told me then I said, ‘I sure did.’ The young lady said, ‘Thank you, I’ve got my mom back because of you.’ It kind of lets us see that what we do so long as we’re being fair and impartial with how we treat people and we treat people with dignity and respect, there is a great impact.”
Question 5: Why should people vote for you?
Greg Mattes: “I bring a lot of experience. 21 years in emergency services, including the military, all aspects. My plan is to get all the different entities in our county together to work as one collaborative entity that gives our community the best service whether it’s fire, EMS, corrections or law enforcement. If we can do that, our county can be one of the safest places to live. That’s what I want for our county. I come with integrity, I come with an experience, and I come with transparency.”
Matt Frederick: “I was raised right here in this community. I graduated Conway High School. After Conway high school, I attended, or actually, I joined the United States Arm., I spent 22 years in the United States Army and retired in 201,7 so service to my country is important to me. After I retired, I then went to Drury Law Enforcement Academy in Springfield, and I was granted a job here at the Laclede County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff David Millsap three days after I graduated. I’ve worked here ever since. So I’ve got close to 29 years in service to my country and to my community, and I intend to continue doing that as long as I can.”
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