OTTAWA – Two top officials in the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department were sworn in at this morning’s county commission meeting as part of a reorganization of the department’s administrative structure. The commissioners approved new Sheriff Jeff Richard’s request last week to reclassify the department’s open Master Deputy position to a newly-created position of lieutenant colonel. Undersheriff Steve Lunger has been named lieutenant colonel and was sworn in today. Lunger will be in charge of administration, records, the jail and the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center, Richards said. Rick Geist, retired Ottawa police detective, was sworn in as undersheriff. Geist will be responsible for patrol, investigations and the evidence room, Richards said. The positions will be equal in the administrative structure, he said. “This division of responsibility should provide some administrative relief for our front-line supervisors,” Richards said. Geist will receive sheriff’s badge 298, which is the badge number worn by his son Deputy Russel Geist who died in 2011 as a result of natural causes while in uniform, Richards said. Badge number 298 will remain in effect during Rick Geist’s tenure in the department and then be retired again, Richards said.
Monday, May 6, 10 a.m.
