[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10322]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO SHERIFF JOHN L. ALDRIDGE

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, my long-time friend, Sheriff John L. 
Aldridge, is one of the giants of law enforcement in the State of 
Alabama. He has spent over 30 years in law enforcement and is presently 
serving his sixth term as sheriff of Colbert County, AL, having first 
been elected in 1975. He was the commissioner of public safety for the 
city of Tuscumbia from 1960 through 1969. He is a loyal and dedicated 
public servant whose service and commitment to law enforcement in 
general and his community in particular have been impeccable.
  Sheriff Aldridge received his bachelor of science degree in law 
enforcement from the University of North Alabama. He is a past 
president of the Alabama Sheriff's Association and is a member of the 
board of trustees of the Alabama Sheriff's Boys-Girls Ranches. He has 
received many honors and awards, including County Officer of the Year 
from the Sheffield Elks' Lodge and the Colbert County American Legion. 
He is a past State Officer of the Year and Officer of the Year for 
Colbert, Lauderdale, and Franklin Counties. In 1977, he received the 
Liberty Bell Award from the Colbert County Bar Association. Under 
former Governor George Wallace, he served on the executive board of the 
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
  He is also a past president of the Lions Club and past commander of 
American Legion Post 31. He is a Mason and first vice president of the 
Sheffield, Alabama Kiwanis Club, as well as a former member of the 
Tuscumbia Utility Board and of the Colbert County Hospital Board. He 
served for a time as a board member of the Colbert-Lauderdale Attention 
Home for Delinquent Boys and Girls.
  He is a loyal Democrat whose enthusiasm for the party has never 
wavered. In 1992, he served on the Steering Committee for the Clinton-
Gore Campaign. He strongly endorsed the ticket that year and, although 
the Democrats did not carry Alabama, campaigned tirelessly for his 
party's candidates.
  Sheriff Aldridge's leadership and service have gone far beyond what 
we traditionally think of as law enforcement duties. He initiated a 
rape counseling program for the Muscle Shoals Mental Health Center to 
assure victims of rape were interviewed by a female professional 
counselor rather than a male. When the program was begun, there were no 
female officers in law enforcement in Colbert County. Sheriff Aldridge 
made a firm commitment to change this. He received an award from the 
Muscle Shoals Mental Health Center for initiating this program.
  Under his tenure as chairman of the Sheffield Kiwanis Club Major 
Emphasis Program on ``Safeguard Against Crime,'' the club received the 
Silver Bell Award for his work in organizing a county-wide program 
aimed at reducing crime and spurring public interest in law 
enforcement.
  I am proud to commend and congratulate Sheriff John Aldridge for his 
many years of outstanding leadership in terms of law enforcement and 
community service. I look forward to seeing more of the fruits of his 
labors first-hand when I return home to Colbert County next year.

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