[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 1448-1449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           HONORING A LIFELONG COMMITMENT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2001

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend a law enforcement 
leader in Southwest Missouri.
  John T. Pierpont has always had law enforcement blood running through 
his veins. John's personal experience with law enforcement began early 
in life; his father was Sheriff of Greene County. During the last two 
decades of the 20th century, the Sheriff of Greene County in Missouri 
was again a Pierpont, this time John.
  John Pierpont started his law enforcement career as the U.S. Marshall 
for the 66 counties of western Missouri, a job he held for eight years.
  In 1981 voters choose him to be sheriff and they re-elected him four 
more times. During that period, the facilities for law enforcement in 
Greene County underwent major transformation and the approach to 
fighting crime got a new more pro-active philosophy. John embraced 
public participation in crime prevention and quickly had in place a 
county-wide series of ``neighborhood watch'' districts. The new sheriff 
also stepped up regular patrols to curb burglaries, thefts and 
vandalism. He made citizens partners with sheriff's office in the fight 
against criminal activity.
  Perhaps the most startling change guided by Sheriff Pierpont was in 
the Greene County jail. The old jail, built more than 40 years ago, 
housed a hundred inmates in 1981. Pierpont pushed for more facilities 
and new technology. The last of three major modernizations and 
additions were underway at the time of his retirement. The new jail 
will house five hundred inmates in the most secure environment 
available.
  John's leadership has also won him praise among his peers. He was 
elected President of both the Missouri Sheriff's Association and the 
National Sheriff's Association.
  John has been an active leader at home, in our state and for the 
nation. You would find him in the field working on major crimes, 
directing manhunts and making sure that investigators had the tools to 
be thorough and professional. It's been evident during his time in 
office that John Pierpont has enjoyed being the Sheriff of Greene 
County. It is equally evident that John's leadership has provided the 
citizens of this county a higher level of safety, law enforcement 
competence and protection for the lives and property of the people he 
has served during his 20 years as sheriff.
  I know that my colleagues from Missouri join me in thanking John 
Pierpont for his years of making our state a safer place to live and 
wishing him well as he leaves the Greene County Sheriff's office and 
opens a new chapter in his life.

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