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As a reporter in Baxter County for over 40 years I covered and had personal contact with hundreds of law enforcement officers. My dad was a state trooper. Baxter County voters in the March 31st runoff election will decide who will lead the sheriff’s office for the next four years. While both men in the runoff have experience, one really stands out – Mark Hollingsworth.
Mark is a career law enforcement professional having worked nearly every position from correctional officer to heading the State Police Criminal Investigation Division with 110 employees to being a chief deputy sheriff overseeing and supervising a county jail, patrol and criminal investigation divisions as well as administrative duties including budgeting.
In addition to having the highest certification a law enforcement officer can have in Arkansas, Mark is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, which fewer than 1% of the law enforcement officers nationwide have graduated from.
In his 35 years with the State Police he has been selected Trooper of the Year, advancing from patrolman to the rank of Major. He was instrumental in establishing the State Police Cold Case Unit, Digital Evidence Laboratory and Field Training Officer program for Special Agents. He also played a key role in updating and improving the Arkansas Amber Alert Plan and was selected to serve as a consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, providing assistance to law enforcement agencies nationwide and families of missing children.
Mark and his wife Kaye, a retired Mountain Home school teacher, made Baxter County their home in 1985 shortly after he became a trooper. His daughters graduated from Mountain Home High School. He served 20 years in the Army National Guard including a tour in Iraq eventually retiring as a sergeant first class.
Let’s not let this opportunity pass us by. I hope you will join me and return to the polls and cast a vote for the most experienced and qualified person for sheriff – Mark Hollingsworth.
Early voting begins March 24th and runs through March 30th. Early voting is at the First United Methodist Church in Mountain Home from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On March 31st election day voting is from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the same polling locations as the March 3rd primary.
Jim Bodenhamer Mountain Home
