The Lycoming County Sheriff’s Department has a long history of protecting and serving the citizens and judiciary and that’s not going to change as Deputy Sheriff Eric Spiegel takes office. Spiegel was on track to be elected sheriff in yesterday’s municipal election as he was unopposed. He will be taking over from Sheriff Mark Lusk, who has been in that position since he was elected in 2010.

“What we do as our core mission – the sheriff’s office and public safety – is not going to change,” Spiegel said.

He also has announced that for the first time in the 250-year history of the sheriff’s department, a woman will be serving as his chief deputy. Deputy 1st class Keely Mahosky, of Hughesville, has been named by Spiegel to serve as his second in command.

Spiegel also detailed some of his other priorities for serving as Sheriff.

“I think it’s important that the public knows that the Sheriff’s Office will continue our longstanding relationship with the United States Marshals Service and hunting wanted fugitives in Lycoming County and surrounding areas,” he said.

“That’s something that is near and dear to my heart. For the last 20 years I’ve been on that task force and we’re going to continue that and maybe even enhance it a little,” he added.

One thing that he would like to see increase in the department is community interaction.

“We do that with our special events and things like the Lycoming County Fair, the Jersey Shore Town Meeting, things like that,” Spiegel said.

“We’re going to continue to be out in the public to assist the local law enforcement agencies. You know when the Lycoming County Fair comes to Hughesville, the population of Hughesville all but quadruples and the local police department is taxed with handling all the calls that they receive. So we will assist them with what we do at the Lycoming County Fair and help keep peace at the fairgrounds, things like that. We’re going to continue to do those throughout the community. I think that’s extremely important,” he said.

In February, Lusk had instituted a program where sheriff’s deputies were assigned to each of the district magisterial judges in the county. Spiegel stressed that it will continue and perhaps expand.

‘Our judicial protection, the program that Sheriff Lusk started with our having deputies at the magistrate office to protect those-we’re going to continue to do all of that in hopes we’ll get more deputies,” he said.

“We still have some openings so we can provide more protection to the judges and the magistrates, but we’re going to keep continuing to provide the excellent service that the sheriff’s office has provided for the last 250 years,” he added.