Sheriff Howard reflects on 40 years of service

Before beginning his career with the Tioga County Sheriff’s Office, Gary W. Howard was a year out of high school in the early 70’s when he went looking for the right opportunity to match his ambitious qualities.

The time period was the end of the Vietnam War, and with plenty of carpentry experience under his belt, he walked into the Army recruiting office.

Howard said, “I told them that I wanted to be a carpenter.” 

It was explained to Howard that his carpentry skills could certainly be utilized, however he recalled a recruiter looked directly at him and said, “He looks like a cop.”

What Howard didn’t realize at age 19 was that the recruiter’s intuition identifying him as “cop material” would ultimately set him up for a future career in law enforcement.

Thirty days after walking into the Army recruiting office, Howard was shipped out and assigned to the 287th MP Company, where he patrolled the Berlin Wall in Germany as a military police sergeant at Check Point Charlie, a name coined by Western Allies at a crossing point between East and West Berlin. Howard completed three years of service with the Army before returning to his hometown of Binghamton. 

Soon after returning stateside, Howard visited friends in Newark Valley and took a liking to Tioga County. So much so, he decided to establish roots here. Next, he took his ambition, along with his military experience to the Sheriff’s Department, and where he passed a test to become a corrections officer. He started Sept. 5, 1977.

After two years working in the jail, Howard was promoted to road patrol deputy, and, subsequently, patrol shift supervisor. A good portion of the next two decades took Howard into the criminal division, serving as a criminal investigator as well as running the division, and a period he described as one of the highlights of his career.  

“Some cases had me working 16 to 18 hour days for weeks or more,” Howard explained, adding, “But the public needed me then, and I owed the public to solve those cases.” 

Howard was elected as Sheriff in 2004. Now in his fourth term, he has two years left on the current term.  When asked about the “R” word, he replied, “Not yet,” and chuckled when he said he will probably have to be dragged out. It is Howard’s goal to prepare for reelection to another term, if not longer, before he considers retirement.

Howard’s achievements are many, and include being a member of the NYS Sheriffs’ Association Institute Board of Directors and the NYS e-Justice Advisory Board.

Howard enjoys his job, which takes him to the office well before the rest of the staff arrives. He ensures he makes time to greet employees first thing every morning to catch up on case details or new issues, and also takes time to spend with new hires. 

The 120 employees that report into Howard, which includes full-time and some part-time, covers administration, civil, criminal investigation, E911 communications, records, road patrol and the jail. And all, he explained, are a key to his success as well as to the Sheriff’s Department and public safety overall. 

Howard commented, “To be a good leader, you surround yourself with great people.”

And like Howard, several department personnel have 25 or more years of service including Undersheriff Mike Jackson, who has been with the department for 35 years.

Howard explained that the public safety building, located on Route 38 in Owego, has been instrumental in the overall success of the department as well. Most of Howard’s staff, encompassing office areas on two floors of the building, works in close proximity to him. 

To be seen in the public eye often takes Howard outside of the office, and is an important aspect in his role as Sheriff. Whether it’s marching on foot in multiple parades each year, attending special events or even directing traffic in the middle of Route 38 during the Newark Valley Apple Festival, Howard said, “I like getting out there and seeing the people.”

When asked how the public can help with crime prevention, Howard replied that setting up the Tioga County Sheriff’s website with easily accessible information, offering the public opportunity to leave anonymous tips, along with utilizing social media such as Facebook and Twitter, have all helped the department tremendously. 

“The response from the public has worked out wonderful,” Howard added. He also noted that if you scroll through any given day of posts and tweets, you will get a sense of some of the activity the Sheriff’s department deals with.

Maintaining a tight budget is one of the biggest challenges, Howard said, and he credits his undersheriff for helping with those results. From making money from pistol permits to bringing in board-in fees for inmates brought in from neighboring counties, to looking for training paid by the State, to receiving grants for equipment and other needs, Howard explained that every year a surplus is given back to the County.

This year, however, the board-in money will be slightly less than past years, but will still add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. A May heroin trafficking raid known as “Operation Un-Wise” resulted in the arrest of 31 people, so consequently some board-ins had to be relocated back out of the Tioga County Jail in order to make room for the May arrests.

Howard commented that over the past six months there has been a decrease in the amount of deaths due to heroin in the county, but overall there will always be some type of drug problem to address. He said the Sheriff’s department is always prepared and trained to handle these difficult situations.     

Howard offered a comment about the recent Las Vegas shooting, in which he said, “Was very bad,” and pointed out bump stocks, used by the Las Vegas shooter to turn a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic, and that there should be, “No use for them.”

Outside of office hours, Howard enjoys spending time with his wife, Debbie, who is the Tioga County District director for Assemblyman Christopher Friend, and his children and grandchildren. Four of his six grandchildren live locally, so he often attends school and sporting events.

Taking calls at home, including in the middle of the night, is all part of the Sheriff’s job, too. Although calls can impact family time, Howard replied, “When I have to, I jump out of bed. Being on call has become a way of life. People elected me and trust me to keep things going.”