Wood County Sheriff’s Department remembers former Sheriff Steve Greiner

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - With former Wood County Sheriff Steve Greiner passing away last weekend, many of those he worked with are remembering him for what he did for police and the community.

“Steve believed in advancement of the Sheriff’s Department. He was one of the first sheriffs to actually come from the ranks. He worked his way up from deputy up to sheriff,” says Wood Co. Sheriff, Rick Woodyard. “So, he knew the trial and tribulations that deputies had. He was one of the driving forces behind a lot of the advancements at the sheriff’s office.”

Officials with the department say that Greiner left a lasting impact on the department.

Not only for his three terms as sheriff, but also for his efforts in creating a retirement plan designed to help deputies and others in his department. And having won multiple awards during his time in law enforcement, including the Gary Deem award and Policeman of the Year.

“He was dedicated to the community. He was helpful with projects. He was very supportive. For example, with volunteer fire departments, if he could help there, he was willing to help there. And again, if there was projects that needed special attention, he was willing and able to participate in any manner he could,” says Greiner’s former chief deputy, Charlie Johnson.

Woodyard, current chief deputy Mike Deem and Johnson all were impacted by Greiner in some way by his efforts for law enforcement.

“He took care of the deputies; he took care of the people of the county. He cared about them. Under Sheriff Greiner is when we really started getting good equipment, cars. He took care of us, we started hiring more people,” says Deem.

Greiner’s service will be held this Friday at the Lambert-Tatman funeral services at 1 p.m.

Greiner’s legacy will still remain with the department as the department’s gun range is named after him.

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