D-F Police Sgt. Lyford hired as sheriff’s chief deputy
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office did not have to look far to find the the department’s next chief deputy with the hiring of Dover-Foxcroft Police Department Sgt. Todd Lyford, who also has served as a police chief in Brownville and Milo. Sheriff-Elect and current Chief Deputy Bob Young made the announcement during the Dec. 18 meeting of the Piscataquis County Commissioners.
“Todd Lyford, the sergeant with the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department, is the new chief deputy so he will start the first of January,” Young said. “He lives in Brownville which is a plus. He’s well known in the area, well respected so he’ll do well.”
Observer file photo/Stuart Hedstrom
NEW CHIEF DEPUTY — Dover-Foxcroft Police Department Sgt. Todd Lyford, left with Dover-Foxcroft Fire Chief Joe Guyotte, is the new chief deputy for the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office. Lyford will begin his new job at the start of January.
During a commissioners’ meeting earlier in the month, Young said Sheriff John Goggin recommended department officials look externally to find the next chief deputy for some new outside perspectives for the sheriff’s office operations.
Young said then he and three other officers have all been with the sheriff’s department for over two decades. The sheriff-elect said he likes to promote from within but in this instance an external perspective would be a benefit.
The Dover-Foxcroft Police Department is currently advertising for Lyford’s position, with Lyford continuing to serve with the department through the end of the month.
Young said a banquet the previous week served as a send off for Goggin, who is retiring after nearly three decades as sheriff. “We said goodbye to the sheriff at our banquet, he still has to clean out his office but he’s winding down. The sheriff was very particular that he did not want any recognition so it was a fine line there.”
In other business, Jail Administrator Maria Landry praised all the agencies responding to what turned out to be a small fire in the jail kitchen the week before. “Everybody did a great job,” Landry said. She said Rowell’s Garage very quickly had a school bus on scene to evacuate inmates should this have been necessary.
Landry said towels are stored under a sink after coming out of the dryer. Chemicals are used in the cleaning process and this time the cleaning agents spontaneously combusted — similar occurrences have taken place at other jails and prisons and hospitals across Maine and the country.
Landry said Office of Maine State Fire Marshal Sgt. Scott Richardson had an idea of the cause before he arrived later on the day of the incident. Landry said there is now a special storage container for the towels.