Former Greene County Sheriff John Kiebart, right, proudly stands with current Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley at the dedication of the Sheriff John Kiebart Prattsville Sheriff's Satellite Station. Looking on are several Greene County Deputy Sheriffs who particpated in the festivities. The dedication took place in the early spring of this year.

Sheriff John Kiebart, who died recently, was a remarkable individual. He was a very principled man, whose word was impeccable. In his mind, he clearly defined what was right and what was wrong. As Sheriff, he could have taken the path of least resistance but this ethical man always chose the path that was right and during his two terms as Sheriff of Greene County, that path, more times than not, was extremely challenging to navigate.

Though John grew up in a home with limited means, the intangibles of character were the family foundation. As a boy, his father would send him off to hunt for squirrels with one bullet. He was told when he brought back a squirrel he would be given another bullet.

During the Vietnam era John joined the United States Army as a military police officer. Not surprisingly, he was the top marksman in his basic training class. Upon discharge, he joined the Saugerties Police Department and then moved onto the New York State Police, where his leadership abilities became his signature. He excelled as a zone Sergeant, which is on the State Police uniform side and is the street leadership of that distinguished organization. Though it took him away from home and his lovely wife June and daughter Jeannine, the State Police assigned him to zones that needed “tidying up.” John excelled in this responsibility because he let his high principals and strong work ethic guide him.

Though John had passed the civil service exam for Chief of Police and State Police Lieutenant, he decided to take on a new challenge. He ran for Sheriff of Greene County. Few gave him any chance of replacing the retiring Sheriff Charles Daucher, because John was running as a Democrat and their had not been a Democrat Sheriff elected in Greene County in well over 100 years. Straight talk combined with a tireless campaign effort changed history as John became Sheriff Kiebart.

With change come challenge and the challenges were that much tougher for John because he would never take the path of least resistance if it meant not doing what was right and honorable. He fought day by day to improve and professionalize the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. It was the greatest career challenge he had ever encountered. Those looking to derail his efforts came at him from all sides and in reality he was on an island that others wanted to control. John never let that happen, but sadly those battles to maintain the elected independence of the Sheriff of Greene County took a toll on John’s health.

John was a very active member of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association. One effort was he very deeply involved with was legislation to give deputy sheriffs the same retirement benefits that were enjoyed by every other police officer in New York State. At the time, deputy sheriffs could retire at age 62 while all the other police officers could retire at either 20 or 25 years of service.

As John said, “does the public want a 62 year old police officer to respond to their police emergency, trust me the Sheriff doesn’t.”

The political fight to gain those benefits for deputy sheriffs was a long and complicated one. At the time, John was one of the few Democratic Sheriffs and he worked tirelessly to educate the Democratic Majority in the Assembly on the need for this change. John never took no for an answer and after a fight that lasted over a decade; Deputy Sheriffs were given equitable retirement benefits.

John never saw it as a Democrat or Republican issue. He saw it as a Sheriffs issue. In his view, the fact that he was a Democrat only strengthened the Sheriffs ability to fight for their deputy’s.

Six pallbearers – 3 State Troopers and 3 Deputy Sheriffs, laid John Kiebart to rest. From a profesional point of view John was probably most pleased to know at his passing that man he had mentored for his 8 years as Sheriff, Greg Seeley was now Sheriff of Greene County.