Voters keep Birbeck in Olney

Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck lost his bid to become Young County Sheriff in the March 5 primary election, ceding the race to Sheriff Travis Babcock. Chief Birbeck garnered 46 percent of the Young County vote to Sheriff Babcock’s 54 percent, according to unofficial election results provided by the County Election Supervisor.

Supporters gathered at Hudson’s on Main for a watch party for Chief Birbeck, who conceded the race to Sheriff Babcock at around 9 p.m. and thanked those who gathered to watch the returns.

“On the plus side of things, I still have a job. I am in a community where the biggest argument that I had was that people didn’t want to lose me and that’s why they weren’t voting for me and I really don’t think people realized how much that meant to me,” he said. “To argue for votes because you don’t want to lose somebody is a pretty telling story.”

Chief Birbeck campaigned on reforming the Sheriff ’s Office to create specialized teams, increasing training for deputies and jailers and addressing mental health issues countywide.

He said he will continue working to bring a mobile mental health team to Young County.

“There has been collaboration between every taxing entity in Young County [that] feels that there is a value in that program and that they see the benefit from it – that speaks volumes – and being able to bring everyone together,” he said. “We will keep pushing to do good things for the people who need it and I will keep fighting for the citizens of Olney.”

Sheriff Babcock could not be reached for comment at press time.