FARMINGTON – Sandy Burke and Tom White like working with people. Burke has worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years, White since 1987. Both men were honored as deputies of the year, one by his peers and one by administration.

Members of the Franklin County Deputies Association elected Burke as Deputy of the Year.

Burke was surprised to learn he was elected.

“I just thought other officers did a super job, too,” Burke said.

Burke became interested in becoming a deputy after a deputy sheriff used to visit him and talk to him.

Burke was in a foster home when he was a child. Both his parents were in prison, he said.

“The interest he took in me and the interest he took in other kids inspired me,” Burke said. “He was kind.”

He started out in corrections, served as a police officer in Wilton before becoming a deputy.

“You get the satisfaction of helping some people,” Burke said. “You can’t save the world but you can save a few. I like meeting different people and knowing that you can try to help them out.”

When someone’s home gets broken into, he said, they feel “very violated.”

“If we can recover the property and convict the people responsible, it makes them feel more secure,” he said. “And that’s with teamwork. That’s with everybody working together because one officer can’t be super cop as much as you’d like to.”

Burke works with partners Sgt. Steve Lowell and Deputy Brent Howard.

“We all have our own little niches,” he said.

Burke said the biggest challenge for him is dealing with petty complaints such as harassment. The individuals could handle those complaints themselves, he said, if they would just take the time to talk it out.

Deputies cover a lot of territory stretching from Jay to the Canadian border to handle a variety of things from accidents to domestic abuse, he said.

Burke enjoys seeing the wild life in his travels, which includes spotting moose, deer, coyotes and bobcats. He’s even had a chance to see the salmon run in Oquossoc, he said.

Howard said Burke was the “obvious choice” for the award.

“He’s so easy to work with,” Howard said. “He doesn’t mind teaching me things and he’s patient.”

Burke lives in East Wilton with Sandy Drumm, his significant other.

Sheriff Dennis Pike and other supervisors named Detective White Employee of the Year in the Patrol Division.

White of Jay has been a deputy for Franklin County since 1987. He has four boys and a foster child, with three of those children grown and two younger ones living at home with him and his wife, Lisa.

White said he was “pleasantly surprised and pleased” to be honored with the award.

White started out as an electrician and worked as a manager for American District Telegraph when he lived on the coast. He said he has always been interested in law enforcement. He was drawn to western Maine because he liked the mountains and there was more to do in this region, he said. A retired State Police colonel offered him a job dealing with alarms and security systems. He progressed into law enforcement and was hired by Sheriff Pete Durrell. He also worked a couple years as an officer in Jay.

White said he likes having a “front row seat” as a deputy.

“You see the darndest things,” he said. He likes seeing the news as it emerges and “really enjoys” working with people, he said.

The most challenging part, he said, is not being able to solve all the crime investigations.

“Sometimes you just can’t solve them,” he said.


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