Legacy for Aiken County

Howard Sellers was one of the best sheriffs - many say the best - that Aiken County ever had.

The former FBI man and Savannah River Site Wackenhut Security official lacked political skills - he was uneasy campaigning for public office and often feuded with the county council over money and Sheriff's Department programs - but he more than made up for this shortcoming in law-enforcement know-how.

It was that expertise that won him many friends and admirers - and three elections to the sheriff's office which he served for 10 years until 2003 when he moved on to a federal Homeland Security post in Alabama.

Mr. Sellers brought to Aiken County a level of modern law-enforcement management and professionalism that became a model for other sheriff's departments around the state.

Aiken County's current sheriff, Mike Hunt, said his predecessor took office at a time when law-enforcement was undergoing many difficult changes, and that Mr. Sellers answered the call by raising standards - the mark of an excellent law-enforcement officer.

Mr. Sellers died Wednesday at age 60. Along with his family and friends, we mourn his loss. There is at least some solace in that he leaves in his wake a strong legacy of improved law-enforcement in the county he served so effectively for 10 years.