EUGENE'S STILL PART OF FORMER POLICE CHIEF'S LIFE.Byline: Bob Welch There are a number of famous people of this name including:
EDITOR'S NOTE Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : "Where Are They Now?" is a Monday column that updates readers on local newsmakers from the past. Have ideas? E-mail Bob Welch at bwelch@guardnet.com. THEN: Leonard Cooke, Eugene's first black police chief, left Eugene in 1998. After nearly six years in that position, he had agreed to resign under pressure from then-City Manager Vicki Elmer, who was later fired by the City Council. NOW: Cooke, 57, is director of the Virginia Virginia, state, United States Virginia, state of the south-central United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), North Carolina and Tennessee (S), Kentucky and West Virginia (W), and Maryland and the District of Columbia (N and NE). Department of Criminal Justice Services in Richmond, Va., where he oversees a staff of about 200 people and a budget of $300 million. After his stint in Eugene, Cooke spent four years as chief of police in Portsmouth, Va. In 2002, he was appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician from the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the Democratic Party. Warner is the immediate former governor of Virginia and the honorary chairman of the Forward Together PAC. to his present position, and reappointed in 2006 by new Gov. Tim Kaine Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (born February 26 1958) is an American politician and the current Governor of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is married to former Richmond Juvenile Court Judge Anne Holton, the daughter of A. Linwood Holton Jr. . Some believe Cooke was drummed out of Eugene without cause, but he never took public shots at anyone on his way out of town. "I don't believe it would have benefited me or anyone in Eugene. I try to stay positive, learn from my experiences," he says. "I never regretted my time in Eugene. I had some rough times there, but they just made me stronger." In his current job, he likes the chance to help set policy for an array of law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). . But he misses having more face-to-face contact with people. "I've always believed that local government allows you to connect with people and see the results. I miss that." Cooke still keeps in touch with a handful of Eugene friends and checks out The Register-Guard Web site on occasion. `Eugene's still a part of my life. I don't look upon that time as `just passing through.' ' Was it, as some suggest, a tough place to be for a minority? `Of course it was, but that's not unlike any other place,' he says. Virginia has been good for him, he says: The job. The advanced degree - a master's in public policy from Virginia Tech. And, of course, the grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. . "This has allowed me to reconnect with my family." He has four children in their 20s and 30s and eight grandchildren, all on the East Coast. "I've been blessed," Cooke says. |
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