Published: August 19, 2008 11:30 pm      

Cambria sheriff to join state agency

EBENSBURG — Cambria County’s sheriff is joining an elite group of high-ranking criminal justice system officials from across the state.

Sheriff Bob Kolar has been appointed as the only sheriff to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, a collection of officials that includes the state attorney general, senators and state representatives and secretaries of state departments.

He also will be serving on the commission’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Committee.

“I feel so honored,” Kolar said upon hearing the news Tuesday evening.

The sheriff said his appointment should be good for the county, too. Kolar said he can glean ideas from the networking and give the county a greater statewide presence as the commission brainstorms about what’s working and what needs attention.

“(Cambria County) will have a voice,” he said.

Gov. Ed Rendell announced Kolar’s appointment to the commission on Tuesday, along with a handful of others. The commission is the state’s leading criminal justice planning agency and works to reduce crime and delinquency in the state and to respond to victims’ needs.

Kolar, of Ebensburg, has been sheriff for 11 years.

Before that he was an investigator for the Blair County District Attorney’s Office and was chief of detectives within Ranger Investigation and Security in Greensburg. He retired from the state police in 1992 after 24 years as a trooper.

He said he loves his post in Cambria County, and sees the county criminal justice system working smoothly.

“So far, I think Cambria County’s system is working very well,” he said. “This will give us more ideas, more views.”