CRESTVIEW — Crestview resident Johnny Eubanks and Howard Oakes of Niceville have been elected to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Personnel Standards and Review Board.
Eubanks and Oakes were the top two vote getters among 10 candidates in the Tuesday election, which was open to the OCSO's 350 employees. Eubanks received 123 votes; Oakes got 52 votes. A routine audit will be conducted on Monday to certify the results, Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux said.
Eubanks — a former OCSO lieutenant who retired in April after 31 years with the agency — remains an active member of the OCSO Mounted posse and helps teach citizens firearms classes at the sheriff’s office firing range.
Oakes — who spent 30 years in the Air Force before retiring as a colonel — is active on the boards of Children in Crisis, the Air Force Association Education Foundation and the Emerald Coast Military Affairs Committee.
Both men will serve on the review board alongside two people appointed by Sheriff Larry Ashley and a fifth member chosen by the four.
It is unknown if Ashley has made his appointments. Tallahassee attorney R. Wayne Evans, who represents Ashley, did not return phone calls Wednesday.
The review board will hear the appeals of three former deputies — Rick Hord, John Lee and Jon Bush — who were fired in 2010.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Eubanks, Oakes elected for Okaloosa sheriff's office review board