‘No job is too small’: Harris County Sheriff Jolley gets in the trenches during ice storm

When Harris County Sheriff Deputy Tim Greene headed to work after a night of frigid temperatures, he came across a scenario that caught his attention.

Greene’s boss, 63-year-old Sheriff Mike Jolley, was already out on the road early Wednesday morning breaking up ice so vehicles could gain traction while traveling uphill.

“When you worked last night and wake up to see your boss OUT HELPING clear the roads...,” Greene posted on his Facebook page with a photo of Jolley in action. “ #WeGotUs.”

The post yielded 334 likes and 108 loves. It resulted in 75 shares and more than 40 comments from FB friends expressing awe and gratitude for Jolley’s level of dedication.

It even prompted a “Wow!” from Muscogee County Sheriff Donna Tompkins.

At around the same time, Christy Gunder Elliott, a Harris County Sheriff’s shift sergeant, posted similar photos of Jolley clearing a road with his son, Cody, a reserve deputy who works as an investigator for the district attorney’s office.

“Blessed to work with these two dedicated men!” she posted with two hearts. “No job too small. Just one of the guys when times are hard — Sheriff Jolley.”

That post got 124 likes, 30 shares and 12 comments.

Elliott quoted Cody Jolley as saying, “Just trying to do a small part to help.”

On Thursday, Sheriff Jolley said he was unaware of the posts on Facebook, because he worked from about 7 a.m. Wednesday until about 2 a.m. the next morning. In addition to breaking up ice, he spent the day pulling vehicles out of ditches and up hills with two tow straps he keeps in his four-wheel drive vehicle.

“We knew it was going to be bad, because the temperatures dropped and they stayed down,” he said Thursday afternoon. “So we traveled the major highways. We went up and down 27, 85, 185. And right now our major problems are on Highway 116 and 103. We’re still pulling vehicles out of ditches, up hills and helping tractor trailers get where they want to go.”

When asked Thursday how many vehicles he pulled out of ditches, Jolley said: Oh, gosh, I have no idea,” he said. “... We pulled 10 out since about 8 o’clock this morning.”

Some employees might have been surprised to see him on the road, the Sheriff said, but when there’s an emergency it’s all hands on deck.

“Harris County, about 94 percent of our area is unincorporated, so therefore our Harris County Sheriff’s Office has a vast majority of land mass to cover,” he said. “So, any time there’s a weather problem like we’re having now, we’re out, and we all pitch in. No job is too small, and no task is too difficult for any of my staff to include myself. So we get out and do what the citizens expect us to do, and that’s to provide public safety.”

Jolley said he woke up Wednesday morning to icy roads all over the county. Though residents were cautioned against driving, he knew some would be on the roads.

“Some people have to be out because they work at hospitals or they have emergencies,” he explained. “And because they travel, they may get caught and slide in a ditch because of ice on the road.”

Luckily, the Sheriff’s office had the equipment necessary for the occasion.

“Several years ago, we began purchasing four-wheel drive vehicles periodically,” the Sheriff said. “So we have a pretty good fleet of four-wheel drive vehicles, which when I look back was a good decision on my and my staff’s part to do that.”

Still, he doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.

“I moved up the ranks, and I’ve been doing this for 46, almost 47, years,” he said. “... I’ve been a worker bee my whole life. It just so happens that I’m the sheriff for the past 26 years here in Harris County. I love my job and enjoy helping the citizens.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 1:29 PM with the headline "‘No job is too small’: Harris County Sheriff Jolley gets in the trenches during ice storm."