Former deputy dies

Donald Ray "Donnie" Dickens, a former Alleghany County deputy sheriff, died on March 5 in Montana while loading hay on a truck and trailer. The cause of death was suspected to be a heart attack.

Dickens, 38, who had worked as a truck driver since the late 1990s, is survived by his wife, Karen Truitt Dickens, his son, Nathaniel, and daughter, Katelyn, and several other family members. He was an elder at Glade Creek Union Baptist Church. Dickens was a resident of Glade Valley.

A complete obituary appears on page 9 of this week's edition.

Dickens came to the Alleghany County Sheriff's Department in July of 1991 and left full-time employment in September of 1998. Dickens also had worked with the Sparta Police Department, Winston-Salem Police Department and Kernersville Police Department.

Dickens was Alleghany's first Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) officer. Dickens graduated from D.A.R.E. school in Chapel Hill with top honors, receiving a personal commendation from then-Attorney General Lacy Thornberg, said Sheriff Mike Caudill. Caudill said Dickens came to work at the sheriff's department after returning here to help look after his parents.

"When he started working as a patrol deputy, he was a dedicated, caring individual with a heart as big as he was," Caudill said. "He had a unique ability for law enforcement.

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