BELOW LEFT - SPARTA POLICE CHIEF Frank Sanders takes a moment for a photo outside the Sparta Town Office on a recent winter day. BACK THEN—In this photo taken in the 1980s, Sanders stands by his patrol car on U.S. 21.

Police chief has no plans to retire after 30 years

As a young man, Frank Sanders Jr. attended an assembly at Piney Creek School where a North Carolina state trooper had been asked to speak. The words of the trooper made such an impact on Sanders that he eventually decided to make law enforcement a part of his future.

In December 2007, Sanders celebrated 30 years with the Sparta Police Department. Recalling the Piney assembly, Sanders said, "From that day on, I was so impressed with him I thought, 'I'd like to do that.' I didn't initially pursue it, I kind of got away from that thought."

Following graduation from Alleghany High School, the son of Irene Moore and Frank Sanders Sr. held down a couple of jobs and attended Wilkes Community College, where he played basketball on a scholarship. A couple of years later, Sanders was working as a parts manager at Irwin Chevrolet, when thoughts of going into law enforcement clouded his mind until he did something about it.

"I decided the quickest way probably to get into that field was to join the Army and go into the military police," stated Sanders. "I did that in 1973. I went to see a recruiter and told him what I was interested in. I had to take a battery of tests and I did qualify for military police ... I got a guaranteed first year duty station. I wanted to go to Colorado."

 

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