In one of the few contested races in the Aug. 6 primary, current Deputy Coroner Jason Sides will be on the ballot against former Deputy Coroner Jodi Hayeslip.
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In one of the few contested races in the Aug. 6 primary, current Deputy Coroner Jason Sides will be on the ballot against former Deputy Coroner Jodi Hayeslip.
Sides looks to carry on the work of current Coroner Dean Jackson and said he felt that the coroner’s office was operating smoothly overall. He cited his experience as an EMS for over 25 years as a large part of his qualifications for the role along with his time at the coroner’s office where he has worked since April of last year.
“I’ve got a good rapport with the sheriff’s department, funeral homes, all the people I’ve been dealing with like the St. Louis County (Medical Examiner) I’ve been dealing with the St. Charles County (Medical Examiner) and there’s been good rapport and it’s been a good fit,” Sides said.
Hayeslip points to her experience as a registered nurse along with a minor in psychology as a strong background for work in the coroner’s office. She also worked with the coroner’s office from late 2021 into 2022 before resigning shortly after the resignation of then coroner Mark O’Neill who left the office in the wake of a cancer diagnosis.
Current Coroner and Detective with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department Dean Jackson was appointed to the position following O’Neill’s resignation by the County commission.
She alleged that she tendered her resignation due to disagreements with the Sheriff’s Department about how the work of the office should be conducted.
“When I met with the Sheriff’s Department I was pretty much told not to take pictures, not to talk to family, that they would give me whatever information I needed and that’s not the way that it’s supposed to be. They’re supposed to be independent investigations and I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that,” Hayeslip said.
Jackson said that while in the absence of a coroner the Sheriff’s Department can perform those investigations, he vehemently denied telling Hayeslip that the Sheriff’s Department would be taking over those duties and called her claims “egregious.”
Sides felt that the work at the coroner’s office was being conducted efficiently and said it was something he hoped to continue if he attained the office following the election.
“It’s a pretty cut and dry simple process right now, it’s pretty streamlined,” Sides said.
He was particularly proud of their office’s work handling organ donors ensuring they are recorded quickly and correctly.
Sides also said that transparency in the office would be a vital part of his tenure in the office and that he would work “as hard as I possibly can” to answer the public’s questions.
Some other work that Hayeslip hoped to prioritize should she be elected included focusing on the destruction of the deceased’s prescription drugs, work she says falls under the purview of the coroner’s office, as well as dedicating time to organ procurement so that organ donors are recorded in a timely and efficient manner.
