<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1gSMPt_0uiI21Q800" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1gSMPt_0uiI21Q800" width="1200" height="630" ><figcaption>Buy Now Jeff Hall and David Merrill are running for Nodaway County Coroner. GEOFFREY WOEHLK/THE FORUM</figcaption></figure>EDITOR’S NOTE: The Forum conducted in-person interviews with each local candidate in a contested race on the Aug. 6 primary ballot. Each race will be posted on weekday mornings from Thursday through Tuesday.MARYVILLE, Mo. — Longtime County Coroner Dr. Vince Shelby will retire at the end this year, and two candidates, Jeff Hall and David Merrill, will vie to replace him.<h2>JEFF HALL</h2>Hall spent 20 years with the Nodaway County Ambulance District before leaving for Clarinda, Iowa, where he currently works as a paramedic. He said during last week’s candidate forum that he plans to continue working in that role, which requires him to be in Clarinda about seven or eight days a month, if he’s elected to the coroner post.His work as an EMT and paramedic is what he sees as his greatest strength that would translate to the county coroner’s role.“I just enjoy helping people when they’re in times of stress, and obviously as a paramedic, you’re always working with people in stress,” he said “… I’ve found that I’m pretty good at connecting with people and being able to help them through those times.”And that’s what he said he would aim to do as coroner as well.“I will be there to make sure that services are provided,” Hall said. “I mean, obviously if I’m working, the assistant coroner will take care of that for me, but I will be there for them whenever their time of need happens. I will be there to follow up with them as they feel like they need to, and just wanna make this process as easy as I can for everybody involved.”<h2>DAVID MERRILL</h2>Merrill has consistently touted his extensive experience in law enforcement and investigations as his biggest strength. Before retiring in 2020, he worked more than 34 years in those fields for the St. Joseph Police Department, the Missouri state Highway Patrol, the Northwest Missouri State University Police Department and as an investigator with the Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.During that time, Merrill said he worked closely with many coroners throughout northwest Missouri and had been interested in becoming one himself once Shelby retired.“I think Vince Shelby, who is the current coroner who has decided not to run this term, did an excellent job as our coroner,” Merrill said. “I don’t think that there is anything that I would change that he hasn’t already done because he’s done such an excellent job in that regard. And I have worked with him numerous times, as well as many of the other coroners in northwest Missouri in investigations — being assigned to go to autopsies and gather additional evidence, I’ve done that with proficiency.”Merrill said his goal as coroner would be to bring clarity and closure to families in their most difficult time.“I am here to help families that are in unfortunate situations … and bring to the table professional, adequate investigations that I can bring to them so that they don’t have any questions when we’re done,” he said.In addition to his work as a criminal investigator, Merrill said his time on the roads as a Highway Patrol trooper for 10 years helps him have a broad base of experience to draw from, and in total he has been involved in more than 100 death investigations, including “homicide, suicide, accidental deaths, child death — all those things, I have done.”“What I bring to the table, I believe, is that I have done all of these duties and know how they’re done because of my work experience,” Merrill said. “And I’m ready to go to work for the citizens of Nodaway County to continue what’s in place.”</div></body>

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Hall, Merrill vie for county coroner

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Longtime County Coroner Dr. Vince Shelby will retire at the end this year, and two candidates, Jeff Hall and David Merrill, will vie to replace him. Hall spent 20 years with the Nodaway County Ambulance District before leaving for Clarinda, Iowa, where he currently works as a paramedic. He said during last week’s candidate forum that he plans to continue working in that role, which requires him to be in Clarinda about seven or eight days a month, if he’s elected to the coroner post.