From head to

toe, they look like police officers: with the department-issue handgun

tucked into the gun belt, shiny badge on display and handcuffs at the

ready.

They even tool

around in patrol cars with the blue light bars on top.

But the deputies

of the Fayette County Marshal's Department don't haul criminals into the

jail very often.

Maybe it's

because they're busy enforcing county ordinances, providing security at

county buildings, patrolling areas for hunting and fishing violators and

overseeing the county's risk reduction program. That only scrapes the

surface of the variety of duties the nine deputy marshals handle.

In their daily

battle to enforce county ordinances, the deputies' main weapon is a citation

from their ticket book. But Chief Marshal C.L. Hall says that's a last

resort, especially since most residents who violate county ordinances

aren't aware of what's required of them.

"We're

not out to make a bunch of cases," Hall said. "We just want

them to come into compliance."

Hall pulls

down the three-inch thick black binder containing a copy of all the county

ordinances. He realizes there's no way county residents could know of

each regulation that's in the book.

Take the county's

sign ordinance, for instance. A county law forbids sign placement on rights

of way, which varies from road to road, but that hasn't stopped signs

from sprouting up in all the wrong places.

In the past

few weeks, more than 150 signs have been removed because they didn't meet

guidelines, Hall said. One irate sign owner called to complain Monday,

asking for his sign back; Hall informed him he could pick it up at the

county's maintenance shop.

Hall's rule

of thumb for sign placement makes sense: place the signs even with the

utility poles, which are usually right on the edge of the right-of-way.

To help curb

the problem, the department is sending warning letters to repeat sign

violators, letting them know they could be brought to court if the improper

placement keeps happening.

But not all

of the deputy marshals' duties are that simple. They also enforce hunting

and fishing regulations, and recently that type of field work led to the

arrest of a man wanted in Kentucky on a felony warrant for violating parole,

Hall said.

It's not often

that the marshals have to use their police powers to make an arrest, Hall

said. But sometimes there are sticky situations where having police experience

can be helpful, he added.

"Say a

person calls in a barking dog complaint, and it turns out the wife and

husband have been having a fight," Hall said. "You're liable

to get into a drastic situation. It doesn't happen often, but it could

happen anytime."

And although

traffic enforcement is the domain of the sheriff's department and the

city police departments, deputy marshals will make traffic stops if necessary

to protect the public, Hall said. The deputy marshal could then write

a citation or detain the suspect until the appropriate agency can arrive,

the chief added.

"We need

to get violators off the road if there's a traffic hazard," Hall

said.

In addition

to the county ordinances governing everything from illegal dumping to

building codes, from zoning regulations to keeping leashes on animals.

The marshal's department also delivers citations for the county Health

Department and the tax commissioner, particularly for owners of trailers

who haven't paid for their tax decal, Hall said.

The marshal's

department also performs security checks on county buildings, investigates

accidents with county-owned property and provides defensive driving courses

for all county employees who drive a county vehicle, Hall said.

In 1998, the

department added a marine unit, allowing for boaters' licenses to be checked

also. That resulted in 766 boating safety inspections and 2,122 fishing

license checks last year.

The department

also enforces Department of Transportation regulations, which includes

the inspection of tractor trailers. It also offers a hunter safety education

course to the community and inspects local businesses that sell alcohol,

both by the drink and by the package.

The varied

work load leads to a busy crew, as the department handled more than 25,000

calls last year, compared to 19,000 the year before. The majority of those

calls were for security checks on county property and special patrols

related to security.

"You run

from the barking dog calls to environmental regulations to illegal digging,"

Hall said. "No two days are the same."

Hall wants

to expand the department enough to provide full 24-hour coverage. Currently,

shifts end at midnight with one officer on call each night if anything

comes up.