Josh Olds

Josh Olds (Staff photo by Ken Ritchie)

Kristen Snyder
Courier Staff Writer

Josh Olds, 29, of Madison, hopes to make a big difference in the community by helping those in need and by finding and trying to correct many of the root causes of the community’s problems.

Olds was raised in Trimble County, Ky., and graduated from Trimble County High School in 2000. After high school he attended Morehead State University working toward a degree in history and criminology. During the summer of 2001 he had the opportunity to intern with the Trimble County Cabinet for Families and Children. The next year he worked for the same agency in a different county.

“All in all I spent six months working for a state agency. However, it was long enough for me to catch the ‘public service bug,’” Olds said.

After graduating from Morehead in 2006, he jumped at the chance to work with Kentucky Probation and Parole, and spent the next four and a half years working in the public safety and law enforcement sector in Carroll and Owen counties.

“After spending over four years sending hundreds of people to jail and prison, without much opportunity to rehabilitate offenders, I decided I could make a much bigger impact in the community if I ventured into the private sector and furthered my education,” Olds said.

Olds is now pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University, an online university. Since moving to Madison in 2009, Olds has become involved with the Rotary Club and plays trumpet in the Madison Community Band. He substitute teaches at Shawe Memorial Junior and Senior High School and has worked for the Salvation Army since May 2011.

Having worked for Probation and Parole and for the Salvation Army, Olds said he has been able to study the root causes of many of the community’s problems associated with crime and delinquency. He said the biggest problems are rooted in drug and alcohol abuse and a lack of adequate resources to deal with those problems.

“My plans for 2012 are big,” Olds said. “For the last year I have been building contacts and resources to start a consulting firm that will hopefully help combat many of these problems through criminal justice advocacy. I seek to work with select youth and adult offenders in an effort to steer them in the right direction. I also hope to motivate offenders to seek educational opportunities, job skills, community service work, and of course substance abuse treatment when needed.”

“Advocacy is my ultimate goal,” Olds said. “An entirely new approach seems to be what is needed, and that is a service I hope to provide.”

Courtesy of the Madison Courier

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