HE DIDN’T start at the top of the heap.

That, however, didn’t stop Edward A. Sargus Jr. from being named as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for Ohio’s Southern District.

He assumed his new duties Jan. 1 and now is in charge of a district encompassing 48 counties, 15 judges and nine magistrates. His jurisdiction includes two of Ohio’s “big three,” Columbus and Cincinnati, as well as Dayton.

Sargus has administrative oversight over all court units which have more than 300 employees.

Despite his new duties involving extensive courts and departments, he still intends to handle a full caseload and also plans to continue trying in St. Clairsville federal cases arising in Eastern Ohio.

Before his involvement in various capacities in the U.S. District Court, he was special counsel to the Ohio Attorney General from 1979 through May 1993.

FROM 1978-93, he was in private practice in Bellaire and St. Clairsville.

During that period, he was solicitor for Powhatan Point, and a hillside stabilization project was underway north of the village in the 1980s. Cost of that multi-million project far exceeded the original estimate and also involved helicopters for emergency cases and a ferry for motorists.

Sargus had the unenviable task of handling legal matters for Powhatan during those years. Once, he was informed by state officials of an unexpected change and took time to call a news reporter even though he was on his way to court. Not many people are that thoughtful.

SARGUS had a good example to follow in his own family. A grandson of immigrants from Lebanon, he is the son of the late Edmund Sargus Sr., who was a state senator and later probate/juvenile court judge in Belmont County.

His father worked for the reclamation of surface or strip mining land in addition to being concerned about juveniles. The Sargus Juvenile Center is named in his honor.

The chief judge’s wife, Jennifer, formerly a Belmont County Common Pleas Court judge, now handles assigned cases from the Ohio Supreme Court and is an adjunct professor at the OSU Law School.

He doesn’t limit his interests to legal matters. Sargus and his son, Edmund C. Sargus, co-authored a book on Thomas Drummond, a Civil War hero.

MAY his noteworthy efforts continue.