Response to Reserve Deputy Shane Joplin,

Shane,

 

First of all let me tell you that I appreciate an officer who is honest, and dedicates his or her time because he or she wants to help the citizens of this County.  Reserve officers should be highly commended when they do their jobs honestly and truthfully, because they do not receive monetary compensation for the work they do or the time that they spend serving the citizens.  This fact in and of itself means a great deal to myself, and hopefully to the citizens of this County.

 

One of the problems that I am seeing between the SO, and the citizens of this county is there is no open door when it comes to the citizens and the SO.  I do not want you to get me wrong and think that I am saying that everything that goes on in the SO should be out in the public, but for a law enforcement agency to gain the respect of the citizens, there needs to be transparency to the public with all information that will not affect the outcome of any ongoing investigations.  

 

Nearly 50 percent of the citizens in this county voted for a change.  Sheriff Elect Reed has said that he wants the SO to be more progressive, and that he is going to make changes to bring this about.  One of the things that needs to be done is to have a forum for dialogue between the citizens and the SO.  This forum is such a place.  I do not want, nor am I looking for glory in what I am doing no matter how it seems to anyone.  What I do want is law enforcement that is equal, and fair, and a law enforcement that the citizens DO NOT FEAR!  I also want a government and justice system that the citizens have a voice in rather than being shut out of!!! 

 

What is happening now is that the citizens do not trust the SO, and the SO seems to not trust the citizens.  This problem is gargantuan. I would like to see it brought down to size to not only allow the citizenry of this county a voice in government, but also to make the SO a more respected and progressive department.  So far mostly everyone out here is afraid to address problems out in the open because there is fear of retaliation by the SO.  I am not afraid, and do not feel that I have any reason to be afraid, so I have stepped up and started this site, so that everyone can have a free voice even though most of them withhold their names by request.  They do this because they are afraid.

 

People are tired of the drugs, the drug dealers, and their kids being ravaged by drugs.  A lot of the citizenry choose to stick their heads in a hole in the ground to keep from seeing the problems, but a lot more of them are beginning to pull their heads out and look at them. They are finding the problems with drugs appalling, and want something done, and done now rather having promises of progression in the SO.  In other words, "Where's the Beef?"   To alleviate the problems, the SO has to start cracking down on the dealers in this County rather than looking the other way because some of them are related to prominent citizens, or citizens who make a lot of money and contribute to their campaigns.  This is considered to be the number one problem here, (next to unsolved murders and disappearances) and everyone

I talk to wants this taken care of now rather than later on down the road.  There is help to do this, and I am sure the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) would be more than glad to start taking down some of the suppliers of the dealers if the SO would cooperate by providing information to them and working with them.  At least that is the way it seems to me and to a lot of the citizens.

 

The people are tired of excuses and silence!!  They want something done "now" from what I am hearing, that they will not let me post!!

 

I misunderstood your intentions on posting  your response to Jimmy Maulden, and I am glad you let me know, because it was a good response, as it is "your" side of the situation.  I wish that you had gone into a little more detail about why his daughter was stopped, and why you felt the need to search the car, but that is not the point.  The point is you felt you needed to for some reason, and even if it does not come out right away you at least responded and told part of your side of the story.  This in and of itself puts a foot in the door and cracks it open for everyone to see.  This helps me to see more, but it also makes me want to know more, because I feel that you probably did have "Good Reasons" for your actions, and wish you had gone into them.

 

I do not purport that this site is a fix all for the problems of this county, but what I do think is that if we can start a dialog here between the government and the people that this problem can fix itself.  I am here and willing, and I am going to state here and now that I am lifting the ban on elected officials and their subordinates giving opinions. Lets all start talking about how to fix this problem rather than sticking our heads in the sand and hoping that the problem will go away.  It has not in the past, and it will not in the future if the citizenry and the government do not start talking!!  The Government and Law Enforcement cannot fix the problems without the Citizens; the Citizens cannot fix the problems without Government and Law Enforcement.  Kind of a "Catch 22"  don't you think.

 

Respectfully,

 

Ernest Henslee

Webmaster

www.rrpolitics.org