Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 20, 2004 - FIVE
Sheriffs wife
shares her unique
perspective
To the Editor
My name is Andrea
Denton and I’m married to
Verlin Denton, the Sheriff of
Morrow County As most of
you know, Verlin is running
for a second term o f office
Also running for the Sheriff’s
position is Ken Matlack I
am in a somewhat unique
position o f knowing both
candidates Many years ago,
when Mr Matlack was an
OSP trooper working out of
the A rlington office, I
worked in the Irrigon Justice
Court and got to know him
I found him to be a very nice
guy
My husband and I
have very strong feelings
against the popular form of
“mud-slinging” politics and
are very proud o f the fact
that we have not engaged in
a negative campaign We
have tried very hard to focus
the campaign on why you
should vote for Verlin, not
why you should not vote for
Ken Both candidates have
a strong law enforcement
background Both are good
men
The reason I write
this letter is to say what no
one has been saying Ken’s
platform is p rom oting
com m unity
policin g ,
interagency cooperation,
strong drug enforcement, an
active reservist program and
the duties o f the Sheriff and
Undersheriff What no one
has said is “been there, done
that.” Verlin (along with
m ost Sheriffs) has been
living and p ro m o tin g
com m unity policing for
decades
Verlin
has
strateg ically located his
deputies in every community
in the County to facilitate
quick response time and
encourage participation in
community activities. Verlin
already has c o o p erativ e
agreements with every law
enforcement agency in this
part o f the state and has
enjoyed excellent working
relationships w ith every
agency he w orks w ith
including
Ju v en ile
D epartm en ts,
D istrict
Attorneys, the Courts and
o th e r law enfo rcem en t
agencies
Verlin has actively
prom oted enhanced drug
enforcement for every one of
his 21 years with Morrow
County. He was a founder of
the drug task force that
increases the effectiveness of
d rug en fo rcem en t by
com bining th e lim ited
re so u rc e s o f m ultiple
agencies. He continues to
support their work, currently
serving as Chair o f their
Board of Directors. He has
met with local ag businesses
and individual farmers to
help them learn how best to
p ro te c t th eir anhydrous
ammonia tanks from theft
Verlin is a strong
believer in stretching our
resources through the use o f
reserves and has expanded
the reserve program three
fold just in the last few years
Keeping in mind that the
reserv es
are
unpaid
volunteers, generally with a
full-time job elsewhere, they
cannot
be
used
interchangeably with the
reg u lar com plem ent o f
deputies
So, finally, the
differences betw een the
candidates comes down to
two things: 1) what Ken says
he would do if elected versus
what Verlin is and has been
doing for years; and 2) the
duties o f the Sheriff and
Undersheriff Ken promotes
having
the
S h eriff
performing the duties o f a
patro l deputy, w hat he
characterizes as being a
“working supervisor ”
M eaning
no
disrespect to Ken, I would
expect that from his
background His experience
is sim ilar to th at o f the
Morrow County Sergeants,
who are also w orking
supervisors. His suggestion
th at the S h eriff and
Undersheriff should do the
same demonstrates a lack of
ex p erien ce
and
understanding o f the scope
o f the responsibilities o f the
primary administrator o f a
Sheriff’s Office the size of
Morrow County The reason
Verlin d o e s n ’t p atro l is
because he spends 40-50
hours per week performing
the fu n ctio n s o f the
administrator o f his agency:
supervising 30+ people,
managing $2+ million dollar
budget, executing contracts,
g ra n ts and in terag en cy
agreem ents; acting on a
v ariety o f b o ard s and
com m issions
and
representing the department
to the public. While Verlin
can and has competently and
professionally performed the
d u ties o f a deputy, the
deputies cannot reciprocate
by performing the duties of
Sheriff So, if the Sheriff is
p atro llin g , I am left to
wonder who (that we didn’t
e lect) will co n d u ct the
business o f the Sheriff
While Verlin is not a
particularly good politician
(is n ’t co m fo rtab le g lad
handing and “kissing babies”
for a vote; w on’t tell you
what you want to hear just
to secure your vote, and isn’t
good at blowing his own
horn), he is an excellent
S h e riff He is a man o f
integrity that is dedicated to
professionalism and hard
work He has many years of
experience “making more
with less” by maintaining (or
even expanding) services
w ith o ften dw indling
budgetary resources He is
resp ected by his peers
around the state And,
despite implications to the
co n trary , he is a very
approachable and accessible
leader, as evidenced by every
member o f his department
publicly supporting him I
am hopeful and confident
that the voters can see past
the political rh eto ric to
recognize that Verlin is the
“real deal ” And while I am
clearly not unbiased in this
election, I thought some
might appreciate my unique
perspective
(s) Andrea Denton
Heppner
Lewis has pro
growth ideas
To the Editor:
I am endorsing Keith
Lewis for Heppner mayor
He has a pro-growth agenda
for H eppner- not the
CONGRESSMAN
G iieg W aldev
Leading the
Oregon Way
Greg W alden.. Making a
difference for us: Greg has
returned to Oregon over 220
times to stay in d o se touch with
Heppner City Government
How much m ore can
residents afford to pay in city
taxes9 Is having one o f the
highest tax rates in the state
p ro -g ro w th 9 How much
higher will w ater ra te s
increase9 How much will it
cost the city if it goes ahead
and start its own garbage
service? How much do you
want your garbage service
rates to increase9
The city has a track
reco rd
of
fiscal
irresponsibility. It is time for
an accounting o f our local
government It is time that
our city’s dealings see the
light o f day.
Keith Lewis has the
business background and
in teg rity
needed
to
successfully tackle our city’s
issues
Please vote Keith
Lewis for mayor
(s) Randy and Bernice Lott
Heppner
Matlack offers
comment on
Lambier letter
To the Editor:
T his a rtic le is in
reference to remarks made
by Deputy Jeff Lambier in
the Oct. 13, 2004 issue of the
Heppner Gazette Times
The article contains
num erous erro rs and
d isto rtio n o f facts and
exaggerations. The article
appears to be one o f
desperation on his part. I
know it is the political season
and emotions can run high
but for a person with his
background I would have
expected a better effort to
report factual information I
do appreciate the fact that he
did spell my name correctly.
I w on’t address all
the areas that are incorrect
but I will address a few I
want to make it clear that in
a public forum at Irrigon
Stokes Landing on Oct. 28,
2004 the question was asked
if I was going to give out
officer phone numbers to the
public. I said, no that I was
not going to do that. It is my
b e lie f th at to be m ore
involved with people and
your community it is helpful
to be available to them and I
personally believe in listing
my phone number However,
I understand the other side
of the issue and the concerns
for safety and I will not force
people to provide phone
numbers, etc. N othing in
D eputy L am bier’s citing
ORS 192 445 or 192 502 3
has anything to do with
preventing officers from
listing th e ir p erso n al
information It has more to
do with the requirements
they must submit in writing
when they req u est the
Elect
Bobbi Childers
Morrow County
Clerk
residents and w ork on their con
cerns. As Chairman of the Forests
and Forest Health Subcommittee, he co-authored legislation to improve
forest health, safeguard o ur communities from catastrophic wildfire
and create jobs— it is now law and beginning to deliver results
A Small business ow ner working to create fobs: After 18 years
as a small business owner, Greg knows the challenges rural communi
ties face in creating jobs Thai’s why he's supported incentives to
information not be disclosed
The m eeting in
Irrigon was not a fundraiser
but a chance to meet the
candidate and hear what I
had to say If people wish to
contribute to my campaign,
I appreciate it But it’s their
v o te th at will m ake the
difference and I appreciate
each person that intends to
vote for me
D eputy Lam bier
may not have liked my
response to the question at
the
H eppner
Forum
concerning the duties o f the
Sheriff’ but I know what a
S heriff does and I know
what the people want and I
will do it
I
have
never
promised daily patrols to the
most remote parts o f the
county. W hat I have
promised is that the Sheriff
and the Undersheriff will be
more in the field and will
provide assistance to the
deputies when they become
overloaded with calls This
is not unusual and I
rem em ber
on
many
o ccasio n s when form er
Sheriff Roy Drago would
respond to calls and take
complaints to take some of
the work load off deputies
His active participation is
one o f the things I remember
m ost
about
his
administration and I will do
it again If I am elected
Sheriff, you will see deputies
in the most remote part of
the county but it won’t be
every day and I don’t think
people ever expected it to be
every day.
D eputy Lam bier
cites that I “promised” to
deliver mail to a woman near
Cutsforth Park He has taken
a statement completely out
o f context and which is not
true trying to make “political
hay.” I have no intention of
delivering the mail The
person he is referring to is
Barbara Gilbert I asked
Barbara if I could give her
name and let people call her
if they wanted to know the
context o f this discussion
She quickly agreed We had
a good laugh over this one
Deputy Lambier needs to
investigate his leads and go
to the source before he
quotes things totally out of
context and creates a false
image
I have mentioned to
Deputy Lambier that there
are a lot o f people in
Morrow County that do not
share his perception that
everything is wonderful in
Morrow County I explained
to him that this is what
elections are for If he is so
right and I am so wrong then
I won’t be elected anyway so
“lighten up.” If I am right
and he is w rong, 1 will
implement the changes the
people o f Morrow County
have told me they want
(s) Kenneth Matlack
C andidate for M orrow
County Sheriff
Irrigon
Childers brings
experience to
office
To the Editor
I am w ritin g in
support o f Bobbi Childers
for the office o f M orrow
County Clerk and encourage
the voters to elect her to this
position
I have three reasons
for supporting Bobbi One is
that she has been trained to
handle the duties o f county
clerk when needed When
Barbara Bloodsworth had to
be away from the office,
Bobbi stepped in as a very
capable, knowledgeable and
personable assistant, as she
has done when I needed
help
The second reason is
that Bobbi has attended state
training sessions and belongs
to professional g ro u p s
related to her job, which has
allowed her to personally
becom e acquainted with
people at the state level who
could assist her when
needed
The third and most
important reason is that with
limited county money, I think
it would be better to elect
someone who already has
had the train in g and
experience than spending
much needed dollars training
som eone new
W hen
som eone w ith no prior
experience in the clerk ’s
office is elected , it will
require training to certify
that person and bring them
up to speed with state laws
and statutes Why should we
do that when we already
have a very capable and
experienced person who
w ould like to hold that
office?
T h erefo re, I am
asking you, the voters, to
consider this very carefully
and cast your vote for Bobbi
Childers. She will do an
excellent job for all o f us.
(s) Sally Walker
Heppner
Kemp to run as
write-in candidate
To the Editor:
Due to no fault of my
own, I was not on the Nov
2 ballot for Lexington Town
Council, Position 1
As
a
council
member, I would strive to
provide a safe, attractive and
affordable community for
people to enjoy and live
com fortably.
I
have
experience in grant writing,
budget
co m m ittees,
economic development and
city governm ent to help
make Lexington prosper I
believe as a council member,
one must have com m on
sense, be fin an cially
responsible, honest, truthful
and above all lawful
I would appreciate
your support by writing in
Marcia Kemp, Position 1-
Lexington Town Council
(s) Marcia Kemp Lexington
Gardner’s Men s Wear
revitalize the economy, stood up for Oregon's resource-based jobs, and
strongly advocated for farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin
in H e p p n e r. O re g o n is clo sin g its d o o rs fo re v e r!
and throughout our district.
Complete Liquidation!
Wall to Wall Close-out!
A father and husband who cares about quality education:
As the parents of a 14-year-old in an Oregon public school, Greg and
his wife understand the importance of providing o ur children the best
education possible.
ADDITIONAL
"Returning home to Oregon
et<ery week from our nation "s
capital, / see firsth and the prob
lem s u e fa ce an d work cbsely
w ith local people to develop solid
solutions. With yo u r support.
I w ill continue to work hard to
m ake a real difference fo r real
people Together u e u id
make our state an d our
nation stronger and
m ore secure. “
C urrent Chief Dcputx for
Barbara Bloodsworth.
Morrow County Clerk
g e t®
~
Walden
FON C O N G N E S S
— "-----
A Trusted and Proven Leader
PAID FOR BY WALDEN FOR CONGRESS • PO BOX 1091 • HOOD RIVER, OR 97031
/ have over fo u r years
o f experience and
training in the
Clerk ’v office.
I can do all the duties
of Clerk.
It’s my job.
Paid for b\ Bobbi Childers
REDUCTIONS
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