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Funding sheriff’s office should be top priority
Published 5:22am Sunday, January 20, 2013I’ve been reading in The Tribune and watching on the news the matter of budget cuts concerning the sheriff’s office.
They say that everyone got a 25 percent budget cut, and maybe this is true, but obviously this did not have such an extreme effect on other officeholders or we would be hearing of county wide layoffs.
Over the past few years I have seen the county commissioners trying to save taxpayers money. I have seen Treasurer Stephen Burcham having property tax auctions and bringing in more county money. I truly appreciate when a government official looks for ways to save my tax money instead of looking for ways to spend it.
However, we have rampant drug abuse and associated crime. We have people going into yards and killing chained family pets. We have people breaking into Masonic lodges and vandalizing property.
Our sheriff has helped to curb and bring to justice the people who have committed these crimes.
Thank you Sheriff Jeff Lawless.
If you have not been touched by crime, it is not a matter of “if” but “when” you will become a victim. I believe every effort and every extra penny needs to be prioritized for our public safety and our sheriff.
We have this extra casino money coming in now and the sheriff has continued to focus on public safety. I urge you to contact the commissioners and ask that they keep our public safety and the sheriff’s office as a fully funded priority of our county to send a message to potential criminals that our county is not the place to come to commit their crimes.
Joe Freeman
South Point
McDonalds helps make holidays brighter for youth
We want to say a big thank you to the management of the Ironton McDonald’s restaurant for once again helping make the holidays happy for our kids.
We always ask them for donations for the kids parties at Easter, Halloween and Christmas and they always come through in a big way.
The kids look forward to getting the Happy Meal coupons at the parties. Again, thank you so much.
Connie Stapleton
Women of the Moose
Joe Freeman, very good letter and you certainly speak the truth when saying it is just a matter of time before everyone becomes a victim of a crime.
Lawrence County, along with many of the other counties bordering the Ohio River, not only have to fight crime from Ohio criminals but from the bordering states as well. As we have seen in Ironton Tribune articles, nearly every arrest made in this county is an out of state criminal.
These out of state criminals are sucking up taxpayer money in this county until there is nothing left for law enforcement or not enough room in jail. Ohio Legislators need to come up with a plan to recoup that money from WV and KY. Dump the hillbillies back on their doorstep, we don’t want them here!
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