Letters

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015

Retiring sheriff:
Keep the office
elected by voters
To the editor:
The debate over whether or not to
eliminate the office of the sheriff and
make a county police department has begun. With the passing of our charter form
of government, I suspected that the next
step would be the elimination of elected
officeholders. I would have to ask, why
start with the Sheriffs Office?
What purpose would such action provide? St. Charles County recently went
over to a police department and costs
did not go down. Instead, cost went up.
It does not pose a greater amount of proficiency or security for our citizens, nor
will it enhance our ability to fight crime.
The Sheriffs Office is funded by a
one-half-cent sales tax, dedicated to fund
law enforcement (the Sheriffs Office).
What happens to those funds? Would
they remain as is? Would there have to be
a new tax? Would the county now have
control over those dollars and use them
for other purposes?
Even though there would still be an
elected sheriff, it would be an administrative position only, having duties to regulate the operation of the jail and service of
civil process, and restricted from any law
enforcement duties. Those duties would
be controlled by the county executive and
the seven members of the County Council
through the appointed police chief, who
would be appointed by the county executive with approval of the County Council
without and citizen input.
Under the current system, we elect a
sheriff every four years. To be elected, a
candidate must be 24 years of age, must
be a citizen of the county for 12 months
prior to the election, have a minimum of
5 years experience, hold a Class A Certification from the State Police Officers
Standards and Training Commission, and
file under a party standard.
All of our citizens are given the
opportunity to review the candidates
and their qualifications, education, and
proposed programs. Citizens then have
the right to vote for the candidate of their
choice. By eliminating the office of the
sheriff, the County Council and executive
(eight people), not the majority of citizens,
would decide who would lead the largest
law enforcement agency in the county.
To sum it up, there is no economic
benefit. It will not reduce crime. It will not
make it more proficient. And it will take
away the citizens right to vote for the
position or even have a say in the process.
The writers of our charter purposely
kept all the elected positions because they
knew from listening to our citizens that
the citizens wanted the right to vote for
officials in Hillsboro. They went a step
further and removed any control over
the Sheriffs Office from the council,
thus eliminating any political pressure
on the sheriff by the council. Again, this
was done after listening to input from
the citizens.
So, why would we want to trash the
Sheriffs Office? The answer is obvious.
It would allow whichever political party
is in power to select the leader of the larg-

est law enforcement agency in the county

and eliminate the citizens right to have a
say in the process.
I feel our citizens are smart enough
to select the right candidate to lead our
Sheriffs Office and if he/she does not
work out, then they can be voted out. I
do not need the county executive or the
County Council telling me who I can
or cannot vote for. I have that right as a
citizen of this great country.
I cannot support such a proposal. I
will retire at the end of this term, so I
answer this question as a citizen and not
as an elected official.

Oliver Glenn Boyer

Sheriff

Legislators, please
expand Medicaid
To the editor:
Most Missouri legislators seem to be
dismissing Medicaid Expansion in our
state. I wish they would have attended
the very informative Medicaid Town
Hall meeting on Feb. 7 at the Disability
Resource Association in Festus.
I wish our legislators would have
heard the stories of the many Jefferson
Countians who shared their stories hardworking adults like Rene, from Arnold,
who because of her disabilities cannot
even lift her granddaughter.
Rene, like so many other Missourians, must choose each month to pay her
utilities or to purchase prescription drugs
for her pain.
As concerned parents, my wife and I
worry about our daughter, Danielle, who
falls in the Medicaid gap through no fault
of her own. Danielle has a degree in social
work, is working towards her masters
degree and is the director of New Life
Missouri Inn in Perryville.
She is the proud mother of seven
children, three of whom are adopted
and have special needs. Danielle has
no workplace health coverage, does
not make enough as a social worker to
qualify for a subsidy on the marketplace
and makes too much to qualify for our
current Medicaid system.
I urge our Jefferson County legislators to listen to their constituents who
are caught in this coverage gap and act
now! If Medicaid expansion is good for
the 28 states that have so far adopted it,
it is surely good for Missouri.
This is not a political issue, a Republican or Democratic issue. It is a moral issue.

Jefferson County Leader

Her statement that a corporation

should be able to run its business according to its religious values is disturbing.
Why are the First Amendment rights of
a corporation more important than the
First Amendment rights of an individual?
Attacking women who want birth
control is the first step. Where will this
slippery slope end? If individuals who
own a large corporation decide that their
faith does not believe in vaccinations for
childhood illnesses, will we allow those
children to go unprotected and potentially
infect other children from families with
different beliefs?
What if the owners religious beliefs
do not condone drinking or smoking?
Can they selectively refuse treatment for
lung or liver cancer, if they decide that
the employees lifestyle was the cause
for their illness?
I recently had to fill out a questionnaire for a meeting that I was attending.
One of the questions was, What is your
favorite book or published work? My
answer was, The United States Constitution in its entirety.
Cherry picking and selectively interpreting portions of the document is petty
politics at its worst. Those who choose to
draw the Constitution like a gun should
be required to actually read it. If I had
used the phrase We the People in this
letter, many of those Constitution idolizers might accuse me of being a socialist.

Elizabeth Johnston
Valles Mines

a safety concern and exposes them to

weather conditions.
Festus has been honored by the state
as a model for creating professional learning communities, or great teams. Every
team works better if they are all together.
We have several staff members in these
trailers away from their peers. Lets bring
them inside as one. The teachers are currently working in a makeshift classroom.
Do we want something that works or
do we want what is best?
A Yes on S means we would be
able to eliminate trailer classrooms and
build 18 new classrooms. Why would we
not want this for our kids, grandkids and
community? As one of the top schools
in Missouri, lets keep our facilities in
the top tier as well, without an increase
in our taxes.

Jamie Willis
Festus

Hwy. 67 awaits
writer who griped
about Twin Cities
To the editor:
Responding to Mike Blankes Feb.
19 letter about living in the Festus area,
if the Festus/Crystal City area does not
suit you, move to Farmington.
People move all the time its easy.

John Dugan
Herculaneum

Vote Yes on S
for Festus schools

Letter policy

To the editor:
The students and staff of the Festus
R-6 School District deserve a Yes on Prop
S this April. As a supporter of Prop S,
doesnt it make sense to have our students
all in one building? Doesnt it make sense
in the same building as their peers?
Currently we have trailers at both
the elementary and high school where
students are walking to and from classes
that are in unlocked structures. This is

UPCOMING
EVENTS:

17

Letters must be signed and include

the writers telephone number. Letters
may be edited for length and clarity
300 words or fewer are preferred.
Letters from announced candidates will not be printed prior to their
Election Day. Letters advocating
political candidates or issues will
not be printed in the last two issues
before an election.

Friday, March 6, 1:00 p.m.

Adult and Pediatric First Aid / CPR / AED Red Cross
Certification; $90 for adult certification; $110 for adult and
pediatric certification Jefferson County Library Arnold
Branch, 314-516-2800 or www.redcross.org/take-a-class
to register. Recommended for adults.
Saturday, March 7, 11:00 a.m.
Street Smarts Presented by Jefferson County Health
Department Festus Public Library, 636-937-2017.
Recommended for Grades 3-5.
Monday, March 9, 7:00 p.m.
How to Stay Young Your First Hundred Years Jefferson
County Library Windsor Branch, 636-461-1741 to register.
Recommended for adults.

John Antonich
Pevely

Corporate rights
not more important
than individual ones

Wednesday, March 11, 10:00 a.m.

Boost Your Mood and Avoid Emotional Overeating
Presented by Signature Medical Group Jefferson County
Library Northwest Branch, 1-800-243-6060 to register.
Recommended for adults.

To the editor:
In response to Barb Salters Feb. 19
letter, I will begin by saying that I agree
with her and Woody Lawson that changing the Constitution should not be easy.
I also agree that there are good and bad
people in every walk of life.
But our agreement ends there.

Second Tuesday of Each Month 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.

Blood Pressure Checks by Jefferson County Health
Department Crystal City Public Library, 636-937-7166.
Recommended for adults.

Wednesday, March 11, 6:30 p.m.

How to Stay Young Your First Hundred Years Jefferson
County Library Arnold Branch, 636-296-5171 to register.
Recommended for adults.

http://3-4-67.jeffcolib.org/

Sponsored by Jefferson County Libraries/Jefferson County Health Department.

Funded with a grant from Jefferson Memorial Community Foundation.