Editor, The Herald:

I have been reading many articles in favor of the new electoral candidates in November's General Elections. They say the incumbent candidates are not doing his or her job, effectively, or without bias. Some claim that we have a selective regime that has infiltrated our County's Government Offices. Having been in that crowd of suspicious and sometimes malicious group myself, I can honestly say I took it on myself to investigate and seek the truth.

First our Commonwealth's Attorney, whose duties and responsibilities are laid out in the State of Virginia's Constitution. I understand many individuals who have issues as either them, their family, or someone they have known, may have been on the opposite side at one time or another. Yet his job is to prosecute those who are arrested or have criminal charges brought against them. Don't let our anger of someone doing their job, which has been fair to all citizens, cause us to make rash or quick decisions. Remember we can always end up with someone worse.

The County Treasure: with many counties functioning in the red, and with more debt than revenue, our current Treasurer, whose duties and responsibilities are also laid out in the State of Virginia's Constitution, has kept our county coffers in control. She has also shown an ability to work with those who may be having financial difficulties to pay off their financial obligations to the County without fear of legal reprisal, performing the duties that the office calls for, the collecting the County's revenue and paying the County's bills and working with it the present recessionary budget parameters.

The County's Sheriff or our Chief Law Enforcement Officer whose duties and responsibilities are also laid out in our State's Constitution. The idea that suddenly a new sheriff will come in and make these magical changes, by adding 6 to 12 new deputies, when the continuous funding for these positions is non-existent, without an increase in tax revenue, we need to remember that we have a candidate with 27 continuous years of experience in all facets of our Sheriff's Department-which holds the responsibility of not only protecting us, but protecting our courts, transportation of prisoners, and many other things we don't see, or know about. Also, the 2010 Census numbers allots Prince Edward County two added deputies; however, neither the federal nor state government has allotted the funding for hiring these two allotted positions; which includes salary, training, and outfitting of these new officers.

In closing, we must look at the facts when we are making decisions. I am no different than the rest of my fellow Prince Edward County citizens; I, too, get frustrated and wish to blame those in government or elected positions. But I also know that taking a deep breath and studying the facts is the best way to make a rational and informative decision. Fiction is fun to read and gives us a fantasy outlet, but fact is what we live with in real life.

Kenneth W. Jackson

Rice