I doubt very seriously that

you can name one other public official in our area who carries the respect

and trust earned by Sheriff Johnson.

2. Regardless of the legal

technicalities involved, and the intentions of the county attorney (aboveboard

or not), we have two gentlemen who served on the county commission at

the time who obviously had no intention of creating a county police force

at the time of the original vote. The longtime county administrator confirms

that the marshal staff was never considered a police force.

So your statements that the

marshals have always been considered a police force is pure hogwash.

3. We citizens will not take

kindly to having our tax dollars spent to duplicate services that are

already provided quite well by the sheriff and his deputies. If more folks

are needed to enforce the laws of Fayette County, then most citizens will

support additions to the sheriff's department. We will not condone an

end-run around the person we elected to handle the tasks.

4. I believe that the deputies

of this county do an excellent job of traffic law enforcement aimed at

safety as opposed to revenue enhancement.

My personal opinion is that

this entire episode is an effort by the commission to bring more money

in. Is the commission working on a belief that if Sheriff Johnson won't

bend to your whims and run speed-traps and other money producing operations,

let's create another department to do it for us?

I hope that you are not trying

to create another local "Hazzard County" for Fayette drivers

to contend with.

5. I am especially disturbed

funds for the sheriff's department. This statement was so ridiculous that

it is beneath contempt.

May I remind you that many

of us enjoy living in this county because of the high level of security

we enjoy? May I also remind you who elected all of you and the sheriff?

Should you even contemplate financially hindering our sheriff's department

because he does not bow down to your desires, I can assure you that Randall

Johnson will still be in office and you won't be. How dare you even think

about saying such a thing!

6. As for Commissioner Dunn's

question about whether or not a marshal who observes a drunk driver should

be told to just ignore it, I would ask, "What are the legal grounds

for a police officer from the city of Atlanta who, while passing through

the Tyrone area, observes an emergency situation? Would that officer not

be empowered to take the situation in hand and deal with it until he can

safely summon officers from the proper jurisdiction? Is that not a basic

duty of any law enforcement officer?

Commissioner Dunn, surely you

have a better argument than that.

7. If you really believe that

we need a second police department for the county, why not do the honest

thing and put it to a vote of our populace?

We will all be best served

if everyone does the job they were elected to do and does not trifle in

the duties of other public servants.

I believe Sheriff Johnson does

his duty to the best of his ability. I don't see him attempting to form

a duplicate county commission.

I would highly suggest that

the commissioners spend their efforts in the areas they were elected to

perform and leave the law enforcement to the experts.

Tom Dunn

Peachtree City, Ga.