By now, you are aware that my bid to be the Republican candidate for Sheriff of Bureau County came up short.  I want to thank all of you who supported me and believed in me.  As I have said many times, this was never about me and the grief that I feel is not for me.  I have this feeling that I let you down.  My wife, Joann, always tells me that things happen for a reason.  I had wanted so much to change things for the better and maybe there is a better way that I just am having a difficult time seeing.  I am also having a difficult time writing this and will be back tomorrow.  No matter what, the things that I have said here are things that I believe in and there will be much more in the future.  As far as the conditions that exist in the BCSD, those things have not changed and I will continue to point them out and hope that I can influence change.  I know that I touched one family in a very special way and I thank them for sharing that with me and I will never forget their kind words.

The women and men of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department are very special people. Each one of them volunteered to accept a commission as a deputy sheriff. No one forced them to do it. They all had different reasons for placing themselves at the service of the residents of Bureau County.

This message is directed to those women and men. There are, I am sure, many rumors that are circulating as to why I want to be the Sheriff of Bureau County. There is only one reason: to make the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department the most professional agency it can be. Integrity, accountability, and honesty will be the standard. Previously elected Sheriff’s have terminated employees, for whatever reasons, upon being sworn into office. I will not pursue that course. Each and every current employee will retain their rank and assignments upon my election. A lot of time and money has been invested in each of you and I see no reason to waste that because our opinions may differ. Over the past few months my mere presence has forced the current administration to make changes. I have been vocal over the Merit Commission and the dangerous equipment that you have been using for years. Although others may take the credit, and they have, I have influenced those decisions. In the end, you and the Department are the better for it. I am hesitant to offer detailed thoughts about my plans as someone else will once again pick up on them and take credit. Having said that, I will share with each of you one of those plans. During the first 180 days that I am the Sheriff, I will meet with every employee, in a confidential setting and at a time of your choice. That meeting will be for the purpose of reviewing your personnel and training jackets. I intend to purge those negative items that may have been retained for too long a period. I will be looking at training jackets and asking you what you feel is the course that will help you attain your goals and benefit the entire department and the residents of Bureau County. I will put into place a system of honest annual evaluations, as required by the Merit Commission, that is not based on you writing your own evaluation or composed of positive statements that someone else was forced to write about you.

As I stated earlier, this message is intended for the employees of the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department. The reason I am putting it here is that I want everyone to hear what I have to say. Some of the employees are prevented from listening to or talking to me. If you are acquainted with an employee, please pass this on to them. Thank You.