I think the way Sheriff Randall Johnson is being treated in Free Speech is shameful. This honorable man has been a hero to our community for almost 30 years. He has brought honesty, integrity and toughness to this community that has kept all of us safe for decades. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is why a lot of us moved here.
A Free Speech section of a local newspaper, in theory, can be healthy for a community. A community can use such a venue to keep our local government in check. But it becomes a disaster when that same local governing authority uses it to mislead the population with false propaganda.
Our county has been infested by a small group of nasty politicians who use dirty tricks through Free Speech to deceive our community and soil the reputation of someone we know to be a good man.
County government officials use Free Speech to pretend to be different people throughout the county who don’t like the sheriff. They are very crafty (or sneaky) at what they do, sometimes criticizing themselves a little as well so that the item doesn’t appear to be coming from their camp.
People just need to remember before Greg Dunn, Janet Dunn and Linda Wells came along, we all knew we had one of the best sheriff’s offices in the state. This reputation was known throughout the state. The only thing that has changed is a handful of politicians with their own agenda.
Adolf Hitler used the media to spread his propaganda and deceive the population he represented. I hope we’ve come far enough along to think for ourselves and take Free Speech with a large grain of salt when the message is anonymous.
Terry Maddox
frazoo87 (at) yahoo.com