Appreciates Sheriff’s Response

To The Editor:

I would like to publicly thank the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for its rapid and overwhelming response to a recent alarm at my home.

It turns out that it was a false alarm, but that does not diminish the excellent job done by the deputies.

While my wife and I were visiting with friends, we received a call from Ra-Comm regarding the alarm at our house. When I arrived to turn off the alarm, Deputy Jerrod Blankenship was parked in my driveway.

Shortly thereafter, a second deputy arrived to block my driveway and a third deputy was in position to block the entrance to the subdivision. As I got out of my car I noticed a helicopter with a search light above my house. Deputy Blankenship was very professional and explained to me that they had been notified by one of my neighbors that the alarm was sounding.

I am grateful to live in a neighborhood where neighbors look out for neighbors. When one of my neighbors heard the continuing alarm and could not reach me by phone, they called the Sheriff’s office. What great neighbors!

Deputy Blankenship explained the reasons for the overwhelming response, including that the helicopter was already in the air on routine patrol and that there had been recent break-ins in my subdivision.

Regardless of the reasons, I was extremely impressed by the response and the professionalism of Deputy Blankenship and the other deputies. I have no doubt that if this had been a true break-in, they would have stopped it cold.

I believe that our law enforcement people do not always receive the praise that they deserve for the performance of their duties in keeping us safe. I am thankful for Sheriff Toelke and his entire staff of professional deputies.

If you come into contact with one of the deputies in any circumstance, be sure to thank them for the job they do every day.

Dr. Virgil L. Weideman

Union