Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994 TAG: 9401140038
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID D. WALKER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Although I felt they were unfair, it wasn't until your Dec. 27 editorial, entitled "Bedford Sheriff in the Cookie Jar," that I decided enough was enough and a response was in order.
I first met Sheriff Wells when I was chief assistant in the Roanoke City Commonwealth's Attorney's Office in the mid-1970s. At that time, I found him to be a very dedicated and professional law-enforcement officer.
Our business relationship changed, of course, when I started defending criminal cases in Bedford. But my opinion of Sheriff Wells has never changed.
What your articles do not make clear is that the sheriff is required by law to maintain several accounts, and all accounts, including the payroll account, must be available at all times for inspection by auditors for public accounts or any other certified public accountant authorized by the governing body.
These accounts are audited once a year.
The only point in your articles with which I agree is that paying a payroll out of a personal account the size of Bedford County Sheriff's Department's payroll may give the appearance of impropriety.
From your articles, it is clear that the state auditors never told Sheriff Wells to change the way he was handling his payroll account, which had been in existence since 1974.
It is also clear that Sheriff Wells has not diverted any state or county money for his own use.
The only money in question is the interest that was earned on that account. If he had not made it an interest-bearing account, there would be no controversy.
If this newspaper wants to go after someone, you should be writing articles about the inadequate job the auditors for public accounts have done in both auditing Sheriff Wells' accounts and advising him concerning those audits instead of sensationalizing and dragging Sheriff Wells' good name through the dirt.
I understand from talking to people in Bedford County that Sheriff Wells has had opposition in only one election since 1974. That was in the early '80s and he won that election with more than 70 percent of the vote.
Even with all your articles, I would lay odds that Sheriff Wells could run for office today and still get 70 percent or more of the vote in Bedford County against any opponent who would care to run against him.
The reason for this is that Sheriff Wells is a good law-enforcement officer and has done a good job for the people of Bedford County, and they know it!
Your articles are a prime example of why fewer and fewer decent people are willing to run for public office. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
David D. Walker of Salem is a lawyer.
by CNB