It was a case that threatened to unseat Highlands County's top law enforcement officer: 33 pieces of evidence had been lost, according to an April report. ...more

December 31, 2008

The Highlands Today endorsement of Sheriff Benton publically acknowledges she "has problems" and in the same article, states the clear fact that "Ron Grimming has a lot to offer Highlands County. It's difficult not to endorse him. He doesn't have a weakness we can see and there are plenty of positives." I find this a bit contradictory. It seems you talk from both sides of your keyboard! ...more

October 28, 2008

As a retired police officer with over 36 years of experience, I feel compelled to voice my concerns regarding the upcoming Sheriff's election. I have followed this race very closely and found that Sheriff Benton willfully misled the public on the evidence issue. The missing evidence is extremely disturbing to me because as Mike Rowan so aptly said during the primary, "the evidence room is the integrity of the Sheriff's Department." When the original 13-page Newell report was submitted our sheriff missed a golden opportunity to stand up as a leader, acknowledge the problems and move towards resolving evidence issues. Instead she attempted to cover up this report. When the report surfaced, she misrepresented Mr. Newell's work and damaged his reputation in a public forum. ...more

October 26, 2008