The opponents in the races for sheriff and clerk of courts did the most sparring Monday morning as all eight candidates running for the four countywide offices on the Nov. 4 ballot spoke at the Highlands County Homeowners Association. ...more

October 14, 2008

I made a special trip to the Obama Headquarters the other day to purchase an Obama-Biden campaign sign. There used to be a representation of Obama-Biden signs along Hammock Road, along with McCain-Palin signs. Also along Heron Road, there was a representation of both. ...more

October 13, 2008

All eight candidates running for countywide office in the Nov. 4 general election are scheduled to speak at the Highlands County Homeowners Association meeting today. ...more

October 13, 2008

Susan Benton, 58, was the first elected female sheriff in Florida's history. In August, she was elected by her 66 fellow sheriffs to chair the 2009 slate of officers for the 115-year-old Florida Sheriffs Association. The sheriff supervises a staff of 360 employees, earns $120,000 per year, and administers a $27-million annual budget. ...more

October 12, 2008

Politics are a lot like sports, and there's not much difference between fans and political supporters. Sometimes in the zeal of supporting their team or candidate, they can be downright silly - and mean. That's going on at the national and local levels. ...more

October 12, 2008

For the past several months I have been reading letters to the editor in the newspapers regarding Sheriff Susan Benton. I thought from the papers that the sheriff was "walking on water" in her job, by doing such a good job. But now I find she wants a new $12 million building. The Highlands County Commissioners have approved this request which had been ongoing for three to five years. ...more

October 12, 2008

We would like to commend Sheriff Susan Benton for her professionalism, integrity and personal dedication in her leadership of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office. She has been deeply involved with all aspects of public safety and community improvements. ...more

October 11, 2008

Please allow me to respond to a letter in Thursday's paper (Oct. 9) regarding Sheriff Benton. The writer seems to think that our sheriff is rude and uncaring because she didn't take time to speak with him about free Spanish lessons he was offering the deputies back in January 2007. He stated that he was a part-time resident, so he might not have known that at that particular time, one of our brave state troopers, Sgt. Sottile, had been brutally murdered. Maybe if he had known that, he might realize that the sheriff was busy trying to catch a cop killer. It is possible that his generous offer was somehow forgotten in the process. ...more

October 11, 2008

Sheriff Susan Benton's office has completed an inventory of about 8,000 evidence items, said the office's attorney, Mike Durham. ...more

October 8, 2008

Highlands County Court Judge Anthony Ritenour will not allow inmates to serve jail time on the weekend work release program until changes are implemented. ...more

October 8, 2008