Anti-Jenkins letter needs clarification

Angela Ratcliff has chosen not to contact Scott or myself with her questions or assumptions ("Jenkins needs to be clear on his plans," Sept. 26.") She is wrong, and the residents deserve the truth. For the record, all of Scott's public forums have been video recorded.   

Ratcliff said that I "sat on the jail board." This is not true. I was the assistant chief jailer and attended some of the meetings when requested by Sheriff Lee Hart, a member of the board. A list of the board members and the minutes from the meetings is available.

Ratcliff questions Scott's efforts to oppose the new local jail.

Scott first spoke with John Coates early in 2006 about the jail issue. Scott spoke personally with sheriffs, chief deputies, and superintendents of regional jails. When Culpeper moved forward to purchase land and set a construction schedule, Scott spoke publicly and presented other options at the February 2007 Board of Supervisors meeting. 

During Scott's announcement speech in January, he not only outlined his stance on a regional jail and work release program, but he also spoke of providing further training- such as SWAT tactics for school resource and DARE officers.

These programs will continue; again, Ratcliff is grossly misinformed. Remember, Scott also implemented Culpeper's response to school violence training in 1999.   

Ratcliff questions which deputies Scott will reassign to put more officers on the street. Culpeper Deputy Rusty Woodard asked this same question at Scott's last two political forums and it was clearly answered. If Ratcliff has a question about this or any other issue, such as Hart accusing Scott of displaying his Social Security number during a forum, I suggest she request to the video and see the truth. 

Ironically, Ratcliff is only concerned of how Scott received his jail statistics, and not the accuracy, since they are documented. She conveniently omits the fact that Scott has worked his entire adult life in law enforcement. Scott has developed a strong rapport with agencies in our region, which explains his working knowledge of complex issues.

Residents are listening to Scott and the issues concerning the jail. Suddenly, Deputy Rusty Woodard has been sent to the Fauquier Sheriff's Office twice in the past two weeks searching for statistics on its jail operations. But if these statistics have already been explored and our planned $41.8 million local jail is the most cost-effective, why has  Woodard been sent for information-

Ratcliff questions my reason for leaving. My resignation letter is clear and I will explain further when asked by residents, but of course I haven't heard from Ratcliff.

It's unfortunate that people often take at face value what they read in a newspaper.

Many people don't have the time to contact Scott, and he's not going to respond to the Hart and Branch rhetoric. One phone call could have answered Ratcliffs questions. Considering our current economy, I think citizens should look through the smokescreen and see the issues.