During the spring of 2009 my gravel road was in the process of being paved. The contractors engaged by the county made such a mess of the job that I was not surprised to learn that it was their first municipal road project. Parking lots and driveways were the extent of their previous experience. I decided to get someone in county government involved to sort out this mess so I attempted to contact my county councilman, Sammie Tucker. The Kershaw County website had no e-mail address (at the time) but listed a phone number, for Mr. Tucker, so I called it. The phone number was a non-working number. I called the main number at the Kershaw County Government Center and left a callback message. After waiting two days with no response I left another message. Again I received no response and decided to contact S.C. Rep. Laurie Funderburk, via e-mail, for assistance. Ms. Funderburk called me back within 10 minutes. The project manager for the road visited my home the following day after being contacted by Ms. Funderburk. Kudos and thanks to Ms. Funderburk for the quick response and involvement.

On Nov. 2, I will find myself faced with the choice of selecting a new sheriff. After reading David Dean’s factual and comparative letter of 10/1/2010 and reviewing my experience with one of the candidates, my choice becomes very clear. If I cannot get response from Mr. Tucker on a routine municipal matter, what can I expect on a law enforcement issue?  Jim Matthews is my choice for sheriff .