Sheriff Larry Ashley should take a hard look at priorities without increasing the cost to taxpayers for his department.
Harassing massage parlors and ladies of the evening might make for newspaper stories, along with pulling marijuana plants, counting them and assigning them a street value, but these hardly qualify as top priorities. Protecting children in our public schools is a top priority. Shifting qualified personnel from low-priority work to high-priority work without increasing personnel or cost is where attention should be concentrated.
When the economy improves and Okaloosa County becomes flush with cash, then will be the time to extend the priority list and perhaps increase personnel. This is not the time. First things first.
— NOEL FOSTER
Valparaiso