Posted on July 8 at 8:30 a.m.

The town disbanded it's police department after the current Sheriff took office. The reason given was the police department was too "costly" (or so thsi was the version given) and thereby, contracted with the sheriff's office for police protection....good question about the revenue, but good luck finding someone in the Town Administrator's office to give you an answer. How much does the Town Administrator make... "in the 70's"?

On Pendleton budget meeting is Tuesday

Posted on June 11 at 12:05 p.m.

There are a lot of great outstanding and professional officers with the SO who are desperately trying to do their job and not get caught up in the politics. The problem under Crenshaw was and is not with the deputies on the front line, (except for a few), but with the supervision, leadership and management of the SO. I firmly believe under the leadership of "Sheriff" Skipper, there will be no place for "egos", but to do a job and do it better.

On Challenger Skipper narrowly wins primary in Anderson County Sheriff’s race

Posted on June 11 at 9:47 a.m.

CONGRATS "SHERIFF SKIPPER"! It has been a long time coming! Do I see the comeback of the Pendleton Police Department (on the horizon) lead by "Chief Crenshaw"? That would mean additional deputies free to patrol the citizens of Anderson County and not just the hometown of the soon to be "ex-sheriff". Lesson learned, do what you say, be honest, fair and treat everyone with respect and dignity! Even "Neopoleon" met his Waterloo, and so did Crenshaw and his hinchmen.

On Challenger Skipper narrowly wins primary in Anderson County Sheriff’s race

Posted on May 31 at 6:17 p.m.

Pendleton is very lovely town with a lot of great people. It just so happens the Sheriff is from there and lives there. Granted, the citizens of Pendleton have no say so on distribution of deputies, but I suppose Crenshaw feels he should make sure his hometown is taken care of, such as ensuring there are two full time deputies (three during the weekday) assigned to protect his hometown. Fact is, there is only one deputy assigned to the rest of that area, which is all of School District 4, Districts 3 (Starr/Iva/southern Anderson) area and 2 (Belton/Honea Path/Broadway Lake area), all of which are very vast areas. One question, why did the Pendelton Town Council do away with their police department shortly after Crenshaw took office, when other towns still have their own departments, such as W. Pelzer, Iva, etc. when their population is smaller with smaller budgets? We would have all been lucky to have been born in Pendelton. Think on that...

On Republican candidates for Anderson sheriff clash head-to-head in public debate

Posted on May 30 at 9:04 a.m.

A flyer from Sheriff Crenshaw promoting he is putting drug dealers in jail was recently sent out. The flyer claimed the Sheriffs ACE team was honored as the "2007 National Interdiction Team of the Year. The ACE team seized more drugs-765 pounds, worth $15 million-than any other team in the United States and Canda". Conducting research found that these fact and figures did not fair as claimed. Fact: in 2007, the Ohio State Highway Patrol seized 7,275 pounds of illegal narcotics, valued at $54 million; US Coast Guard, in one day seized 1.7 million pounds at $4.7 billion, El Paso, TX, seized 1,209 pounds at $10,338.000. Closer to home, Durham Police seized 1,418 pounds valued at $32 million. Check it out for yourself. I suppose these "teams" did not count, even though they are "in the United States and Canada." I suppose the flyer was in error, or the Sherff did not see it, like he did not see his budget report when he went over by $2.5 million. Speaking the truth and being totally honest seems to be a difficult thing.

On Republican candidates for Anderson sheriff clash head-to-head in public debate

Posted on May 11 at 10:55 a.m.

I had high hopes and expectations for Crenshaw, thinking he would bring positive change to the Sheriffs Office and bring the department into the 21st century. Rather than moving forward, it seems the department has gone back 20 years and is in worst than before. Shortly after taking office, the Sheriffs Office took over the responsibility of providing two deputies to patrol the Town of Pendleton after the Pendleton Town Council voted to "dissolve" their department, at a cost of the county taxpayers, while other towns and cities struggled to provide services, including police services. Crenshaw then purchased a fleet of gas guzzling SUV for himself and his management staff. When the department went overbudget of about $2.7 million, the Sheriff's response was he is a law enforcement officer, not a business manager. What happened to the heriff's monthly budget report? Did someone forget to give him one? Sorry, but as a chief executive, just like any other organization, he is running a business and needs to manage and live within the budget. During the budget defecit, rather than tightened the reins, Sheriff Crenshaw continued to spend thousands of taxpayers dollars to achieve national accrediation, and still service and response time has not improved. Just recently, Crenshaw is asking for additional funding to purchase twenty-five patrol cars for an aging fleet. In these tough economic times, as a taxpayer, I can not afford another four years of the current Crenshaw adminsitration, and don't beleive the citizens of Anderson County can either. John Skipper has a sound approach to the problems of turn over, expenses and opertion of the Sheriff's Department, responsive to the needs of the citizens, is "Responsibile and Accountable" to the citizens of Anderson County! End note, my driver's license is up for renewal this years, which I wil renew long before it expires!

On Anderson sheriff candidates tout plans, disagree on leadership