Dear Editor,

Recently I have read in the Letters to the Editor section of this newspaper and heard in person several comments regarding Sheriff Stewart Handte and his enforcement of our local laws and ordinances. In this great country, we all have the right to free speech, but I feel that some of these comments come from people who believe that if they read something on the internet that it must be the “Gospel Truth” about him!

Well I’m sorry to burst their bubble, but that’s just not the facts. I wonder just how many of these people have even taken the time to bother meeting this public servant in person and listen to his side of these disparaging comments and remarks? Sheriff Handte has an “open door policy” to any and all of his constituents that care to hear the truth.

I personally know this man and his views and think that if those people were to sit down and talk to him in person instead of listening to rumors they would find that he really does have our best interests in mind and heart.

I met Stewart Handte many years ago when he was a Motor Officer and Trooper with the Nevada Dept. of Public Safety, highway Patrol. He has been a dedicated public servant for a very long time and has connections with many outside law enforcement agencies that have and will assist him and his sheriff’s department in ways that aren’t available to many in his position. That is a plus for all law abiding citizen of this county.

Only the law breakers and ner-do-wells have anything to fear from this man and his policies. If you fall into that category watch out, because he and his other dedicated officers are in the process of cleaning up that element of trouble here. He has personally helped me in the past and has my full support in his endeavors as our sheriff.

Please, I ask you to take advantage of his open door policy and get to know this very dedicated man who is working hard to make Mineral County a clean and safe place to call home for all of its good citizens.

I bid you all a good day and please don’t forget to vote in the upcoming elections in November and give him your support if you want to see positive change here. If you see me around town you can feel free to talk to me on this subject. I will be happy to discuss it with you, and yes I have my views that you may or may not care to hear but they are my views and mine alone.

Thank you!

Gregory G. Eliades

Hawthorne

Dear Editor,

I would like to thank sheriff Handte and his deputies for the great job they are doing trying to clean up the drug problems in Mineral County. I am amazed at all the negativity the sheriff is getting for this. Is it possible that some do not want to see a drug free county? There should not be any special treatment to the elderly, important community names or any other persons. We should all be treated equally under the law.

As to the letter about some little old lady from another state being pulled over and the deputy unsnapping his holster for his  gun, I would like to state this is protocol for officers’ when stopping a vehicle. I was pulled over in Churchill County and that is exactly what the deputy did in my case. I was not insulted by this as I knew it was standard procedure and I received a ticket and paid it.

Betty Easley is right about the armchair quarterbacks and I also think they are all talk. I would think that the community would welcome a safer, drug free environment!

Sheila Horton

Walker Lake

Dear Editor,

Well, it’s election time again, and you must choose, a sheriff. No doubt many of you already know that the right man currently occupies the office.

I’ve known Stewart Handte for over 30 years. We went through the Highway Patrol Academy together. Stew went to Tonopah and I to Jackpot. Obviously, rural law enforcement is not new to him.

Stewart worked for me in Reno for over four years. In that time as his supervisor, I had the opportunity to observe his work habits, ethics, and abilities close up. I also wrote his annual evaluations. Most were above standard.

Stew is a natural leader, always leading from the front (knowing him, I’ll bet he already has a “high visibility” reputation).
As many of you know, I consider Hawthorne as my “home” in Nevada. I was a Marine at the barracks in the sixties, a deputy in the seventies and early eighties, I’ve worked the base, married a local girl, and each of my three children were born in Hawthorne’s Mt. Grant Hospital. I also spent three years as the Highway Patrol commander, Hawthorne District. As a Result, I have strong personal and professional concerns about what happens in Hawthorne.

Because of my concerns, I was elated when I learned that Stew had applied for the job of Sheriff of Mineral County. I was more elated when he was appointed.

You will not find a more honest, straight forward person than Stewart Handte. What you see, is what you get. He is not a politician, he’s a law enforcement professional. If you’re looking for someone who can clean up the county and keep it that way, Stew’s your man.

Please give him your support, he certainly has mine.

John W. Lewis

Dayton

Dear Editor,

Over the last few months I have read, in our local newspaper, a number of citizen letters expressing various thoughts concerning our current Sheriff. So, I thought I would put my “two cents” in the pot as well.

1. Eighteen years as a Mineral County Sheriff Deputy does not necessarily make one qualified to be the Sheriff. Nor does having lived here for most of one’s life. Neither should either of these facts disqualify one from being our next Sheriff.

2. I despise drug dealers at all levels of the drug trade. Since the arrival of Sheriff Handte (less than one year here) there has been a number of these types put out of business. Therefore, I will support the effort to retain Sheriff Handte.

R. Kent Wofford

Hawthorne

Dear Editor,

Just a note about two family members of mine who were interested in starting not one, but two businesses in Hawthorne, but in talking to several people and myself they decided against it. In driving around town they could see no one or very few people would move here because of the filth and fire hazards around town. Not to mention no jobs. If no one comes through your door with money in hand your business will fail. I have tried for several years in many ways to create more business than notes in the newspaper, to a letter to E.D.C., to an email to the Commissioners. And here we go again, all these Commissioners have an email address set up but Mr. MacBeth’s is the only one that works and I know he received it. I only hope it got taken to one of the meetings and discussed, but it probably just got round filed and laughed at. The truck stop is another good step in the right direction for the County. It’s almost too little too late, but thanks for all your efforts.

Thanks for reading, have a nice day.

Butch Seymour

Hawthorne

Dear Editor,

On the subject of asking for volunteers to clear up the mess on the outskirts of town, this is just another example of local government putting their mouths and pen to paper before engaging their brain. I guess you three have never heard of common sense. Not only have you created more dumping of trash on the outskirts of town, but some folks in town have no way to get to the landfill to dispose of their extra trash. They are and will be storing it around their houses, not to mention the extra cost. This just means more filthy blight to the condition we have in town. So good job, Commissioners and Hawthorne Utilities. You have created another problem for the county instead of fixing things.

Thanks for reading, have a nice day.

Butch Seymour

Hawthorne