To the Editor:

Just a word of thanks to Sheriff Mark Marshall. It is certainly refreshing to have someone to come forward to serve his fellow citizens in a difficult job and then do the job and do it well. The Sheriff has followed through on his campaign promise to get the county accredited. He has also managed to consistently save the county money wherever he could while greatly improving the overall effectiveness of his group. He has worked with the Board to ensure that our citizens were well served even in the face of considerable financial challenges to the county. He repeatedly made the most out of the resources provided to him and has actively recommended changes that saved the citizens money yet improved the level of service. The Sheriff has repeatedly worked with the county to reallocate funds within his area to help meet the unforeseen financial challenges that have too often arisen for law enforcement in the county.

His leadership in getting the county accredited, putting in place a much more effective use of deputy resources to interact and serve our schools while increasing deputy interaction and presence in the schools, and watching the budget while getting his staff properly outfitted with proper and up-to-date equipment is greatly appreciated. His patience and cooperation with the Board in getting our county fleet of patrol vehicles up to snuff over a period of years is commendable. I am particularly appreciative that he has accomplished all of this while staying under budget through dedication and being creative to best serve the citizens.

I offer one more “Thank You” to the Sheriff for agreeing to run for reelection and I continue to wish him well in his devotion to serving the citizens of Isle of Wight.

Al Casteen
Board of Supervisors
Smithfield District