There have been several letters to the editor for one of the candidates for city sheriff from persons who live outside of Danville and cannot vote in this election. I have known Wayne Booth for almost 50 years, T.L. Childress for more than 20 years and I hired Mike Mondul some 16 years ago.

I will cast my vote for Thelbert Childress because he is the most qualified candidate.

I have worked in the Danville Sheriff’s Office for 29 years. It has been my honor to know and work with such fine men as Deputy J. Wayne Booth and Lt. Thelbert Childress.

I have worked in the Danville Sheriff’s Office for 29 years. It has been my honor to know and work with such fine men as Deputy J. Wayne Booth and Lt. Thelbert Childress.

I support Mike Mondul for Danville Sheriff for these reasons: He is a person with good character, integrity, education and experience.

I have never endorsed a candidate for public office, written a letter to the editor or even placed a political sign in my yard. But I am happy to do all three to help elect Michael Newman as Danville’s commonwealth’s attorney.

Michael J. Newman is the most qualified and, in my opinion, the best candidate for Danville’s next commonwealth’s attorney.

Experience, character and judgment — those are the qualities that we look for in a commonwealth’s attorney.

Michael Newman possesses all three. He is the most experienced candidate in prosecuting criminal cases. As the former attorney for the Danville Police Department, Danville School Board and Danville Social Services, he knows the importance of all agencies working together to fight crime. One only needs to look at the multitude of violent offenders Michael has successfully prosecuted and convicted during his 10 years as prosecutor to see his ability to work with police officers.

I just heard the new commonwealth’s attorney’s race radio advertisements. Interesting, but what about the issues? Open file discovery? Changes to the grand jury? Drug court? Cross training with the police department? Vertical prosecution? Saving money and time in the court system? Wiser management of the Danville Commonwealth Attorney’s office? Establishing an on-call commonwealth’s attorney? Nada! Nada! Nada!

I am now 76 years old, fully retired from the military and with many problems common to “senior citizens.” One of those problem sets is congestive heart failure. I had a quadruple bypass in 1996 and consider myself extremely lucky to be writing to the people of Danville. In conjunction with this, I had a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted in my chest in December 2008. The purpose of these two functions is to correct an irregular heartbeat and to re-start the heart if it stops or develops a dangerous rhythm.

After observing the recent unfolding of the commonwealth’s attorney campaigns happening in Danville, attending several debates, civic functions and researching the candidates career histories, it has become apparent to me which hopeful is truly most qualified to best serve this city.

James Martin seemed on several occasions to be the only candidate with clear plans and ideas on how to make “a good thing better” as he puts it. It was Martin who originally proposed the idea of a drug court for Danville, which would allow non-violent offenders to work toward getting help rather than clogging the system and costing us all more money.

I think Mike Mondul is the best candidate to be the next Danville sheriff. He is a devoted husband, father and friend. He has a wonderful wife who supports him tremendously and is always by his side. He has four wonderful children who are with him either all or in part almost everywhere he goes. He will step out on a limb for anyone that needs his help. Even if he is short on time, he finds a way to help others.

I am writing to you as the president of the board of directors of God’s Storehouse. As you are very well aware, God’s Storehouse has been serving the hunger needs of the Danville area for more than 20 years. Throughout the history of this ministry, God has blessed us richly.

We are also continuing to see the needs in our area growing. As the ministry grew in its early years, it became necessary to move to a larger, more accessible location. That move was made from our original location on Wooding Avenue to our current location on Westover Drive. It has now become necessary for us to move once again.

We will be electing a new top prosecutor in Virginia when we go to the polls on Election Day.

Steve Shannon has my vote. He has a long list of accomplishments as a prosecutor and legislator that range from protecting children from sexual predators — a problem that has been well-publicized in our area — to his working trying to put the clamp on gangs and gang violence, a problem that remains a taboo subject in our community.

My family and I are outraged, mad and upset beyond words. We lost our dear, precious mother on Sept. 30. Less than one week after we buried her at Highland Burial Park, someone stole all of her floral arrangements.

Once again, the fine people of Danville and Pittsylvania County have come forward to help another deserving person in their time of need.

As an avid reader, I was saddened to learn of the closing of B. Dalton Books. I would, however, like to point out that B. Dalton is not the only bookstore in Danville, as a recent press release implied.

Lately, I have been thinking about where to put my extra cash. As much as I hate to send money out of state, maybe I should invest $10,000 in Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., because $10 million for $10,000 sounds good to a person who has worked all his life.

Congratulations to Reginald Purvis and staff and to the George Washington High School Marching Eagles on being named grand champions on Oct. 3 in Bedford and on Oct. 10 in Bassett.

I attended the House of Delegates candidate forum Oct. 13 at American Legion Post 325, and frankly left there with more questions than answers about what Seward Anderson stands for.

I would like to encourage the voters of Danville to elect Mike Mondul city sheriff.

I lament actions by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors that will result in the loss of the old Chatham Elementary School. All evidence points to a decision already made to sell this building. Pittsylvanians should be present at today’s public hearing.

Why is a building good enough for students not good enough for county bureaucrats?

Parents across Virginia need to pay attention to the upcoming election for the sake of our families. Sure, last year was important, but with these statewide elections, things are hitting closer to home. In particular, the race for attorney general is all about keeping Virginia safe — from gang violence to the exploitation of children, this race is about the issues facing Virginia’s families. I am pleased to see these issues coming to the forefront of the election, but I am confused as to why Steve Shannon is the only candidate focused on finding solutions to the issues that affect families on a daily basis.

I am writing to any parents who are considering putting their children on drugs for not paying attention in class. Do your homework. I think these drugs are ruining the lives of our children. There are countless Web sites that warn parents about these drugs, but sad to say, some parents seem to think the benefits outweigh the risks.

I read that Hummer is being sold to a Chinese company. What else is China going to take over from the United States of America? It looks like the whole country is up for grabs. People were so pleased to see all the “dollar stores” opening up all over the country, but most of the products for sale were made in China. I guess there are quite a few Americans are getting quite rich from dealing with the Chinese producers, much to the detriment of American workers.

I have never composed a letter of endorsement of any kind, for any elected office. However, I feel moved to offer my personal endorsement for Mike Mondul for Danville City Sheriff. And it is an honor for me to do so.

As a retired law enforcement officer, I have had the privilege to work with all three candidates for Danville Commonwealth’s Attorney during my tenure. One in particular stands out — Claudette Robertson, who has served as assistant commonwealth attorney in both Danville and Pittsylvania County.

Quite often, our society doesn’t take the time to let people know how much they are appreciated and what a great job they do. This includes individuals, churches, nonprofit agencies, businesses and the people that serve our town. I continue to be amazed by the wonderful people of Danville that I meet. They’re why I continue to love living in Danville. But sometimes, the bad news is overshadowed by good news, which we take for granted.

I hope that the citizens will take a good look at the three candidates running for Danville sheriff. I wish I lived in the city so that I could cast my vote for Mike Mondul.

I am writing this letter in hopes of changing some of the negative publicity that surrounds Danville Regional Medical Center.

Seward Anderson’s recent mailing attacking Del. Danny Marshall contained inaccuracies.