Mothers watch as fathers fail, and the sum of our collective silence has yielded despair and violence and disregard for the rule of law.

It is not yet so in Halifax County.

As your sheriff, I have a different vision for our community.

It is an inspired vision of shared values and common goals.

My vision for our county is one of hope and strength.

It is a noble vision of a community of principle and faith, standing in partnership and shoulder to shoulder with its sheriff to defend the rule of law and endure its own security through the principle upon which the Office of Sheriff was long ago established.

The "power of the community" has for centuries ensured the honorable virtues of law abiding people to enjoy peace and security under the covering of justice and laws.

I see a partnership of citizens, of men and women of courage, sustained by faith and a sheriffs office committed to excellence and to our Constitution, joining together as one to defend and to save that which God has so graciously entrusted to us.

It is now time that a righteous indignation rise up from the bowels of good people where it has long cowered in guilty silence.

We will work with community leaders and all people of good will to solve problems, to help secure our homes and our community from trouble and disaster, be they natural or man-made.

Together we will seek solutions, help to train and empower one another in mutual respect and commitment, while practicing compassion and the art of being our brother's keeper.

The call has gone out; the motive is pure; the time is now. Who now will answer the call?