Editor, The Herald:

As a longtime resident of Cumberland County, I was dismayed by a letter asserting that Elbert cares more about his “self interest” than Cumberland County.

Born and raised in Cumberland County and having raised my three children here, I have known Elbert my entire life. He is honest and hard-working. I cannot imagine in what way Elbert has acted in “self interest” in the course of his work as Supervisor. For the $6,000 annual pay as Supervisor, he seems to work about twenty hours a week, so he's clearly not in it for the money! He has made excellent decisions as a Supervisor for the past 11-plus years, because he believes in what this county can be.

Elbert has shared with me his vision for Cumberland County. He knows that as an agricultural based county we need some form of industry to help the non-farming citizens and to keep our kids from leaving the county. He believes that to attract new business we have to provide excellent schools, water and sewer service.

During Elbert's first term in office, he recognized that our schools had a serious problem with teacher turnover. He voted to increase teacher pay, which kept good teachers in the system and has increased our students' performance. I saw the beneficial effects of the changes as my children moved through the system. When the old school complex was condemned the Supervisors had no choice but to construct new ones. They identified an industry that would be willing to pay significant fees to the County to cover the cost of the new construction. Our schools are now fully accredited and are now among the best in the region. Besides community pride and bragging rights, how does this equate to Elbert's “self interest”?

To provide water for the school complex and possible industrial development, during Elbert's tenure, the County extended water service to the courthouse and other areas, soon to include the Community Center. They did this through available public grants at no cost to the County taxpayers. Further recognizing that water is an important resource for growth, the supervisors envisioned a regional reservoir that is already making money for our County.

Elbert Womack cares about Cumberland County and has worked tirelessly to bring about conditions for responsible growth. His opponents can promise to do more for Cumberland County. Both are good men but they lack Elbert's experience and vision.

Re-elect Elbert!!

Nancy Schaeffer

Farmville