The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Dear Editor,

Is Sheriff John Turner part Hollywood?

In 2010, Sheriff Humphreys told me that John Turner would cause a destabilizing influence on the Sheriff's Office . Some Deputies were impressed with John Turner. He talked their language and had defended Police in California regarding difficult situations.

From Turner's web page, and internet searches:

In 1984 at age 21, John joined a small Police Department. He was a student in college. In May, 1988 he joined the LAPD and in October 1988 completed Police Academy . By July 1996, he received a Law Degree From the S.W. Univ. School of Law. Certificates are displayed and he was recognized for results. His Police Career ended about 2004, after 20 years in California.

Returning to his "roots" in Walla Walla, he got involved with Ash Hollow Winery, to 2008.

In 2008, John says he was" Recruited" for a support position assisting the U.S. Army and was then "Deployed" for 16 months and "Embedded" with the soldiers. I take issue with John's glossing over this period when he was not deployed. He was Employed and worked with soldiers but he was a Civilian Support person, employed as an independent contractor, with high wages. One certificate awarding him "The Big Red One" Combat patch is a form certificate referring to him as a soldier. He never was a soldier. Period. His Certificate for patriotic Civilian service reinforces the fact he was a civilian. Campaign literature from 2010 and his current website show him in a military uniform, which is used solely for political purposes to make voters think that he was a military person. He was never in the military, and while the military hires lots of civilians, some are cooks, some are drivers, some are supply people, and some like John Turner had more prestigious responsibilities. I do not question that he had a high level job and did it well, but to use a photo in military uniform to promote his political agenda is very offensive to me and many other veterans who were real soldiers.

Recent events have brought out the fact that John Turner has hired Hollywood type agents to video meetings and debates for campaign literature. It seems that, at age 50, John Turner's 20 years in California has had quite an effect on him. Some of those "roots" are not anywhere near Walla Walla.

Tom Nollette

Walla Walla