IN OUR MAY 30 EDITION, I published an open letter to District Attorney Franklin McDonough, urging him to respond to our questions—and, we believe, many of yours—regarding the now-concluded Texas Rangers’ investigation into complaints against Hemphill County Sheriff Nathan Lewis. Since then, many of our readers have asked whether Mr. McDonough responded. He has not. I did, however, receive a copy of the Attorney General’s decision, in response to McDonough’s letter seeking a review and formal ruling on the questions I posed. In short, the AG informed McDonough that he is not required to disclose details of the Rangers’ report, so long as it might interfere with pending prosecution of a crime. However, the AG also advised that the generic law enforcement information to which the public is entitled must be released. So to answer the question so many of you have asked: I have submitted a new request for that information to our District Attorney’s office, and hope soon to have his response. Unlike Mr. McDonough, I believe the public has, not only a right, but a need, to be reasonably informed regarding the legal standing of our sheriff. In lieu of the complete investigative report, I have asked that the DA provide the following:

Investigative case number; Names of complaining party/ies; Names of investigating officer/s; Names of witnesses interviewed; Locations involved in investigating complaint; What is the nature of the investigation; When the investigation was instigated; How the investigation was instigated; What charges, if any, have been filed, or indictments issued, by whom, against whom and when; If charges have not been filed, does your office plan to file charges or empanel a grand jury to consider charges related to this investigation? If you have no plan to file charges or empanel a grand jury, do you consider this matter closed?

Should Mr. McDonough feel compelled to communicate with the citizens who elected him, and explain either his intention to act on the results of the Rangers’ investigation of our sheriff, or his reasons for taking no action, I will relay his response to our readers immediately. The citizens of Hemphill County have lived with too many questions for far too long. The persistent question as to whether our sheriff has committed some criminal act, worthy of an investigation by Texas Rangers, should be answered. If he has, he should be placed on suspended leave until his guilt is proven, or his innocence determined. If he has committed no crime, then the citizens whose peace and safety he is charged with protecting have every right to know that.

ON ANOTHER COMPLETELY unrelated note, I owe my deepest gratitude to all who have stepped forward to help, while we continue to publish this newspaper with a depleted staff and many other difficult demands on our time and energy. I cannot name them all. They know who they are, and I hope they know what they mean to me. The Beatles said it best...and they put it to music. We can get by with a little help from our friends. And so we have, once again, this week. Someday I will say it much better, but for now, all I really can say is thank you.