I want to thank The Tribune for printing another view on the Beth Rist situation.

This is a case of right and wrong and what Mrs. Rist did was wrong. Not only did she break the law, she broke our ability to trust her.

I also feel that the process with the arbitrator was not only unfair, but also poorly judged. He cited cases that did not compare to the situation with Mrs. Rist. For example, the Ironton police officer that was involved with the case of Guy Thomas.

He cited no disciplinary action was taken. The officer involved resigned, therefore there was no further action to take. Police Chief Carey explained every situation that was cited, as well as the incidents of DUI’s Carey openly named all involved and Mrs. Rist was one of them.

As a taxpaying law-abiding citizen, I feel it should be up to the mayor and he already decided. When the trust of a police officer, a trusted, tax-paid employee, is broken, that police officer has lost the ability to do their job effectively.

We cannot expect perfection from everyone, but I demand to be able to trust the very people who take an oath, as well as a paycheck, to uphold the law in my community.

Trish Bowman, Ironton