By Jack Burright

Charges have been leveled against me by this newspaper that I am a high school dropout and I bought a phony college diploma without earning it. It’s time to set the record straight.

My roots are here in Benton County. I was a member of Corvallis High School Class of 1985. I stopped attending high school midway through the second semester of my senior year and got married.

I then entered the high school completion program at Linn-Benton Community College. Within two years of missing my high school graduation, I earned my high school equivalency certificate. In Webster’s dictionary, equivalent means equal in force, equal in effect and equal in value.

Since earning that in 1987, I have considered myself to have a 12th-grade education and I have a state certificate to prove it.

I then earned 90 more credits at LBCC. I entered law enforcement. I passed two different background checks. I graduated from the police academy at Western Oregon University. After working in corrections, I had the opportunity to become a deputy sheriff, enforcing laws and protecting the public.

One of my bosses recommended that I take classes online. I learned about an online university that could apply the college credits I had already earned, plus other training and experience, to earn a college diploma. I submitted my transcripts to this online university, including from the police academy where I had received over 3,000 documented hours of training.

Their Web site stated that this online university was accredited by six different educational organizations. My transcripts were evaluated. I received a diploma in the mail and was delighted my knowledge and experience were rated “summa *** laude.”

My training and vast law enforcement experience speaks for itself. Some colleges give military experience college credit, as do some law enforcement programs; the degree was not from a diploma mill, rather it was a life-experience college credit degree program. I submitted a copy to the personnel department. I knew it was just a diploma from a Web site university. I have never suggested otherwise.

A couple of years later, I went online to try to get more information from Farington University. I discovered that their Web site no longer existed. This made me suspicious. This diploma was not included in my declaration of candidacy for sheriff. I have not received any official notice from academic regulators about my diploma from Farington University, but stopped using it myself well before your newspaper printed a copy of it. I have always been open, honest and forthcoming in regard to my suspicions about this diploma.

But, I still wasn’t done with my education. I continued with online classes and expect to earn a bachelor’s degree from Southwest University next month.

So, yes, technically, at this point in time, your newspaper considers me to be a high school dropout with a bogus college diploma. The rest of the story is, I am experienced enough, trained enough, strong enough, and I am the right leader to be the next sheriff.

Jack Burright

Jack, thank you for having the courage to respond to this. I can't image what you are going through right now. Hang in there and I look forward to you being elected Sheriff this November.

I am not going to use my real name but Jack will know who I am. I have known Jack for about 25 years. There was one time in my life when I spent some time in the Benton County Jail when Jack worked there. That was a low time in my life, Jack and I were friends growing up and spent the night at each others houses. We did not pal around much in high school but always remained friends.

I was embarrassed and ashamed to see him while I was in jail. Jack on the other hand treated me with respect and dignity. He never looked down on me or treated me like he was better, that just wasnt Jack. I was a good kid with a drug problem. I served my time got into rehab and cleaned myself up. That is a part of my life I wish I could forget.

I never forgot him and to this day when I or my parents talk about Jack it’s about his strong character and his impact he has made in people's lives. Jack has always believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself.. While most people were doing things for themselves Jack was always doing things for other people. That is the kind of guy I would want as a sheriff.

I have only known Jack since 2001, when I resumed my education at LBCC, and not only have I had the pleasure of learning from him in the classroom, but out in the field as well. He has only conducted himself in an utmost professional manner. I have never known Jack to be anything but upstanding and responsible. He backed me in my education and was very supportive in my career choice. I back him in his candidacy for sheriff, and urge all of you to do the same. No one in my mind would make a better sheriff for Benton County.

Yeah, okay. If you didn't intentionally order the fake diploma (and it is fake, whether or not you want to continue trying to explain that they were using your college credits... they give *anyone* a diploma), then you aren't bright enough to be our sheriff.

It looks like you spent a lot of time thinking up an articulate response, "Spanky." Is that your given name? Your mother must be very proud. While I agree that the Farington degree is not from an accredited agency, and shouldn't be viewed the same as one that is, Jack legitimately thought at the time it was a formal recognition of his training, experience, and education combined. There is usually more value in the lessons learned in life than the lessons learned however many years ago in a college environment.

I know this because I do have a degree from an accredited college, Oregon State University. While my degree is in Construction Engineering Management and was fairly hard to get, I also know that there are spoiled brats whose tuition is paid by there mommy and daddy, and they major in something extremely easy. They party for four or five years, occasionally go to class, never work, barely pass, and now they have a "legitimate" degree. I would say that is worth less than someone who worked hard and was responsible for their family, like Jack was.

So if you think Diana Simpson's BA in Criminal Justice Administration that she earned 25 years ago is more valuable than Jack's lifetime experience and current status as an instructor in Law Enforcement, then by all means vote for her. The state law requires Sheriffs to either have four years of law enforcement or be certified as a police officer for a reason. While a Sheriff's Office has several divisions, law enforcement is usually the highest profile in the public's eye and the highest liability. If you choose to disregard the reasons why the association that represents all the patrol Deputies, corrections Deputies, and P&P officers voted to endorse Jack, that's certainly your privilege as an American voter.

When the story first broke out I thought that the paper had uncovered something that was going to make you lose this election. It then struck me; it really uncovered your life long work at advancing your education. You never gave up like many have done. You earned your GED, went on to a Jr. College and earned 90 credits which are about enough to be a junior in most four year universities. Working full time at any job and taking college credit classes and succeeding is challenging. I had attended four junior colleges and had accumulated 120 college credits. I can see how appealing it would be if there was a school out there that would gather your transcripts and offer you a degree. I would have done the same with mine to get my AA. I finally transferred to OSU and finished my degree; I was 35 years old by then. It took me 10 years to get my diploma and now I work a HP.

Your public service is greatly appreciated.

Jack--
The though never crossed my mind as to who was blowing smoke out of their rear end in this matter. I respect you more as a person, as a law enforcement professional, and as a man for keeping your head held through out this matter. I wish all of the voters knew you like most of the people who's career's and lives you have been a part in so they could know who really is the better person for the job. You're still getting my vote; I couldn't and WILL NOT be a part of putting another Pam into Power!!!