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In North Carolina, the county sheriff is a powerful person. How he uses that power can make him either a workhorse or a showhorse.

Here in Polk County, we are fortunate to have a sheriff and staff who are all about getting the job done for the people he serves. Just downriver in South Carolina, Spartanburg County’s sheriff is, in my opinion, a showhorse, a ring prancer if ever there was one. Right next door in Rutherford County, the fairly new sheriff just put his toe into the show ring and then quickly tried to pull it out. But it was too late.

In case you missed it, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright left his post in South Carolina and went to Rutherford County, where he has zero jurisdiction, to meet with Rutherford County Sheriff Aaron Ellenburg and to appear before a television camera for a national news network.

Why? Was there some major announcement of a drug trafficking network being shut down thanks to the work of the two sheriff’s departments? No. I feel it was purely a show.

Chuck Wright, who should never be confused with Polk County’s Tim Wright, went to Rutherford County to stand beside Ellenburg and fire anti-FEMA and anti-President Biden salvoes, dressed in his full tactical gear.

The South Carolina sheriff literally spat out his words when the interviewer asked if he had anything to say to the federal government: “Let the good men and women around the mountain area and the foothills take care of our own.”

The Rutherford County sheriff giddily posted the video on his official sheriff Facebook page. In my opinion, these two brave badge-holders let FEMA workers know that they were not welcome and should get out.

But because of either a backlash from the public or higher-ups, or both, the Rutherford County sheriff soon removed his post and put up one of him with some members of the military serving locally in the muck and despair of Helene. He was profuse in his praise of their help and assistance to people.

The Rutherford County public information officer, Kerry Giles, said the county was getting everything it needed from FEMA while other government agents were helping find the missing.

But the potentially lethal harm already was done by the sheriffs. Surging on a tidal wave of misinformation about FEMA and our government’s efforts to help people, these two whetted the appetites of people with an anti-government bent and legitimized their cries of “get out.”

Not surprisingly, a Rutherford County man was soon arrested and charged with making armed terror threats against FEMA personnel.

Maybe he had seen the Facebook video of the two sheriffs sending out the call. Who knows, but posted on the man’s Facebook page was this:

“We The People are seeking volunteers to join us, to overtake the FEMA site in Lake Lure and send the products up the mountain…We the people are DONE PLAYING GAMES. It is time we show who we are and what we believe. They want to screw our citizens. Now, we return the favor.”

The Spartanburg County sheriff has said he isn’t apologizing for his initial FEMA-related comments. He later posted a Facebook video in which he said threats against FEMA personnel in Rutherford County were alarming and that it seems that now, FEMA is being helpful. As someone said in response, that’s like a firefighter setting a building on fire and then returning to the scene to give advice.

And what was Polk County Sheriff Tim Wright doing during all of this misinformation and incitement? Being a workhorse, not a showhorse, for the people of his county.

Larry McDermott is a local retired farmer/journalist. Reach him at hardscrabblehollow@gmail.com