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by Linda Moore
Thank you to Clingan Ridge Baptist Church for the fantastic puppet shows at Blythe Safe Haven. I have seen two in as many weeks and those puppets are the bomb. The talent in Cleveland/Bradley never ceases to amaze me.
O.K.that's it. That is all that I have good to say this month. There's just too much going on in the county and city. We have the budget wars from Hades going on in the county, (even though the budget process is over). The city is going to be late in opening up the new Mayfield school. I read the articles and am amazed at how people can make it actually sound good that a project has gone over budget or is opening late.
I've heard it rumored high and low that a steady stream of immigrants with improper or no identification are winding up at the BCSD. In fact, let's start there. Let's start with the BCSD and see where we wind up.
As far as I'm concerned, we participated in a process to elect fourteen county commissioners to be our collective voice. They fight it out amongst themselves. I've seen them debate issues until it was difficult to sit on those hard benches in the court house. Sometimes their votes anger me. It didn't go my way. Sometimes their votes please me. It went my way. But I always accept those votes. I accept them because "we the people" with all of our diverse opinions voted for them. We can change their minds in a vote by merely calling them or showing up at a County Commission meeting. I figure that if a petition is filed in criminal court by our Sheriff then we will have lost our voices and our vote. Then it will no longer be, "we the people," in this case it will be, "me the judge." One judge will make a decision that many people voted to have county commissioners vote on. Tax payers will pay all the attorney fees. Tax payers will pay all the court costs. Tax payers will pay salaried people that they elected to work for them to sit in a courtroom instead of doing the jobs they were elected to do. Tax payers will pay cell phone usage and I'm sure Tax payers will pay for some mandated court recess lunches. The reason tax payers will pay all of this is so that they can pay even more in taxes. This petition business is one of the largest "catch 22's" that I have ever seen.
I have a solution. Let's run a special vote and put it on a referendum. We can make it really simple. 1. We give the 4.4 million dollars to the BCSD. 2. We do not give the 4.4 million dollars to the BCSD. Of course there was eleventh hour wailings that brought the amount down. But still, if a petition is filed in court what is going to be the asking amount?
I read in an article that two deputies had left for State Trooper jobs. The article stipulated that they left for more pay. I hope to goodness that folks aren't wanting us to ante up with the state amount of pay. The state tax coffers run much deeper than individual county coffers. There's more money to draw from on the state level. The rate of pay for these gentleman was $31,500.00 per year. Reckon what the Tennessee State Troopers are paid? Here's a link to that article.
www.bradleysheriff.com/content/view/190/97/
Then there's that whole "car' thing going on at the BCSD. We, you and I, John and Jane tax payer, pay for those cars to be driven to and from home. We also furnish the gas in those cars to be driven to and from home. How many of you get to drive a company car to and from home? My husband would love for an officer to live next door to us and drive to and from work. He likes the idea of a squad car being a crime deterrent in a neighborhood. But most of us don't have an officer living next door. My husband also likes the idea of the officers being able to respond to a really dire emergency if necessary. I am fine with this. As long as we can count all that precious gas and all of that wear and tear on the car as part of salary. But I have been informed that we cannot. So I have had to find another solution. No more driving to and from work in squad cars unless you are on the Swat Team. Those are our real emergency workers. SRO officers can leave their squad cars parked at the schools and drive to and from work. Think about it. Mostly an SRO officer only drives to and from work. And that to and from work is a public school. We have some idle cars too. One such car sits at the senior citizen complex. It's basically useless. Let's sell it and put the money on newer cars. There's another can of worms. All car sales money from the BCSD goes into the general fund. I find it preferable for that money to go into an interest drawing account to be used to buy cars, (specifically cars), for the BCSD.
In other BCSD news there is this, 287G officers. A 287G officer is an officer that is partially funded, (training and the such), by ICE. These officers are specifically for curbing illegal immigrants that are criminals. I want these officers. I want the ability to deport illegal immigrants. I especially want the ability to deport illegal immigrants who are committing crimes. But I still do not have a clear understanding of who is supposed to request these officers and this special training. I've heard several different theories or accounts of how it is done. I intend to find out for sure and let y'all know. I think that 287G officers would be a wise investment. While I may disagree with the Sheriff on some issues. I fully agree with the need for these officers.
I am amazed at all that I learn in trying to dig for the truth. People I dig for the truth. But it isn't always readily visible. Sometimes the truth hides from us all. I will always admonish all of you to dig for information as I do. I admonish you to not believe every news article that you read. Always call your County Commissioners and your City Councilman with any questions or concerns that you have. You are the boss. They are the servants. Be bold and tell them what you want to see happen. Tell them what you want to see happen even if you disagree with what I say that I want to see happen. Your voice counts. Use it.
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