An incredibly wise former employee of the City of Quitman once told me do not get into an argument with the newspaper or anyone on Facebook. He indicated the newspaper buys ink in 50-gallon drums and the number of people on Facebook is in the millions. Criticism directed at me bothers Judy, my wife, and she feels I should answer. I have never answered any personal criticism and am not going to start now.
Something I will answer concerns our police department and their alleged lack of effort or concern about some areas of our city.
As mayor, I am not legally allowed to interfere with the day by day actions of the police department, but I can assure everyone that the chief and I regularly discuss what is going on. You will not get much information regarding tactics or where action has or is going to be taken from the chief or me. It is a misdemeanor to discharge a firearm in the city limits, and in the past several weeks, one person was cited for discharging a firearm in the city, one who has been identified is being sought and will be given a ticket. One person setting off firecrackers has been warned and any future such actions will result in a citation.
There have been two cases of people shooting snakes inside of city limits and they were not cited, but a request for them to call 911 was communicated. We have officers that are not afraid of snakes and routinely capture them. I personally hate snakes.
If you ever have seen the movie “Coach Carter” or “Hoosiers” the value of working together comes across as the basis of success. The same is true of police work. County officers and city officers have a bond that will not be broken. When either the county or city officers call for back-up, the others will respond. They understand the dangers and will endanger themselves to protect a fellow officer. Police or “cops” see on a daily basis, people that have been arrested, brought before a Grand Jury, indicted and back on the street waiting for trial, which may take a year or more to be brought before a jury. Our constitution protects the person charged with a crime before trial, and it seems that it favors them over the victim. Cops understand that; I have a hard time with it, and therefore would not be a good police officer. Most police can compartmentalize crime, the justice system, and continue to focus on what they are charged to do. They do, however, get frustrated and may become cynical at times. Quitman remains a safe city with little crime. I am grateful for the cases that have been solved and appreciative of the dedication I witness daily from our police officers.
Understanding that the state will have a serious reduction in funds, I am tabling the Quitman Village project knowing that bond funding will not happen this year. There are other issues that we can work on and improve our city. In our next board meeting, I will cover those things with our aldermen, and if everyone agrees, we will move forward. We need to continue to re-open our city in stages and go about making our city attractive to potential businesses.
Shop local and stay safe!
