By Staff
Skinny dipping was big deal
Editor:
"No harm, no foul," was the reply I received from the mayor and the chief of police in Hartselle, regarding not charging the participants of the "skinny dipping" party at Hartselle city pool. I was somewhat astounded to hear this, considering there were actual laws that were broken, but once again, both the mayor and chief, chalked it up to "officer's discretion."
It's not "officers discretion," it's "selective enforcement."
Both the mayor and the chief stated to me that the media was inaccurate in their reporting of the incident, although it was the chief that was quoted in the paper, saying that there was "skinny dipping" going on. Puckett also stated to me that the people in question are banned from the park in one breath, and in the next, stated that some of the juveniles were performing community service for Frank Miller at the pool for their involvement. Why are they performing community service if no one was charged with anything?
As most of the participants were juveniles, why are only two performing community service? What big name in or near Hartselle is linked to one or more of these people?
During the conversations with the mayor and chief, I stated that if I had been a participant among the others, I would have been looking for a bail bondsman at 3 a.m. Neither offered a comment.
Their silence was deafening. By not charging these individuals, our police department's administration has set a precedent for future law breakers. They have shown, by their inaction, that criminal trespassing, public nudity or lewdness, and a variants of many other laws are not punishable in Hartselle.
It's very peculiar that one can receive a speeding ticket, a noise ordinance violation, a seat belt citation, a defective headlight, tail light, or turn signal citation in Hartselle, at the drop of a hat, but illegal entry, trespassing and "baring your buns" at a public pool isn't any problem. It's also strange that I received a call back from both the mayor and the chief within a 10 minute time period, from the same phone number, and both of their replies to me were verbatim to each other, almost like it was rehearsed, or read from a script.
The mayor and the chief may be good family men, but in the positions they are in, they clearly stink! To sit idly by, and be laughed at by other communities is a sign of incompetence, laziness, or ignorance. In the words of a close deceased friend, "Ignorance is only temporary, but stupidity is a result of a lifetime of ignorance."
Mike Dowdy
Hartselle
Government owes rescue
Rescue (removal) of U.S. citizens from harm's way in Lebanon, as well as any other hazardous location, foreign or domestic, should rightfully be a responsibility of the U.S. government and should be at no direct personal cost to those rescued. However, once removed from harm's way, all further expenses should be, as would normally be expected under circumstances of no harmful duress, personally borne by those rescued.
James L. Nix
Hartselle
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