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Caught ya’!

Have you ever gotten a reverse 9-1-1 call? How about one that tells you to lock your doors and stay in your house because criminals are on the loose in your area?

That happened last weekend in my quite hometown state of North Dakota. Most of the time, life is quiet and stable there. So last weekend when law enforcement in the rural western part of the state, caught two escaped convicts from an Alabama prison, I shouted, Woo hoo!

The takedown happened near the city where I was born, in Stark County. That is an especially rural area, and while I’m sure there is crime, the officers there don’t spend most of their days looking for killers and thugs. It’s just not part of life up there.

So I have to believe that the ongoing training law enforcement officers are required to take  prepared them for this event. These two criminals (and their two accomplices) were in prison for murder and attempted murder – they are not nice guys! They got through seven states without getting caught.

A rancher, one of those who received the reverse 9-1-1 call, heard his horses get skittish and called authorities. They caught all four good-for-nothings, but not without gunfire exchange…started by the convict imprisoned for stabbing someone, i.e., atempted murder, who came out shooting!

In these “tough economic times” (which by the way I’m sick of hearing everyone whine about–be proactive, take action and stop looking for handouts!), cities, counties and states should not make cuts to law enforcement and education. Those essential services protect us every day and prepare our children for the future, empowering them to continue making the United States greater.

If you want law enforcement officers prepared for any situation, even those that don’t happen frequently where you live, tell your city and county commissioners, and your state legislators. Make sure where you live officers are adequately trained, equipped and compensated so they can afford to stay in that profession, looking out for the rest of us.

I have to ask…will those N.D. law enforcement agencies get the $5,000 reward?

Destination Downtown

In my adult life I’ve lived in three cities now (sad, I know!). My hometown of Bismarck, North Dakota, that state’s capital, has a population of about 55,000. By North Dakota standards it’s urban, but the whole state is rural by American standards. Downtown shuts down by 7 at night, except for two or three restaurants. They may stay open til 10 on weeknights, and 1:00 on weekends. But that city has never fooled itself into thinking that its downtown can ever be a destination.

Contrast that to Florida’s capital, Tallahassee. That city has declared its desire to make downtown an 18-hour destination. So far I haven’t talked to anyone who ever even heard of that as a goal before…chalk one up to ingenuity for this little city of 160,000. Granted that does not account for the college students from the cities two universities (Florida State Uuniversity and Florida A&M University), but they aren’t residents. And while this is the capital of a major state, it’s still a small town. Here’s the funniest thing about the 18-hour destination goal: downtown Tallahassee shuts down at 11:00, even on weekend nights! Not sure exactly which 18 hours the city fathers were targeting, but apparently it’s more of a 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. slot than say a 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. slot.

Finally there’s Jacksonville in northeast Florida on the Atlantic coast. This formerly little red neck city grew up fast when the NFL brought the Jaguars to Jacksonville and has much to offer: A&E, concerts, pro sports, college sports, shopping, dining and more. Yet the 18-hour downtown destination would be a stretch for Jacksonville, but the leadership there set its sights on loftier goals. They want a 24-hour downtown. Of the city’s 1.2 million residents, only 10,000 live downtown. The rest drive 30 minutes to get home at day’s end and are not inclined to return to downtown for much of anything. Except football of course, this is the South after all!

As the saying goes, “goals are dreams with deadlines,” so it’s optimistic that both Jacksonville and Tallahassee dream big. A first step in achieving those dreams might be grasping that if Saturday night’s last call is at 10:45, the 18/24-hour destination is a stretch!