For years now, I've been trying to get something done about 3 firework stands on the State Highway which I live across from. Every time they open up, they allow people to shoot off fireworks by the stands, camp out, play loud music and party until 3 or 4 in the morning every day that they are open. Every year, I call the Sheriff's Office and the Highway Patrol and I always get the same answer. They are just too short staffed to send anyone out to our area.
Things got really bad last night but I didn't call because I knew I'd get no help. I decided to call this morning and find out what I can do before they open up next time. What I was told by a Deputy Sheriff really pissed me off.
The Sheriff's Department and the Texas Highway Patrol are short staffed right now. Follow below to find out the reason..
After explaining why I called to the Sheriff's Deputy, he informed me that they and the Texas Highway Patrol are very short staffed at the moment. The reason isn't budget cuts. Both agencies have had to send personnel to Del Rio and Laredo to help assist the Border Patrol. Border Patrol???? They are rotating people in and out. This is the first I've heard about this. Nothing in the news or in the papers.
I told him that I thought Bush and Perry had sent Guardsmen to the border to help out. He didn't know about that. I asked him who had ordered the personnel from this area sent to the border. He told me that he guessed it was the Governor Rick (Good-hair) Perry.
I live in Bell County which is in Central Texas. I live next to the reservation of Ft. Hood, which was known all over the world for being the free world's largest military installation. On pay day weekends, the soldiers take off for Austin and 6th Street to party until their money runs out. Payday weekends used to mean highway patrol out in force along this highway. Not anymore
Pay day weekends mean being woken up between 2 and 4 a.m. with sirens blasting by. Most weekends you can wait a few minutes and hear the life flight chopper flying to pick up someone seriously injured in a car wreck. At one point a few years ago, the military put this highway off limits to soldiers because so many have died in car accidents on this stretch of road. They finally decided to rebuild the worst 10 mile stretch into a 4 lane divided highway to try and stop some the head on crashes. Since they finished this stretch, the speed demons are out in force. After the military allowed this highway to be used again by soldiers, they renamed this highway to a name that sends chills down my spine every time I see it. It's now Phantom Warriors Highway.
We don't have enough deputies to patrol this county and there are not enough Highway Patrolmen to even patrol this highway once a day, but they can go patrol the Texas Border? If the object is to catch illegals, they could have stayed here and done that job.
I could drive around this town and point out hundreds of illegals who are working in this area. Drive by any road crew working on a state highway, and you'll find crews that are mostly made up of illegals. I know this for a fact. They spent 2 years working on widening a 5 mile stretch of highway in front of my house. I had to go out and stop 2 crews before they dug into my new laid water lines. They were all young, all Mexican and none could speak English. I dusted off the little Tex/Mex I could remember from growing up in South Texas and stopped them from busting a brand new water line and fiber optic cable with their backhoe.
The city has new housing division going up all over the place. The majority of the crews are illegals. My son is a plumber and has told me that I.C.E. pays visits every week or two. They never catch anyone. The construction company pays a guy to sit in a truck at the entrance of the subdivision and when he sees I.C.E. enter, he taps out a signal on the horn and the guys come down from roofs faster than you can come down from a tree. They all scatter to the winds. Once I.C.E. makes their rounds up and down all the streets and leaves, the look-out taps out a signal and the crews come back to work. Our tax dollars at work.
So my question to you is: Have you noticed fewer cops around? If so, you might want to check and see if they've been consigned to the Mexico/Texas border. If this is happening in Texas, it's probably happening in other border states. We pay taxes for a Sheriff's department that now has to supplement the Border Patrol. I somehow doubt that Bush will refund my county for sending officers to the border.
To me, this situation is another bait and switch. Send a hundred or so Guardsmen to the border, peel off deputies and highway patrolmen to help make arrests so it will look like the Repubs are doing great work. Once the elections are over, everything will go back to normal.
As to my problem with the fireworks stand, he told me I need to call the county Fire Marshall. I didn't even know we had one since our Fire Department is all volunteer. That's my next thing to do.
If we ever have an emergency where we need deputies or highway patrolmen, I doubt calling 911 will be any help. One time I caught a guy who had broken into my home and was passed out in the living room. I waited 2 hours for a deputy to arrive. This was during a time they were fully staffed. I hate to think what would happen now if I caught someone in my home. I hope all those Repubs who are so afraid of shadows are sleeping soundly at night thinking they are safe. They may be in for a rude awakening.