Sheriff, this just isn't right...

I’ve just returned from the first 2013 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. There was a lot on the agenda.

One item added to the agenda was a $150,000 request from the Sheriff for communication devices that apparently are 15 years old and not repairable. So, how come the Sheriff cannot find $150,000 in his $7M dollar budget for this equipment? Why didn’t he know this last summer when he submitted his budget? This is one concern.

The Board of Supervisors elected to table this item until the 15 Jan 2013 meeting. This didn’t seem to be acceptable to the Sheriff. He apparently wanted a decision now and since this was not the will of the Board, the Sheriff brought up other decisions previously made by the Supervisors for things such as improvements to the Battle Arena. After the Board President tried to move on to the next subject, the Sheriff continued with what he wanted to talk about and thus controlled the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting. Personally, I’m offended because I would have been escorted out of the meeting if I had behaved in such a manner. This is the second concern.

Next, a gentleman from the Sheriff’s Liaison Committee used the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary to “scare” the Board and the audience into approving the Sheriff’s request. The intimation was that we could be facing the same situation here in Tunica County if the Sheriff’s request was denied.

Maybe no one else will say it, so, I will. The tragedy at Sandy Hook occurred because the shooter’s mother did not lock up her guns and her irresponsibility cost her life, her son’s life and the lives of 26 others. There can be other viable discussions about assault guns, how many bullets in a clip, etc. but the bottom line is this: If you have children in your house lock up your friggin’ guns.