Duckalucky is furious (NVR)
Argh!
The city has decided to replace the fence out behind my home. We live adjacent to a "green belt" that is a kind of wetlands slough in the middle of our small city. Over the last two weeks, I have been annoyed and disconcerted that the city has been setting up a porta-john about 12 feet from my house for the CONVICT LABOR that they are using to remove the old fence... there is an armed guard and everything.
Today, they lost a convict. There's a manhunt on.
Why would the city hire convict labor to work, literally, in people's back yards? Out of sight of the public? Adjacent to a heavily overgrown slough? Two weeks before Christmas when they were at their most desperate to escape?
I am outraged to a degree that I would not have believed possible. For maybe the first time in my life, I really understand NIMBY: NOT IN MY BACK YARD!!!
<growl growl>
wow. i don't even know what to say to that. total madness! :-\ :-\ :-\
i wouldn't be happy at all in that situation. esp if they are putting porta potties in my yard. did they give you any notice (<-- thinks about retracting stupid question)
i think that's a completely legitimate question, and i certainly hope that ducky's answer is yes because if they didn't.. that's just rediculous. our PSNH folks just recently had to spend forever getting that Ok to cut down a tree on our road. all the residecies had to approve. hopefully the same process had to occur..
that is terrible. is it people from the CMC? i always see them bussing around, and we get them as patients in the hospital quite often.
How totally horrible. I hope they catch the escaped convict soon! Take extra special care to protect yourself while all of this is going on.
Years ago when I was really young (about seven or eight), we drove to Florida. My parents stopped at one of the rest stops with the Coleman stove to make us breakfast. We didn't notice all of the men using sickles to cut the grass. They got closer and closer. It was then my dad noticed they were all wearing prison garb. It hit home as the guard with a huge gun stood close to our picnic table.
I think it is great that people in prison do community work, but please keep them away from the public. Some of the people cutting the grass were part of the chain gang.
Joyous memories of childhood!
baypuppy - no, they did not. They told us that the city would be rebuilding the fence. We assumed that this meant they would hire someone qualified... They did not say the merest word about the porta potty. I thought it would be the aspect of this that offended me most... until the escape!
owalkerjillo - I wish! I didn't want the rebuild in the first place. It is cosmetic (the old fence was still serviceable and propped up our beautiful wild grapevines, which will presumably get murdalized in this process.) They NOTIFIED us but that was it.
Hannah - yep, that's them. You'll see this guy on the local news. Even better, he is on his second prison term, this one because of receiving stolen goods, and gang tattoos are a part of his police-issued description... joy!
Di - another kindred souls moment. On a road trip with my brother and partner last year, we stopped at a rest stop where there were lots of men maintaining the grass (yes, with sickles). I greeted the nearest man because I greet everyone, and then a man with a gun moved closer to me and told me, "they're not allowed to respond, ma'am." Ack! I am with you. The news is billing this as a "road crew" but there are no roads in my back yard... that's out of sight of everyone and on the border between my postage-stamp private property lawn and the margin of the city's property, the green belt.
ok, my parents live above a slope, and have removed their fence completely for the sake of the view... Richard Ramirez (the night stalker) camped not 100 feet from their house about ten years before they bought it. i've found that housing associations are willing to do almost anything for property value
Oh my goodness! Be safe Duckalucky. And complain to that foolish city via letter and if that gets no response, letter to the newspaper!
Duckalucky, I think it's safe to say that the convict is not going to stick around if he escaped, so you are pretty much safe from him at the moment. Though the situation that he escaped at all is still lamentable to say the least. I'm sure it's not reassuring to know that the prison guards are incompetent to the point of letting an inmate slip through their fingers. I can totally understand your concern.
I once lived in the closest habitable human quarters to San Quentin. On a rare occasion an inmate would escape, and I would watch the news about it on the telly, realizing that he escaped just down the road from me. And when there was an execution...well that always provoked fun thoughts about proximity and mortality. (EDIT: Actually, I lived in the apartments down the road...really the closest place to live to San Quentin was on the grounds itself. I had a friend in high school whose father worked as a guard there and his family lived on the grounds. I stayed over at their house a couple of times...and it was rather creepy.)
I actually like when prisoners do something productive for society...but I can understand...I don't know if I would be comfortable having them work right where I can see them from my deck...to be honest. Seems like there should be some legal repercussions for not informing you of the details of the prison work well ahead of time...and for you to be able to have some say in the matter. I mean, this is how they deal with people who have committed sex crimes (child molesters, etc.)--the community is usually made aware of their presence. Seems like they could do the same courtesy if a whole slew of criminals are going to be hanging out in your backyard. Geez.