Comments on: It’s a crime!

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 14:07:47 +0000

DG: Been there done that. I wrote one letter to the Baltimore Sun awhile back and they hacked it up really good. It’s really frustrating when you write out an entire argument point by point and they see fit to edit half of your best lines out of it.

F2L: I was HOPING they had something like that around here, but it’s not in the phone book listings that I looked at. Second to 9-1-1, it’s likely the most important number they have since it is the job of law enforcement to get the criminal element off the streets.

DL: I know I’ve seen a number of occasions where the DT takes up a page or so with letters to the editor on a particular subject (like the set I responded to.) Obviously the most important space factor to them is the number of ads they sell but I think they could’ve squeezed another 5-6 lines of mine in that letter. When I see half a letter in print, I start to wonder what people think of my writing ability since they’re not seeing all I had offered.

M: Good point. There are quite a few houses for sale or rent in that area, I see them as I travel around to/from my workplace (a block off Church Street), and I know that pricewise they’re much more suited for the working class of whatever color. To a home seller, the most important color is green!

I’m not familiar with Maryland law, but wouldn’t the jurisdiction of the Wicomico County sheriff also include incorporated areas? They may cede the patrolling part to the SPD but I would think they could legally arrest anyone in the county.

And as with any criminals, gangs will seek the path of least resistance for their activity. If the people on Church Street or Smith Street had a publicized and available outlet for reporting crimes, they would only move the gangstas a couple blocks away. It truly has to be an effort from everyone to move the gang element away from here. I heard about a large-scale federal effort to get gangs like MS-13 off the streets, with hundreds of gang members arrested and awaiting deportment. Wonder if any of that touched Salisbury?

To answer your final question, there have been people who’ve inquired to me about running for office. It’s not in the cards at present, but medium-term, once I get more established in the area (I’ve only been here 18 months and I still rent) it may cross my mind again.

By: Myndful

Myndful — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 18:35:17 +0000

Very well writted piece here. I’m only going to address a couple things:

First, your paragraph about Church Street. Yes, demographically we are a minority area. And yes, the churches and social groups do help a lot of people out here. BUT we’ve been seeing a lot of changes lately. As housing becomes less affordable, the homeownership demographics are starting to change. More and more, young middle class people are buying the houses and fixing them up. What you saw could have been contractors or a group of friends helping a new homeowner, just as much as it might have been one of the churches or organizations.

The other thing I wanted to touch on is your last paragraph. When the new sherriff takes office, the top of his/her agenda will be gangs. What good is that going to do us in the city limits? The SPD OFFICERS will talk about the gang problem readily enough, but unless they have support from the city and from the SPD itself, as well as help from the community (which is, rightly so, afraid of gang activities and revenge) the problem will just concentrate in certain areas such as the Church Street and Smith Street areas instead of being resolved.

You have a lot of good ideas about what this community can do – have you thought of running for office?

By: DL

DL — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 19:53:55 +0000

Unlike on the Internet, space comes at a premium in newspapers – editing for length is a necessary evil, even when long letters are well-written, as yours was. Shorter letters, in my experience, are more likely to pass thru unscathed. There is only so much room on the page.

By: Failure_to_Launch

Failure_to_Launch — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:26:51 +0000

RE: Anonymous tips.

After reading this, I did some research. The SPD and Wico. Sheriff could do a much better job of publicizing this infomation!

You can contact Crime Solvers anonymously, or leave your contact information for a reward if your tip leads to an arrest.

Wicomico County Crime Solvers: 410-548-1776
http://www.wicomicoexile.com/cash.html
(While this web site is entirely focused on gun crimes, Crime Solvers will take tips on any crime).

Statewide Crime Solvers hotline: 1-800-673-2777 http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/criminal.html

By: David Gerstman

David Gerstman — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:14:08 +0000

I used to write letters to the editors pretty frequently. One of the best I wrote was edited by the Baltimore Sun and the word “predicated” was changed to “predicted.” I was pretty upset. I called the editor who didn’t seem much perturbed about the poor editing. I also once was very upset with the Baltimore Jewish Times who cahnged my first sentence to a fragment “Regarding ….” I was furious.

I realize this has more to do with the less important first part of your LTTE. But it struck a chord.