The county Sheriff’s department is facing problems due to a budget cut imposed by the county commissioners. Sheriff Gus DiCersari has expressed concern over the fact that the sheriff’s department is being forced to drive police cruisers that have over 150,000 miles on them, “My deputies can’t keep driving these old vehicles. Something bad is going to happen.”
In a meeting on Thursday afternoon, the sheriff and county commissioners met to discuss these issues. Commission member Anne Chenn said the county’s yearly budget was reduced this year because of rising costs of healthcare, fuel and the $30 million the county spent to build a new prison. The sheriff expressed the need for five new deputies as well, “You’re putting the lives of the people of this county in jeopardy.”
One of the main arguments that arose during the meeting was the concern brought by the rise of migrant workers in the county. Commissioners Anita Shenuski and Raymond Laybourne argue that the migrant workers pose a problem in the county for law enforcement, schools and the healthcare system. They argued Chenn that the county should be funding the sheriff’s department as opposed to programs for migrant workers who’ve come into the county. “They take away jobs from decent people and work for next to nothing and if something gets stolen, you can bet it is one of them that’s taken it. We need to protect local residents from them.” Both Shenuski and Laybourne are in agreement that the sheriff’s department is in need of increased funding to hire new deputies for this very reason. Chenn denied the claims brought forward by Shenuski and Laybourne, claiming that the migrants are hardworking individuals that add a great deal to the community, pay taxes and are seeking citizenship as well.
Chenn told Sheriff DiCesari that the county did not have the $580,000 to fund the new police cruisers and additional deputies. She proposed some ideas to alleviate the danger of the vehicles, suggesting that the deputies don’t drive the cruisers home each day, claiming it would preserve the mileage, although DiCesari argued that not allowing the deputies to drive their cruisers home was a detriment to the community.
In the end, the vote was 5-2 against the sheriff’s request, with Chenn telling DiCesari that the sheriff’s department would have to make do this year without the funds.
Second Story: September 28, 2009
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I really like your lead sentence. I'm having a hard time with my leads, they turn out more like headlines than they do leads. However, you do a great job at grasping the important information and setting up the rest of the story.
ReplyDeleteYes, writing the lead always takes the longest for me as well. I really don't like being cliche or writing just "ok" leads. I want creativity and I really want to stand out. I spent like twenty minutes coming up with this lead, and changed it several times before I was satisfied! and I can never write the story without the lead first either! haha. It's a hard skill, but worth it.
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