If both can happen, we believe the issues concerning town board members will cease and the town will return to the quiet, safe place it once was.
We, like town board members, believe many of the problems begin and end with teenage skateboarders who, by virtue of the fact that they are skateboarding in town, are breaking the law.
While it may seem unfair to peg all the town’s problems on the skateboarders, it seems logical to tie some of the recent incidents in the town to those refusing to follow ordinances in place to protect Autryville and its citizens.
After all, if they have no respect for one law, why would they have respect for another?
If, in fact, skateboarders have been caught skating on building rooftops or on the top of a church van, then we would call it vandalism. We would also call it a violation of a town law which prohibits skateboarding.
And something should be done.
It’s unfathomable that parents haven’t put a stop to this nonsense themselves. It’s an easy task to accomplish — take the skateboards away.
Town board members said parents have been alerted to the skateboarding problems, but they were also quick to point out that some of those violating the ordinance are from other areas, like Roseboro and Cumberland County.
No matter where they are from, something needs to be done to stop the blatant violation of a town ordinance put in place for a specific reason.
It’s why we believe an off-duty officer is necessary. With no one in authority out at night to watch over the town’s interests, criminal activity is bound to increase, along with violations to ordinances such as the teen curfew and the skateboard ban.
Having someone patrol the area will cut down on those problems and allow for those out breaking the law to be reigned in.
The next step would then belong to parents. If a teen is caught violating the town’s ordinances, then the responsibility should fall squarely on the shoulders of parents to deal with their children in an appropriate manner, one that would let them know that it is not OK to break the laws even if one might think those laws are stupid.
We are certain teenagers find the skateboard ban and the curfew frivolous laws intent on stifling their freedom and nothing more, and given that disdain, they often overlook them, doing as they please.
That is apparently the case in Autryville where, despite the ban, skateboarding continues.
While stopping the skateboarders may not stop all the vandalisms and break-ins that are occurring in the town, it will curtail some of the problems we are certain.
This editorial is Sherry's attemtp to once again wag her finger at the parents of these skateboarders and preach how to be good parents. She states curfews should be followed and the law is the law. No exceptions. Rules are there to protect the public. Parents should be held resposible for their children's actions. Sounds good so far, right?
Then we had the Midway High School dress code drama. We all read the article where some were for it and some were against it. We even read a few comments of a mother-daughter team against the dress code. Unfortunately, there was no adult supervision home that day to keep these two away from the computer. Hopefully, better safeguards are in place. So, Sherry writes an editorial about the dress code. Once again, wag her finger and telling parents and students basically the rules pertaining to the dress code should be followed. Her quote, "Our children should be taught, as we were, that rules are put in place for a reason. And that because we live in America, if we don’t like those rules, for whatever reason, we have channels by which we can attempt to have them changed. Breaking the rules should not be one of those channels".
Simply Priceless.
Now, let's back up a few weeks when an article appeared concerning a sixteen year old girl involved in a car accident. When Sherry wrote this article she thought she would garner sympathy for the young girl, but what she got was brutal honesty. Several posters came on and condemed the girl and her parents for breaking the law. The back and forth support and condemnation was too much. The social elites had enough. They contacted Sherry and the article magically disappeared.
A couple of days later, Sherry wrote a scathing editorial bashing those who criticize a sweet social elite young girl and her parents for breaking the law and not following the rules.
Like I said I don't have a problem with her editorial. Her character is nature of the beast. I have a problem with the people who read her editorials and give her a free pass for her hypocracy. They way I see it, her credibility as a true journalist is shot.
Would this apply to driver's license restrictions as well Sherry? So basically, we the parents are responsible when our children break the law? We, the commoners know that....it's those in your social circle who haven't figured it out yet. You wrote an editorial about following rules over a dress code and now curfews and vandalism. I guess I missed the editorial about driver license restrictions. Maybe at some point you will have the spine to address that as well.