OTTUMWA —
Please tell your fellow Congressmen: Don’t make budget cuts without thinking first.
During a conference on Friday, Wapello County Sheriff Don Kirkendall, Ottumwa Police Chief Jim Clark and Sgt. Jason Bell, commander of the Southeast Iowa Inter-Agency Drug Task Force, and other law enforcement personnel said they have seen programs that really do curb crime.
So when political leaders talk about across-the-board budget cuts, public safety leaders get nervous.
“It makes no sense. Especially with a program that’s working, that people can see the results,” Kirkendall told U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack.
Loebsack said he agreed, adding he considers public safety to be a top priority and will take those concerns back to Washington.
“The funding constraints are real, and the public is right to care about the deficit,” he said. “But unthinking cuts aren’t [beneficial].”
That funding, said Clark, is critical now as an influx of gangs and drugs continues to pour into rural Iowa.
Ottumwa officers told the legislator Friday that they’re seeing more drugs, including a big jump in heroin, and more guns, including AK-47s, the fully automatic Soviet-designed assault rifle.
“You can’t believe how many guns we’re taking off these guys,” Bell said.
And yes, added a gang task force officer, that’s right here in Ottumwa.
“The problem I have in Congress is rural areas are largely overlooked,” said Loebsack. “When they hear of poverty, they think of the inner city. When they hear of the drug problem, they think of it as a big-city problem.”
Local officers said they knew their congressman had helped find appropriate funding, but at a time of deep budget cuts, they worry they won’t have the tools to do the job.
In some cases, they don’t, said Tom Rodgers, Ottumwa’s public information officer.
He assists the OPD by sharing information with the community. But not everything gets announced out loud. For example, Ottumwa’s SWAT unit, the “Emergency Response Team” has officers who buy equipment with their own money.
And these aren’t luxury items. Members dip into their own bank accounts to buy the rifle-resistant armored plates that attach to the pistol-resistant vests officers already wear.
They serve the arrest warrants on the most dangerous criminals, or enter a home where an out-of-control resident has guns in the house. More and more, though, officers are having to deal with the problems some legislators believe only exist in Chicago or Los Angeles.
“Gangs are leaving southern California and are coming to rural areas,” said Clark.
Gang officers said gang members see rural America as “safer” from the law but still a good market for drugs.
At the same time, local criminals are working to keep a step ahead of law enforcement. Police, politicians and farmers worked together to make it harder to steal farm chemicals used to make drugs. Yet while meth continues to come in from California and Mexico, manufacturing in Iowa continues.
“The most common method is what’s called ‘the shake ’n’ bake method’, [in which] you eliminate the need for anhydrous ammonia,” said Bell.
And there’s only so much rural and mid-sized cities can do — especially when the state is cutting back on its financial support, said Ottumwa City Administrator Joe Helfenberger.
He said he’s aware Congress doesn’t tell state lawmakers what to do, but as state funding dries up, Helfenberger said, those federal grants become even more important.
It’s too bad, said Kirkendall, that officials like Loebsack have to struggle against such odds to get funding to the places where it will do some good.
“They (lawmakers) don’t have a clue how beneficial that money can be in southeast Iowa,” he said.
Local News
Local law enforcement share concerns as funds shrink, rural crime rises
- Local News
-
-
Storefronts to get a big facelift
OTTUMWA -- A fresh set of facades in one city block could build momentum for the revitalization of downtown Ottumwa. The city has received conditional approval for a $500,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority's downtown master facade
-
Tenco productivity increases thanks to new equipment
OTTUMWA — There's nothing like good partners who team up and improve the world around them. Tenco Industries and John Deere Ottumwa Works have teamed up to improve the way Tenco workers handle all the containers they receive for recycling and other
-
Date set in Pam Ward retrial
A date has been set for the retrial of former Ottumwa Transit Authority Director Pam Ward.
-
SLIDESHOW: Communications tower assembled
Crews assembled the new 250-foot communications tower Tuesday in just more than four hours.
-
Body of Fairfield boy recovered
FAIRFIELD -- Authorities in Montana say they have recovered the bodies of a grandmother and two grandchildren after the car they were in rolled into the Clark Fork River, including that of a Fairfield resident. Authorities were called Friday after a
-
Loosen up, help a student graduate
OTTUMWA -- Students in the massage therapy program at Indian Hills Community College are almost ready to graduate. They just need a little help from the community to complete their requirements. The 14 students in the program each need to clock 200 h
- County supervisors OK mental health contract OTTUMWA -- The Wapello County Supervisors on Monday approved renewing the county's contract with Southeast Iowa Case Management. Supervisor Jerry Parker said the action is related to making mental health affordable. "It's ObamaCare," he said. Manager
- Changes coming to council chambers OTTUMWA — Four city officials are up for re-election this fall, though only two plan on running. Mayor Frank Flanders, as well as Councilmen Bob Meyers, Brian Morgan and Jeremy Weller, will finish out their terms at the end of this year. "Things are
-
Not guilty plea entered in death of Oskaloosa infant
OSKALOOSA — An Oskaloosa man charged with murdering the infant he was babysitting has pleaded not guilty. On Monday, Bryan Draper Vilcone, 24, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, a Class A felony. On April 18, Oskaloosa Police officers respond
-
Hatchet attack suspect pleads guilty
OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa man charged in last summer's hatchet attack is headed to prison. Charles Julian Jason Zwer, 27, pleaded guilty this month to willful injury causing serious injury, a Class C felony, and assault while participating in a felony, a
- More Local News Headlines
-
