City Code Inspector Presents the Arousal of the Beast

As summer arrives once again, the city code inspector (whoever he may be these days) is out and about interfering in the lives of the citizens of this community. Is there no place his nose does NOT belong? Better yet… is there no place he doesn’t put his nose, intruding on the rights of citizens to live in their property?

A few years back, we  the citizens of the great city of Lamar received the great blessing of city leaders who thought they knew how to tell the citizens of the community how they should live.  In one instance, an old woman, concerned about her income being taken by those who complained about her weeds, stacked near the trash bin, called the City Administrator, who sent a trash truck out to pick up the weeds. Mind you, TWO men arrived on a gas hog truck to scoop up the leaves and haul them away. A bit overkill? Maybe? Just possibly, the problem could have been taken care of instead by the city inspector (who at that time drove a city truck) instead of wasting HER time and the Tax Payers’ money, by simply picking up the weeds? One man, one pitch fork, one tax payer provided pick up doing a good deed for an aging citizen.

Currently, community members are being ticketed for having things in their yards, weeds growing more than 8 inches high (hello, weren’t we just praying for rain?), and we’re probably back to fences — oh the joy of little green fences.

Chances are pretty good that I won’t be building the little green fence with the lolli-pop circles all over it. Maybe. Don’t bet on it. I happen to know where I can still get that much wood from recycled pallets. And… I know spray paint is pretty darned cheap. YES, I would still paint the fence lime green with poke-a-dots in every color of the rainbow.

So, here are a few of the lovely fences that have been built over the years:

The Annex Truck Fence – bordering the parking area of the former Community College buildings now turned into housing for folks who build old truck fences.

The Lamar High School WEED Fence – grown on land that surrounds the high school, while football fields are manicured and kept perfect, weeds grow tall in the fence rows. Bless those fences!

The Black Plastic Fence surrounding the NEW Baseball Diamonds – how much did that cost the city? Are we really making any of that money back?

The Brazier Fence – although not currently a fence in Lamar, I’m certain we could find enough donations from the area to build one, probably out of citizens who are tired of being told what they can and can’t do in or on their property.

The Bike Frame Fence – built of bike frames bolted to upright standards in the ground just far enough apart for the bike frames. I’m sure we could use all the stolen bikes rescued by the police department for this purpose.

So, tell me again… WHY are the police officers not out stopping criminals from stealing BIKES instead of hounding law abiding residents of Lamar about their fences?

Last, but definitely NOT least – this irredescent WHITE fence – is that formica or is it fiberglass? Are those pointy edges safe? Did anyone sand those edges down when they put that fence up there?

Is that gray picket fence painted gray or is that bare wood that might result in a splinter for some poor stupid soul who rubs his hand along the fence? 
Chasing rainbows over the green fence? Isn’t it time the police officers in Lamar stopped harassing the good citizens of this community and started working a bit harder at stopping the crime that happens in Lamar, Colorado on a regular basis?

I know as a citizen of this fine community, I prefer it a lot more when the police department is out there stopping criminals, picking  up criminals who beat up on little boys, instead of hounding the citizens about what they’re doing in their own yards – where the police officers should NOT be going, unless they are hunting criminals. It is after all, private property!