Unnecessary gov't activity belies supposed budget woes

By Ed Safranek

State and local public officials continue to assert that the public treasury is nearly empty. Recent news accounts suggest otherwise. Consider the following.

Undercover Ohio Investigative Unit agents broke up a student club's home-brew festival because the students did not have the correct permit, according to a recent item in The Athens NEWS. There were OU officials and police on hand, there was no evidence of rowdiness, rude behavior, underage drinking, sexual or physical violence or that money was exchanging hands illegally. They had a permit, but apparently the wrong permit, and for that these officers broke up the event, dumped over 60 gallons of home-brew and confiscated the kegs containing the beer. They also poured ingredients of a batch being prepared onto the ground. The last action is akin to taking your grandmother's recently baked apple pie and tossing it into the trash.

The students will apparently be heading for court, and I would suggest whatever judge is assigned to the case toss it out on the grounds that the officers are fools and disrespect taxpayers who generally want something useful to be accomplished with public funds. I would also suggest the judge order the officers to pay for the beer and kegs and the $2,600 used to fund the event. Home-brew should be priced similarly to a microbrew beer, of course, so the officers would be required to make restitution in the neighborhood of $3,600. After making restitution, Gov. Strickland should begin dismissal proceedings because the officers are clearly not giving the taxpayers anything in return for their paychecks.

Our second example was in the Athens Messenger, which reported that the Athens County Commission authorized up to $2,900 to transport a man from California to face charges that he stole a guitar and some other items. The items were recovered, but county Prosecutor C. David Warren was quoted saying, "If you commit a crime in Athens County, we're going to bring you back and put you in jail if it's appropriate."

Prosecutor Warren, it is not appropriate. The stolen items are recovered and the suspect is in California. You would spend precious taxpayer funds to bring him back, prosecute him, and potentially have the state spend additional funds to house him for up to a year. He is in California, and if he is indeed a thief, then let him be one in that state. Why spend money to bring him back, prosecute him, put him in jail and then have him among us again? The reporter wrote that the commission authorized the funds "reluctantly" but failed to indicate anything that demonstrates their reluctance. Hence they share in this absurdity.

A third example, which I believe was reported in both local papers in recent weeks, noted that 600 marijuana plants were confiscated by Athens County sheriff's deputies as the result of a flyover operation in conjunction with the State Highway Patrol. This is a preposterous waste of both state and county funds, and both agencies should have their budgets reduced by whatever amount of money was spent on the project. If they have money to spend in this manner, then clearly they have too much in their budgets.

Local officials should refuse any support from the state or federal governments to harass people involved in local agriculture activities, and instead ask that any available funds for such measures be used to expand economic activity in the area, improve our schools or resolve any of the myriad of real problems here in Athens County. Sheriff Pat Kelly should be chastised in particular since his efforts negatively affect one of the few positive sectors of the local economy.

Editor's note: Ed Safranek lives in Albany