I've Decided To. . .

. . .buy a gun. I am getting the .380 ACP; it's eaiser to handle and more compact. When I was leaving to get a haircut, I heard about the boyz in the hood throwing bricks at passing cars. The summer has not begun, and they have escalated from throwing bleach filled water balloons to bricks. And to make matters worse, the board will not give our chief the additional officer he needs to make the streets of Lumberton safer. An officer making $14.50/hour will gross $580.00/wk before taxes, insurance, etc.; an officer making $12.50/hour will gross $500.00/wk before deductions. I randomly selected the salary of three officers from last week and they are grossing $894.00, $929.00, and $840.00 per week (this is before deductions and this information is public record). I have had this information for only a week, but the board members see this informaiton every month, but can't seem to make a decision that will benefit this city.
Officers are putting their lives on the line every time they are forced to patrol without another officer on duty, and the board does not realize the seriousness of this issue. By hiring an additional officer @ $12.50/hr. they will give Chief Fortenberry the felexibility he needs to revert back to 8 hour shifts.
Since the aldermen are so opposed to hiring another officer, they should consider becoming auxilliary officers and patrol on nights and weekends to ensure that there are enough officers partolling the City of Lumberton. This will give them a first hand view of what is going on in the streets of Lumberton. I don't know what decision they will finally make, but yesterday, I was told that I will have to wait 2-3 weeks before I can receive my handgun. My next step is to join the National Rifle Association.