Friday, June 23, 2017

Does the Colbert County Commission Think These Things Through?


Perhaps you've seen an old television show on TV Land called Car 54, Where Are You? One episode starred Charles Nelson Reilly and the noted Yiddish comedienne Molly Picon. Reilly's character was an architect charged with building a new apartment complex to replace a tenement house, while Picon's character didn't want to leave her old apartment--she'd become accustomed to its brownstone face. 

Reilly agreed to make some changes Picon wanted in order to get her to move into the new building. When unveiled, the replacement apartment complex looked exactly like the one just torn down. In other words, just like the Colbert County Courthouse's new security system. 


For those who came in late, the new security system is part of a multi-million dollar energy upgrade. Included are a new metal detector (cost unknown to us) and an X-Ray machine, cost 14.9K. These two machines have been placed at the courthouse's rear entrance, but lines have been long.

Some attorneys have requested badges to expedite their entry, but at least two county commissioners, David Black and Darol Bendall, haven't been trusting of them. Do they know something we don't? So now the commission, in its finite wisdom, has come up with a new plan.

Attorneys will enter via the eastern entrance (we infer it still may be a choice), but so will the public. The old metal detector from upstairs will be taken out of mothballs and placed there. But, wait. What about the X-Ray machine for handbags, attache' cases, etc.? Unless another X-Ray unit is purchased, the eastern door will always be less secure and used by any would-be terrorists.

Or is the commission going to cough up another 15K for a second X-Ray machine? After all, it's only taxpayers' money. And all because two county commissioners don't like local attorneys...



 

2 comments:

  1. Wow.. first of all I must say the collective bodies that are Sholanda speaks must never turn on a television. Once a "free pass" is given a Precedent. What if other individuals feel they to should have a free pass for security like the attorneys.. how do you say no when you are also telling the public you are doing it for everyone's safety? Now fast forward to future.. what if said free pass holder (attorney or someone else) decides the courthouse is a great place to do bodily harm due to being a disgruntled person or for terror means. They don't have to go through security. Before you say it will never happen I would reach out to those recent news events : work place violence in Florida recently, Huntsville had suspected terror suspect arrested. It is not about today but about the future. Last I checked no one can predict, you can only plan. Plan for safety. Yes, can we look at something similar to airports. We get it you want in and out fast. You can get pre check type screening, but let's not take it away completely because we set ourselves up for vulnerability and in today's world and the future we really don't want to give evil the ability to walk in the front door with a free pass. Unless the collective bodies of Sholanda Speaks knows the future and can tell the citizens that they is never any reason to fear for that and we should take all security down totally at the courthouse?!

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    1. The point is most citizens would fear attorneys much less than road workers who currently have a "free pass" into the building...or janitors, etc.

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