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Walkersville Holds Public Hearing on Crime

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cropped-townseal1.jpgThe Town of Walkersville held its regularly scheduled meeting last night with a public hearing on crime. The meeting room was packed with a full-house, an unusual occurrence (most meetings have an audience of less than ten residents).

The Burgess and Town Commissioners quickly dealt with usual business. Commissioner Chad Weddle’s proposal to codify the hours of Town Elections passed unanimously. Per Town Code, the elections were to be held from 1:00 p.m until 8:00 p.m. The elections have been advertised to last from Noon until 8:00 p.m. The proposal rectified the situation by codifying the hours of Noon until 8:00 p.m.

Commissioner Debbie Zimmerman informed the board that only one quote was provided for rehabilitating basketball courts in Walkersville after two requests for proposals were sent out. Commissioner Zimmerman proposed accepting the proposal of $29,835 to rehab the courts and build a small playground. The proposal passed unanimously.

Commissioners also approved spending up to $3000 to repair bleachers at the football fields in Heritage Farm Park, and to have staff remove political signs in local right-of-ways.

The meeting moved directly to a public hearing on crime. Resident State Trooper, Senior Trooper Crouse provided hand-outs on crime statistics for Walkersville, Brunswick, Thurmont, and Tanyetown. The other jurisdictions have their own police departments and fewer square miles. Walkersville contracts with Maryland State Police to have three Resident Troopers and provide coverage when they are not on-duty. The statistics show that Walkersville has far fewer arrests, citations, etc. Maryland State Police officials attending conceded that their statistics would show higher numbers with 24×7 coverage, as overnight shifts are rare.

The public was very supportive of the Maryland State Troopers, but questioned why elected officials were restricting policing to three officers when more are needed. They cited crime during the overnight hours when the responsible trooper may be as far away as Emmitsburg. The Frederick Barracks Commander, Lieutenant Wayne Wachsmuth, informed attendees that, during any shift, there are three to four troopers on-duty in Frederick County.

Questions from the public ranged from definitions of crimes, how shift coverage is decided, and how to report suspected criminal activity. Quite a few were concerned with the amount of activity in Creamery Park during the late night and early morning hours.

Commissioner Don Schildt expressed concern about hearing students state they can get any drug within ten minutes at Walkersville High School. A Walkersville High School administrator who lives in Walkersville responded that any suspected activity is referred to the school’s Sheriff Resource Officer, and pursued. He noted that many of the problems come from outside of Walkersville, and mentioned the ease of communicating with other areas with social media. He assured the public that the school actively works to stop any illegal activity among students at Walkersville High School.

Many residents expressed their disapproval of spending $29,000 on a basketball court when more police officers are needed. Requests for round-the-clock police coverage came repeatedly from the residents in attendance.

Town Commissioner candidate, Mary Ann Brodie-Ennis asked Troopers what preventive measures are being taken. Trooper Crouse said that programs like D.A.R.E. do not receive funding. He said that he has met with a neighborhood watch that is forming in Old Town Walkersville, and that they share information with the Woodsboro Times and on the Town’s Facebook page (despite repeated requests, they do not share statistics with GladeValley.net).

Jenny Gilroy, lead of Deerfield’s Neighborhood Watch, expressed concern that they did not know the “new” Resident Troopers for Walkersville. She asked how the existing neighborhood watches in Deerfield and Sun Meadow could be informed of changes in police officers.

Former resident, George Rudy has been pushing for a 24×7 police force for more than seven years. When he lived at the corner of Crum Road and Woodsboro Pike, he said it would often take at least twenty minutes for Maryland State Police to respond to accidents. He did admit that now-retired Resident Trooper Ramona George quickly responded when there was a shoot-out in his front yard.

Tammy Dungan, a resident of Old Town, rose to discuss being a victim of crime in Walkersville. Her vehicle was broken into and her possessions stolen.

Ray Soderberg, owner of Free State Roll-Off, co-owner of Walkersville Southern Railroad and a member of the Walkersville Economic Development Commission, also spoke of being a victim of crime in Walkersville. His company’s trucks have been broke into, had items stolen, and equipment broken at costs of thousands of dollars. The Walkersville Southern Railroad repeatedly falls victim to crime. Within recent weeks, a railroad car was damaged to the tune of more than $5,500. He also asked for more patrols by police.

The owner of Good Hair Days, Judy Poffenbarger, wrote a letter to the Burgess and Town Commissioners, because she had to work. She wrote that she and her staff watch drug deals on a daily basis outside of their business at Five Corners. In fact, she said a drug deal took place Tuesday in the alley behind her shop.

Commissioner Don Schildt reiterated the need for more patrols and a more proactive approach to crime.

Commissioner Chad Weddle thanked everyonen for attending. He recognized the overwhelming support for increased police coverage, but warned that taxes would have to be raised. The net cost of Walkersville’s current contract for three Maryland State Troopers is $89,000 per year. Walkersville’s current tax rate is currently one of the lowest in the state at $0.15, but the towns compared by State Police have tax rates more than double that of Walkersville’s.

Dave Cole, a resident of Deerfield, was recognized by the public for his use of security cameras to catch criminals breaking into his vehicles. Mr. Cole noted that he had been hit five times, and caught the culprits the last two times with his security cameras. He urged everyone to use security cameras.

 

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