Posted on 11/08/2003 6:00:51 AM PST by Fearless Flyers
The Super Boat Off Shore Racing teams are in town again. This is an inconvenience most of us are willing to put up with and usually enjoy. But this year the event coincides with the local developers deciding to shove one their cranes up our darker extremities.
At 11:30 am Friday November 7, 2003 a tractor trailer with a crane mount, attempted to make the left turn off Hillsboro Blvd to head north on A1A. If you have trouble understanding this maneuver, try to imagine while the cab of the tractor trailer turns to head north, the top of the crane in the horizontal transit position hangs over the cab and mimics the movement of the trailer in tow. So while the cab is heading north on A1A the crane is heading easterly by north east. It snapped an electrical pole on the North East corner of Hillsboro and A1A into three pieces creating a mangled mess of power lines and crane. POP goes the power and the minds of our Broward County Sheriffs and traffic managers.
Within a matter of minutes these great authorities closed all East bound traffic over the Hillsboro bridge. They ignored the utility of the under pass on the east side of the intra coastal and refused to clear and open Ocean Ave to Southbound traffic. They succeeded in proving without any doubt that along with their brains, the infrastructure of the Barrier Island is over loaded.
It was a comedy to watch as the Sheriff Officers played traffic cop in the intersection of 19th and Hillsboro during an emergency situation, while at the same time they blew off all emergency protocol. It doesn’t take a genius to understand; in the event A1A is obstructed because of an accident, Ocean Ave is to be used for south bound traffic and 19th Ave. for North Bound traffic. Of course Ocean Ave was also obstructed at this time because of the venders for the boat races, but it would have only taken 20 minutes for city workers to clear the road and no activities were going on at the time. The vender’s kiosks were vacant and only taking up space.
Let’s review, both A1A and Ocean Ave are obstructed, 19th Ave is handling North and South Bound Traffic across Hillsboro, local residents are denied access to their homes eastbound over the bridge on Hillsboro. Did I mention there were over a dozen Sheriff’s officers standing around in awe of the mangled mess of crane and power line in the intersection of A1A and Hillsboro.
6 Hours after the crane hit the power line; eastbound traffic was finally restored over the bridge onto the Barrier Island. Don’t get the impression this was done as a convenience for the Island residents. About 5:00 pm traffic was allowed access eastbound just in time to accommodate the parties for the Super Boat Races at J.B.’s and the Pier. If anyone was concerned about the residents returning from work they would have opened at least one eastbound lane by 3:00 pm. Instead these commuters suffered the insults of Sheriffs Officers yelling at them and herding them as insignificant cattle down to 14th St. in Pompano or up to Boca, so they could finally arrive to over heated un-air conditioned homes, after a hard day creating tax revenue. These residents discovered when they finally made it onto their island, 19th Ave (the common route home for island residents) was not obstructed and not one supposed authority could pull their head out of their lower regions long enough to initiate proper emergency protocol for these situations. That is of course until it was time for them to go play and party on the beach.
Most of the neighborhood had power restored inside of 30 minutes excepting between N.E. and S.E. 2ND Streets, from the intra coastal to the ocean including PHN. Our power was finally restored around 10:30 pm.
Reviewing the circumstances and events of the day we discover, a Sheriffs Department that is poorly trained and unprepared for emergency situations. They insult local residents rather than seek to instill confidence. Most of these officers shouldn’t be allowed to blow a whistle much less carry a gun. One of these authoritarians was actually instructing pedestrians to pass dangerously close to a downed power line. When questioned about the safety of following his directions he replied “The arrogance is flaming around here today” Exactly whose arrogance he was talking about is still in question, but he probably felt allowing people to walk a direct and secure path, might make it seem he had no other purpose than to stand around in awe of an emergency situation.
We also discovered that the residents of Deerfield Beach mean nothing to our elected officials and God forbid anyone stand in the way of their play time or their wallets. All bow to Larry, Al and the rest of the royal court of City Commissioners. The only question I have is whether they put on a surgical glove before they play with the puppets in the Sheriffs department.
On another matter this week;
The Miami Harold announced 76% of Broward residents would approve firing Sister Miriam Oliphant. The other 24% are either fellow bureaucrats or City and County Commissioners.
In Deerfield Beach 6,700 ballots were returned to the election offices. There were 41,000 ballots sent out to registered voters. None of the bond issues received more than 57% approval. This means that none of the bonds were approved by more than 4% of registered voters. Larry Deetjen, York Community High School Graduate and renowned puppeteer, quoted by the Observer; “Thank You , Thank You, Thank You” “Once again you show you understand and support our efforts to continue investing in this community”
Larry’s an embarrassment to the people of Elmhurst IL. He should be thankful for a 4% approval rating. He has sleepy beach front community to sellout; he couldn’t make it in a land locked community like Elmhurst, IL where he grew up. They say if you can’t make it in Chicago you can’t make it anywhere. But then Larry found a loophole; charge people $0.60 to cast their vote and make them go out and search for a mail box. Poll taxes are illegal, but we’re charged to cast our vote by having to purchase postage. It does prove Larry can sustain a 4% approval rating and even a failed Chicagoan can twist election results into overwhelming support for his corruption, when 94% of the voters don’t cast a ballot.
Send out Ballots and make the voter pay postage to return them, what better than a poll tax to secure Larry and Sister Mary Olephant with a place in history as the most ignorant and inefficient bureaucrats the county has ever seen. 4% approval, that’s less than the Sister with 24%. Larry can stand proud and better be thankful most people didn’t vote.
Maybe with their new found popularity Larry and Al will show some brass next year and participate in the founders Day Parade? It’s time to start the eggs and tomatoes rotting in anticipation, remember it’s just another free expression of our feelings. We have become a touchy feely society, so it’s ok to offer a politician a flying egg no matter how rotten it is. Think of it as free expression art form.
But if you happen to be in the area Saturday or Sunday they are running the finals for the Super Boat Off Shore Racing at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm, Sunday
The racers are bringing the Village People in to entertain us tonight Saturday evening at 7:00
Is this even possible?
Speaking towards the efficency of our County Election Commisioner Sister Mariam Olephant. I just received an e-mail from my favorite snow birds, who I always try top keep up to date on local events. Check this exerpt..
All the rest of your email was very interesting. Your mother and I did NOT receive absentee ballots for this recent Deerfield Beach, Florida election? I wonder how they justify an election if they do not provide ballots for all the registered voters.
Regards,
Mom & Dad
Maybe even a Florida Supreme Court one.
It must be a NIGHTMARE in Deerfield Beach today since we got hit by heavy rain and flooding here in Broward. Did they have to call off the boat races?
Apparently, parking has been at a premium in previous years and this is actually a sly tactic to encourage the spectators to depart early and clear some room on the roads for the locals.
Guess who the cop was that came to chase me off? That’s right the reject from the Broward Sheriffs Dept. This idiot wasn't satisfied in just telling me to leave, he engaged me in debate over the Constitution, in an attempt to find an excuse to arrest me and throw me in jail. When another Boca Officer arrived, he recognized what was going on and was entertained by the manner in which I humiliated the mental midget in debate and respected the uniform at the same time. The officer stood behind the cop's back snickering the whole time catching the facts that flew over the Nazis head, and gave me a knowing smile when I was finally allowed to go on my way.
It may surprise some to learn that minorities are not the only ones that can become victims of abuse. A lone cop on the beat is just as likely to harass a single white male, when offered the choice between him and a group of young blacks misbehaving. The white male can be judged to be the safe target for a cowardly cop with an authority complex in those situations. I call this the Beach Nazi Syndrome.
I once had a kite confiscated because it was disturbing the peace on the beach. At the same time there were four black guys drinking beer not more than 50 yards away. I had been harassed by the cop three times in the past and finally got fed up. Especially knowing I was on a posted unprotected section of beach, where kite flying was not restricted. So I pushed the cop to follow through with the threat of arresting me. He only confiscated the kite though, because three senior citizens from Tierra East came to my aid and protested, saying they enjoyed having me around to put on a kite show once a week (a dozen kites flying in close formation can be an impressive site, but this was only one kite testing wind conditions).
In court the Judge was about to dismiss the case until the cop spoke up and said I had been warned three times before. I protested that the cop had no authority on that section of beach and the Judge agreed, but still fined me $1.00 + costs because at some point you’re supposedly to have respect for the cop. He did give a stern warning to the cop, telling him he had better stop harassing me and my kites.
Sorry to keep running on but you touched a nerve.
Sincerely Matthew
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.