Traffic concerns, homelessness dominate citizen forum

After only six months on the job, Willow Springs Police Chief Wes Ellison has done something with the department no one ever has before—he invited members of the public to comment and ask questions at a moderated citizens’ forum. 

Howell County News hosted the event Dec. 1 at the Star Theatre. A crowd of about fifty citizens and stakeholders gathered to discuss drug activity, homelessness, police training, and feral cats. A smattering of anonymous questions was submitted in advance, but most of the evening was dominated by the questions and concerns of those present at the forum. 

In the police chief’s own words, “We, as a community, all need to pull together.”

He said officers respond to a lot of calls where it’s clear that neighbors don’t know each other and are not trying to work together to solve minor problems. They are willing to involve the police before they are willing to talk to their neighbor, and this is something he wishes would change.

“Our guys are told to interact with the community, if they see you having trouble loading something, they’re told to stop and help,” Ellison expanded.

“This is the direction we want to go with this department,” agreed Assistant Chief Alan Lewis. “It’s transparent policing. I hope the community sees the desire to do the right thing ... We’ll identify deficiencies, there’s no doubt in my mind – but we’ll eat this elephant one bite at a time.”

 

Traffic Enforcement

Concerns about traffic enforcement kicked off the night. Gary Stolba posed the first questions about traffic enforcement near the city limits on State Route 76 south of town. He was concerned that officers pursue traffic violations past city limits and asked whether it was a personal vendetta against the residents of the area.

Chief Ellison and Asst. Chief Lewis denied any personal reasons for traffic stops in the area and explained officers may pursue traffic offenders past the borders of Willow Springs if they observe an infraction take place in town. 

Others followed up with concerns about traffic stops on St. Rte. 76 where there is no shoulder, creating a traffic hazard. Police responded it would be a good idea to ask motorists to move to a safer area if they pull over in a dangerous spot. 

Former law enforcement officer and Lions Club member Dick Mohrman asked if it was in the taxpayers’ best interest for an officer to park on the highway bypass looking for a drug bust in the highway traffic. 

Chief Ellison pointed out that an estimated $1 million in money and drugs pass through Willow Springs’ portion of Highway 63 every day, but responded that his officers are directed to use a balanced approach when patrolling traffic throughout city limits.

Friday Follow up

Unsatisfied with the answers the police provided Thursday evening, Stolba could be seen on either side of city limits Friday afternoon hanging large signs to warn motorists on St. Rte. 76 about a possible speed trap.

He told Howell County News he was hanging the signs both to benefit the Willow Springs business community and to address the speeding issue. According to Stolba, his signs should slow down the traffic without costing a motorist a day’s wages for a speeding ticket. He reported anecdotes from friends and neighbors who he says will no longer shop in Willow Springs because they are too worried about a fine from overzealous traffic enforcement.

Stolba’s concerns are about one individual officer, Officer Jim Hedlesten. 

With more than fifty years’ experience in law enforcement, Officer Hedlesten primarily works daytime shifts. Stolba has concerns about Officer Hedlesten speeding over cresting hills to pull over motorists at what he says is a high rate of speed. 

Even his signs appear to refer specifically to Officer Hedlesten, reading in part “Possible Speed Trap Ahead. Unless Barney is on the bypass.”

In an interview Friday afternoon, Officer Hedlesten defended his actions on the job. He reports he has worked traffic in Willow Springs for ten years and intends to continue to do so. Citing several serious accidents and fatalities on that stretch of road, Officer Hedlesten said, although he tries to spend time on all the city streets, but in traffic enforcement, “You go where the problems are.”

“I want [Mr. Stolba] to know I appreciate his concerns about the speeding problem in town,” Officer Hedlesten said. 

Chief Ellison echoed this sentiment, telling the News he appreciated the help the signs will undoubtedly be to the speeding issue. He does, however, take issue with the disparagement of his officer and the police department. 

 

Drug Activity

At Thursday’s forum, Philip Chafin posed a question about drug houses in town, specifically what law-abiding citizens can do to assist the police to shut them down.

Chief Ellison said the department’s strategy is to make traffic stops on individuals coming and going from the known locations of drug activity to hopefully build a case for a search warrant of the premises. Citizens can help by helping the police gather information on who is coming and going from these houses by submitting home security footage or pictures of license plates to the police. 

“The more communication and the more sets of eyes will drive this in a positive direction,” said Asst. Chief Lewis.

 

Homelessness

Chafin also posed questions about the rising numbers of homeless individuals in town. 

“It has become a problem,” agreed Chief Ellison. Part of the problem, he said, is that existing vagrancy and panhandling laws have been deemed unconstitutional. Simply, it is not illegal to be homeless, and it is not illegal to panhandle.

It is however, illegal to trespass, impede traffic, or otherwise create a public safety problem. Officers can remove loitering people from businesses and private property. Landowners who have a vacant property should stay vigilant for the presence of squatters, Asst. Chief Lewis  said.

To address the problem, Chief Ellison said the first step is to identify the homeless individuals to discover if they have any warrants or any family. Wowever, many of the individuals city officials contact are resistant to resources or offers of help. Most of them do not want to move on, and they do not want a ride to a shelter. 

City Administrator Beverly Hicks explained Willow Springs is “lots of money” and years away from opening a homeless shelter in town. 

“I’m open to thinking of it for the future, but most of the people we see here currently don’t want into a shelter,” she said.

Chief Ellison pointed out that that having a homeless shelter may increase the problem of homelessness in town, as well as related problems such as drug use.

 

Department Staffing and Training 

Jumping off this topic, Rick Maggard asked if police officers receive crisis intervention training to help the homeless in town. 

“Right now, everything is about priority,” Asst. Chief Lewis replied. “Simply filling the schedule has been challenging. Getting equipment has been challenging and a proactive training approach ... all this costs money. There are a lot of challenges competing for the resources we have.”

School Resource Officer Glen Moore addressed this question as well, commenting that a short-staffed department makes it difficult to pull an officer off a shift to attend training. There are only so many police officers to go around. That said, Officer Moore is a de-escalation instructor who does lead weekly training sessions. 

“The problem is retaining officers,” Chief Ellison explained. “It’s heartbreaking to train people that you know will be good officers only to see them leave ... We have two [cadets] in the academy have already been approached by competing agencies ... They are contractually obligated to stay for five years ... but other agencies have appraoched them with an offer to buy out their contracts.”

Animal Nuisances

One popular topic was stray and vicious animals. A direct question asked whether it is illegal to feed the stray animals. 

“No, there’s nothing that says it’s illegal,” responded City Administrator Hicks. “There’s other things that feral cats cause that are a nuisance. Feeding them near businesses creates a nuisance.”

Howell County News has previously reported that the City of Willow Springs discourages the feeding of stray animals in town.  

The city has “limited resources to deal with animals at large,” said Asst. Chief Lewis. There is no city facility for stray cats, but there is a small facility for dogs. The city’s animal control officer splits his time with other city departments and performs meter readings as well as code enforcement duties. 

“Vicious animals are the biggest concern,” said Hicks. 

John Bailey posed a question about roadkill on city streets. City officials responded that either the animal control officer or a member of the street department will be dispatched to pick it up before the animal because a problem. 

Citizens are encouraged to call in reports of roadkill when they first see it, and the city will pick it up right away. 

 

City politics

A question submitted in advance of the forum questioned the city administrator’s role vis a vis the police department and whether the department’s day-to-day operations are “under her thumb.”

“The city administrator is over all the department for guidance for city policy,” responded Chief Ellison. “She doesn’t interfere in day-to-day operations. If we have a large budget question, we contact her. As far as law enforcement, there’s days we go without seeing her.”

“It’s my job to be the biggest support for the police department and also the eighteen other departments we have,” Hicks added. “I am the liaison between the departments and the aldermen and the mayor ... I hate that people would think that I have my thumb on the departments. If we hire the right people, I honestly don’t have to ... I’m proud of these guys [Ellison and Lewis] who engage in the community and are always doing something that was better than it was the day before.”