Letter to the Editor:

Since Gary Wayne put a bull’s eye on his back, I will join him as I have a few of my own opinions about Willow Springs Police. First of all, I am 75 years old and have lived almost all my life here so I can say I don’t have any knowledge of all the high speed wrecks on Hwy. 76 in Willow Springs city limits. So that being said, I see no need for all the speeding tickets. Officer Heddleston must have a strong dislike for the human race. Anyone who sits in parking lots and under bridges hoping for the opprotunity to write a stop sign violation or sitting in a dip on the by-pass to write a speeding ticket is a disgrace to the uniform. The motto of police departments is to proect and serve. However, his motives are self serving. The City Council should be totally ashamed of what they have permitted to go on. Sad but true: Willow has a sorry reputation for being a speed trap. But I have an idea the City of Salem is in finanicial trouble. So Willow could rent him to Salem and he could bail them out with his self serving tickets. To the chief, I say the only reason Willow has collected more taxes is because of Loves Truck Stop not because of a giant increase of shoppers in town. Its really easy to see why some people have a negative opinion of the police. Now think of the positive actions of Howell County Sheriff’s Dept. They are building good relations with the residents and travellers by issuing warnings. That leads me to believe that they are really serving and protecting. To that I say: thank you. Remember people kill, not guns.

 

John Townsend, Willow Springs