20060919 KDDC Bicyclist killed in late night accident on Rte 140 in Westminster

Bicyclist killed in late night accident on Rte 140 in Westminster

Photos by Kevin Dayhoff © www.kevindayhoff.com Sept. 19, 2006

A dark stretch of eastbound Rte 140 between the Rte 27 overpass and Center St. in Westminster was the scene of a fatal accident involving a bicyclist and a Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy late Tuesday evening.

The accident was first dispatched at 10:40 PM and Westminster, Pleasant Valley and Reese Fire Departments responded.

There is a number of street lights out in this dangerous stretch of highway and the fire companies stayed on scene for hours to illuminate the area as the accident reconstruction team from the Maryland State Police conducted a joint investigation of the accident with the Westminster Police Department.

Police agencies from Westminster, the Maryland State Police and the Sheriff’s Department remained at the accident for several hours.

No additional details were available as this is being posted. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA. E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org www.thetentacle.com Westminster Eagle Opinion and Winchester Report www.thewestminstereagle.com www.kevindayhoff.com

20060909 KDDC Dallas official wants city ban on baggy pants

“Mel-Chun Jau, Dallas Morning News, Associated Press: Kevin Deamus, 26, and his brother, Markus Deamus, 19, of Dallas, check on the radiator of their car in the parking lot of a grocery store near Fair Park in Dallas on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006.

A Dallas man has had it with baggy pants that overexpose, so he wants the city council to look into a ban on wearing the oversized trousers that often slip so low as to show underwear. Ron Price, a Dallas school board member, has asked the city council to look at strengthening the law to give citations to those who expose their underwear.”

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Dallas official wants city ban on baggy pants

September 9^th, 2006

I went out to a nice restaurant in Westminster Saturday evening with Miss Caroline, Grammy and Aunty Betty, C.E. (Chaperon Emeritus). While waiting for our dinner we could not help but notice that most of the patrons looked like they were students from McDaniel College.

To our left was a large table full of young men. They seemed well-dressed, with the exception of a few baseball caps on backwards… To our left there was a table of four young co-eds. The guys were awfully absorbed with themselves. But at one moment I noticed that the table of co-eds had spotted the table full of guys.

Then, almost as if on cue, one of the young men got up and he had on these baggy pants that were positioned in such a manner as half his behind was hanging out. Sooooouie! See my previous post on the wisdom of baggy pants… here: “20060706 Baggy pants and crime prevention.”

I noticed that the young ladies were amusedly not impressed.

Oh well.

So what’s-up with slovenly dress? It obviously did not impress the ladies.

I remembered seeing on one of the cable news programs, a piece that said a gentleman in Dallas Texas wants to ban baggy pants.

Well, lots of luck on that paradoxical pilgrimage chasing that windmill. You can’t outlaw bad taste and besides, criminalizing boneheaded attire is not quite what I would want a municipal police force spending time and limited resources.

But there you have it. The young man at the restaurant needed to get a “fashion ticket” for looking like a jerk, but I’m not sure it is a good idea for taxpayer money to go into calling to the young man’s attention that he looked stupid and that folks were making fun of how poorly he was dressed.

I can see it now. Prisoner number 1: “Whatcha in for dude? I’m doing 5 to 10 for murdering a convenience store clerk. But, like, I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it”

Prisoner number 2: “I’m doing life with no parole for having my behind hang out in public.”

Prisoner number 1: “Wow man, bad break.”

The Dallas Texas story begins:

“Dallas official wants city ban on baggy pants” By JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press

DALLAS — A Dallas man has had it with baggy pants that overexpose, so he wants the City Council to look into a ban on wearing the oversized trousers that often slip so low as to show underwear.

Ron Price, a Dallas school board member, has asked the City Council to look at strengthening the law to give citations to those who expose their underwear.

“I think it’s disrespectful, it’s dishonorable and it’s disgusting,” said Price, who made the recommendation last week to the City Council. “I have no problem with the top of your Hanes label being shown. My problem is when grown men walk about the city with pants below their buttocks.”

Council members have asked the city attorney to look into the issue. City Attorney Tom Perkins said this week he’s investigating the legalities and will report back to the council.

But experts say that such a law might not hold up, so to speak.

Read the rest of the article here.

Government shouldn't act as parents for their citizens.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org
http://www.thetentacle.com/
Westminster Eagle Opinion and
Winchester Report
www.thewestminstereagle.com
www.kevindayhoff.com

20060706 KDDC Baggy Pants and Crime Prevention

Baggy Pants and Crime Prevention

The July 6^th, 2006 Carroll County Times has a story by Ari Natter, entitled, “Carroll rated Md.'s second-safest county.” This is good news for Carroll countians and it affirms one of the main reasons we like living in Carroll County – overall quality of life.

A big hats off goes to all the various law enforcement agencies in Carroll County that work tirelessly for our safety.

The beginning of the story reads: “Despite a 7.7 percent increase in the county's crime rate last year, Carroll County remains the second-safest county in the state, according to an annual statewide crime report released last month by the FBI. Only Garrett County, with a rate of 1,742.8 victims of crime for every 100,000 people, had a lower crime rate than Carroll, which totaled 1,897.6 victims of crime per 100,000 people.”

For the rest of the story, click here.

But perhaps one thing missing in the story is the untold story - and that is; one thing that continues to work to our advantage is the dynamic that most criminals aren’t very bright.

ABC carried a story on June 20th, 2006 that helps shed some additional light on crime prevention: “Baggy Pants Can Trip Up Criminals, Say Police.”

I kid you not, next time you see some young men attempting to walk in the fashion craze that requires them to wear their pants around their knees – looking, like, totally ridiculous, smile, knowing that the stupid fashion is a great crime-fighting tool.

No word as to whether or not this has contributed to a lower crime rate in Carroll County. But we’re on the trail of this breaking story…

Meanwhile, the ABC story leads-off to say: “Any plumber could tell you droopy drawers tend to trip you up, but apparently a lot of crooks fail to listen. Loose-fitting, baggy jeans have been in fashion for years, but police officers say they can also help fight crime.

"When they run, it makes our job easier," said Jim Matheny, a lieutenant with the Stamford, Conn., police department. The 41-year-old told ABC News he has no trouble chasing down suspects who wear low-hanging pants.

"They go to take off and either they have to use their hands to hold their pants up or several times the pants just fell down around their knees and they had to stop running," Matheny said. "They spend all day thinking of ways to beat the police and then they go and put these pants on. It really handicaps them."

Matheny said that those considering a life of crime might want to take a look at their wardrobes first.

"It's hilarious to me if you think about it," he said. "This is what they do for a living. It's like when the big thing was not tying your shoes and we had kids running out of their shoes."Read the rest of the story here.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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