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Show EDITORIAL aah a Page 2-Wasatch Canyon Reporter, 22 March - 4 April 1995 : My roommate received notification of settlement from the juvenile author- | ity for his stolen car today. A mere 359 days after the very observant Officer Burningham collared two worthless fifteen-year-old, pimply, whiny, stinking, non-contributing members of society racing around- justice has been served. For smashing a window, stealing a car, cleaning out the valuables they were charged sixty three bucks ($63.75, to be exact). The good news is that money goes to my - roommate. The bad news? He’s still out around $800- and the thugs were proba- — bly back on the street before the broken window was even repaired. Little beyond the car was recovered. Everything else was probably pawned. Assuming even a poor return on their theft, they still walked with a handsome profit. Crime pays better most jobs in the Wasatch. The letter from the juvenile authorities went on to notify my roommate that the misguided youths were allowed to pay the sixty three and change in installments. Through some travesty of justice my roommate 1s forced to extend credit to the people who stole his car....Not that they aren’t good for it. Merely because their rap sheet is as long as the Baby Thunder application, is no reason to question their credit-worthiness. Perhaps they returned to scene of the crime to raise the funds, since I walked out to my truck this morning to find that it had been broken into once again. This time they had taken the CD player my Mom gave me for Christmas as well as about a grand of other good stuff. They broke in through the wing window, and then shattered the interior light. How they were unable to use the switch to turn off the light, but got the CD player out, is beyond me. I secured it with Loctite Red and steel straps. Next time I am going to glue razor blades and fish hooks to the back of my stereo. My Gerber multiplier, one of my favorite belongings, is now riding in the pocket of some worthless, albeit skilled, punk. I also owe my roommate for the skis, boots and boot bag that I borrowed and left in the car. At least I have until he gets his halo off to pay him back. ~_ While I was living in Alta my car was broken into five times. On the last theft _ the thieves were good enough to leave behind a Swiss army knife with someone’s full name etched in the handle. This apparently wasn’t a big enough clue for the local constabulary. No one was cited. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Alta Marshall’s department. is the mies solic force in the free world. They are the ones I want when something ugly goes down, -_jike an avalanche or car wreck. But when your car is broken into, call a car detailing place, call Diamond Glass, call your insurance agent so he can tell you aren’t covered; but don’t waste the police officers time. In Salt Lake City they don’t even bother to come to the crime site. They just assign you a case number and let you hassle with insurance. At this point it seems to me that the police, even with their best efforts, can’t stop. the break ins. Nor can they help you after the fact. This leaves it up to you to take care or your life and belongings. I grew up believing that an inanimate item is not worth risking a life over. I am startingto change my tune. It seems to me that if someone chooses to impact my life, they should have to live, or not, with the circumstances. If I popped a cap in | the ass of the kid who broke into my car, perhaps his friends would rethink the whole economics of the thing while staring at his cold lifeless body. Where in our society is the disincentive for this kind of robbery. The thieves are let off with barely slapped wrists. Whether it’s Charles Keating, or two fifteen-year-old felons, if you only charge them fifteen cents on the dollar for what they stole, why would they stop? In the short term we must be responsible for ourselves and our belongings. This means if you are poking around my vehicle again there is a reasonable probability that something scope-sighted is trained on your back. More importantly it is time we passed effective legislation. Let’s stop breaking our kids into the penal system gently. Three strikes sounds good, but is actually a terrible idea. Let’s do something about the first strike. If your child assaults someone, breaks into a car, or does any other socially unacceptable crime, off they go to jail. No exceptions for race, gender, or connections. The only thing the kids who stole my roommate’s car learned is that they can break the law with impunity. Until effective changes are made, they can have my gun when they pry it. . well, you get the idea#WCR Canyons peas SK shorts: Late and out-of-date; please use the information below mostly for phone numbers. HAlta Shei Lifts 501-742-3333 Alta Snow A sport 501-572-3939 | Number of lifes operating | , 5 of & Prase Depth mid mountain 198 Z Cost of an all area adult lift Ticket $25 Cost of a half-day adult lift Ticket J/ 9 Half. Day: 9:15 to 7:00 or 7:00 to g:30 Bright ass. fn rT. Brighton’s3 Snow Snow Repat Number Number of liftsfre 6 of7 Base Depth mid mountain Cost of an all area adult ift Ticket Half Day Ticket 144° $08 $25 Half day starts at 12:30 Night Skiing Available Mon-Sat Vy snowbird Snowbird’s General Information Number 801-742-2222 Number of lifts operating 9 of 9 Base Depth mid mountain — 135" Cost of an all area adult lift Ticket $40 1/2 Day Ticket $33 Half day starts at 9:00 to 1:30 or 12:30 to close Solitude Solitude’s General Information Number 801-534-1400 | Number of lifts operating Base Depth mid mountain 7 of7 ae" Cost of an all area adult lift Ticket $29 Cost of a Half day Ticket $23 Half Day Starts at 12:30 Back Country Avalanche and Weather Info: 364-1581 UDOT Road Conditions 964.6000 | |