<- Blogs Posted on 02/02/2010


Stacy Stevenson

The thought of my mother-in-law arming herself and getting a concealed carry license, while somewhat comical as a cartoon vision, was the frightening thought I had during our breakfast discussion this morning in Ashtabula. Why? The front page of Ashtabula's local paper, the Star Beacon, revealed a sobering fact for the county, something many counties around Ohio have had to deal with as well: budget cuts.

The article announces the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Department is cutting 27 positions.

"...effective Wednesday, there will be just one car, manned by two deputies, available to cover 27 townships and 720 square miles. The car will be based in Jefferson. For some areas of the county, it could be a wait of up to 45 minutes just for the deputy to arrive."

Sheriff William "Billy" Johnson told the Star Beacon he had to cut 16 road deputies, eight corrections officers, two dispatchers and one evidence person in order to reduce his spending by $1 million from last year’s levels and that he too would be going out on the road.

(insert "Old West" stand-off music here)

The article says Johnson "sees return to Old West lawlessness with only one cruiser on road in county." THAT is a sobering thought.

And...back to concealed carry and the vision I have of my mother-in-law on the back porch in her nightgown, firing off warning shots (and this time it's not just to get the cats to come back in).

Ashtabula is by area, the largest county in Ohio, and it will now be protected by only one patrol car. While I don't consider crime in the area to be "out of control," the sheriff noted in the article the department averages eight arrests every 24 hours. He also noted that due to the cuts, the number of arrests was sure to drop. Drop in arrests is usually good, but in this case, it's not. For a county that struggles to overcome problems typical of Northeast Ohio, to keep jobs and industry and qualified workers in the area, this could be a major blow to any small advances made.

So, will we return to Old West, vigilante "law?" A sobering thought indeed. A list of examples of priority calls are available in the Star Beacon article, so at least we know when to just "not bother" calling the sheriff and deal with it on our own, right? Even though the sheriff has said that "in progress" calls of "domestic disturbance," assault, suicide or burglary would receive response, anything called in after the fact would be put on waiting list. Excuse me while I shake my head and look for a place to live outside Ashtabula County. What if two "in progress" calls come in at the same time. Flip a coin? There is no indication in the article as to whether the county is seeking assistance or reciprocal aid from neighboring areas.

This past weekend, before I knew of the potential need to arm myself while moving about the county, my husband and I went to a gun show in town. We did not really have any intention of buying for ourselves. We ended up buying a relative a birthday present which consisted of a 1960s, original copy of a U.S Army Booby Trap guide, accompanied by a Survival guide of the same era. We walked the aisles, poked at some interesting items, but left with only the novelty items. I think we missed an opportunity there. ...I knew I should not have let him talk me out of that bazooka; it would have looked great over the mantle.