Police should help on towing

Our taxes pay, in part, for a police force that claims to protect and serve, so where is this service?

I manage a 44-unit apartment complex in Albany. I’ve done this job for over 30 months and have cleared out 70 percent of the drug traffic myself.

I have had an ongoing problem with abandoned cars and trucks. When I call the police they tell me to have them towed and we have be

en doing that at an average cost of $150. The police will not even tell us who the registered owners are so we can not make them pay.

Do you think the police would just pay to tow a car left in their lot or their personal front yard? No, they would not. Th

ey would use their authority to track down the owner and force them to move it or pay, and it would not cost them hundreds of dollars. How is that fair?

The police are required to follow the same laws we do, so tell me who owns a red Mazda Pickup B2000, li

cense number SHV 228?

Bradley Metcalf, Albany

Response: Law prevents us

Having read Mr. Metcalf’s letter, I can certainly sympathize with his situation. Abandoned vehicles present an ongoing issue throughout Albany. The Albany Police Department has

authority to deal with abandoned vehicles found upon a public street or highway. So far this year the Albany Police Department has addressed 306 such abandoned vehicle calls.

As an agency, we do not have the authority to tow abandoned vehicle from private

property. Vehicles that are abandoned on private property are the responsibility of the property owner to address. This may or not may not result in a tow fee for the property owner.

Mr. Metcalf correctly stated that the Albany Police Department would not

tell him who the registered owners were for the vehicles abandoned in his parking lot. This is not because we do not want to share this information. The fact is we are prohibited from sharing DMV information with the public. Were we to give this informati

on out we would risk losing our access to DMV records.

I checked the DMV website and located the following regarding requests for personal information:

“Personal information in motor vehicle records is protected and only released to qualified entities unde

r Oregon’s Record Privacy Law (ORS 802.175-802.191). These are generally businesses such as law enforcement agencies, government agencies, insurance companies, and attorneys. Personal information is name, address, telephone number and driver license, perm

it or identification number.”

As an agency, we applaud the efforts of Mr. Metcalf in addressing abandoned vehicles at the apartment complex he manages. However, to provide Mr. Metcalf with the service that he is requesting would require us, as an agency, t

o violate the law. This is something that we simply cannot do.

Capt. Eric D. Carter, Albany Police Department

Making Waverly safer

I would like to say thank you to Sharon Konopa and Mark Shepard of the city of Albany for attending the neighborhood meeting about the concerns that my neighbors and I have about the Waverly Street project. I would also like to thank all of the neighbors that came and expressed their concerns. Hopefully some good came from the meeting and some changes will be made to ma

ke Waverly safer and more neighborhood friendly.

David Climer, Albany

Albany needs playing fields

I am a disappointed taxpayer. My disappointment comes from the 20-plus years that the city has knowingly ignored the need to provide a sports facility for its residents.

Within those 20 years, more youth organizations are serving the local recreational needs besides the Albany Boys & Girls Club. To name a few: Little League, AYSO, Pop

Warner Football and the Mid-Valley Soccer Club.

Over the years, there has been a lot of planning going on, but the only thing the Parks & Recreation Department has to show for it are plans that sit on the shelf and that it spent thousands on consulting fee

s for.

Enough. How long does the community have to wait? The need is now, not five to 10 years from now. With all the money that is collected from all the construction activities, the Albany Parks & Recreation Department should have enough money to make a

short-term action plan and execute it. It all comes down to the attitude and leadership of those who are in charge.

In the short term, I would like to see partnerships between the city, school district and Linn County Parks Department. A good example is wh

ere the city and school district got together to stabilize the funding for the Albany Community Pool. Thank you for that; the community is well served.

Both high schools and Linn-Benton Community College could use synthetic fields; in turn the community co

uld use them after school hours.

In the long term, maybe Linn County and the city could form a partnership. The city wants to purchase property by Ellingson Road, but it is expensive. The county purchased property by Seven Mile Lane, but it has a very dang

erous intersection and does not control ODOT. The county could possibly sell or trade the land for a better location (Looney Lane, north of Highway 34).

Waiting for what, Gatorade?

George van Keulen, Albany

Stupid note baffles a Marine

To the person(s) who left a note on my car:

This morning I walked out to my car and found a note taped to my front windshield that read “F*@# THE MARINE CORPS.” (Whoever wrote it should do some research before leaving anonymous notes, because you spelled it “MARINE CORP.” Tisk, tisk.)

I’m not upset, or sad, or angry, but I think shocked and baffled are good words. I just came home

from serving 31/2 years in the Marine Corps at MCAS New River in Jacksonville, N.C. I still have my Carolina plates and DOD decal. You have no clue who I am, or what I’ve been through. Yet, you have the audacity to write me a note? You couldn’t even wait

until you saw me to tell me in person?

Had you done that I at least would have been nice enough to hear your opinion, and politely tell you that I don’t care what you think, and your opinion means absolutely nothing to me. Also, just out of curiosity, you

signed the back of the note with “WBC.” What does that mean? Surely it isn’t your initials, and I’m hoping it wasn’t an attempt to throw me off by making me think it means “Westboro Baptist Church.” I’m not that stupid. Sorry!

So thank you, once again, f

or giving myself and my friends and family a good chuckle with your note. See ya around town. OOHRAH, and Semper Fidelis. God bless America!

Lance Cpl. Kimberly L. Stewart, USMC, Albany