Keep Goad on the Road!

Today Lucy and I packed the diaper bag full of snacks and crayons and trucked over to the Commissioner's Meeting in Cumberland. THAT was well worth the gas.

In short, David Goad is our sheriff. He's a fine sheriff and is doing his job well. However, a few of the county commissioners have decided to huff and puff and blow his office down. They have decided that the sheriff should just become part of a new "county police force" they've dreamed up and put into action. It's insane.

• He's the elected big bad wolf of Allegany County. The three little pigs can't just give him a new job and call it good.
  
• There is a LOT of mud being slung in these parts and it's getting very dirty. The commissioners have been saying some very nasty things about a lot of people and well, good old boys don't take kindly to the law insultin' their own.
• This was an idea that was being "researched" a few weeks ago, and suddenly it's been put into action without so much as a backward glance or ANY input from the citizens of this county.
  
• They've forced Sheriff Goad to collect all of the equipment from his men in preparation for the new "force." Apparently Goad's men are heartbroken.
  
• There are now 14 officers in limbo and NOT on the streets because they resigned from their positions anticipating a move and now the commissioner's requests to the State for "exemption" from re-certification are pretty much being ignored and the new officers can't do a thing.
  

Needless to say, this meeting was HUGE. They moved it from their little meeting room to a high school auditorium due to the rumored attendance, and the auditorium was PACKED. Lucy was very good and ate about a billion graham crackers. Our county is less than well-educated and the people brought a very good fight. I was so impressed and proud of my fellow Western Marylanders. They came prepared, they spoke well and they really gave the commissioners a run for their money. Their desire to stand by Sheriff Goad is admirable and incredibly caring and considerate. He has been the focus of a lot of controversy in recent years, but because of his hard work and dedication to this county, every person in the auditorium stood behind him 100%. Today I am very, very proud to live among the people of Allegany County.