A Springfield Vermont man is in custody charged with second-degree attempted murder.
VIOLATION: Attempted Murder -2nd Degree, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Reckless Endangerment.
CASE NUMBER: 12SF02580
TIME & DATE OF ARREST: 07/10/12 17:15 HOURS
DEFENDANT: Terrick Craft
AGE: 28
TOWN OF RESIDENCE: Springfield, Vermont
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT:
On July 9, 2012 at approximately 2045 (8:45) hours officers responded to the report of shots fired in the vacinity of Park Street and Main Street in Springfield. Upon arrival investigation revealed the suspect shooter was alleged to be Terrick Craft currently of Springfield, Vermont.
Craft is known to have ties to the Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Jersey areas.
An arrest warrant was issued for Craft for Attempted Murder -2nd Degree, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Reckless Endangerment.
Craft was subsequently arrested and is being held at Southern State Correctional Facility on $250,000 cash bail.
Craft is scheduled to be arraigned in Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, on July 11, 2012 at 1230 hours.
Source: Springfield Police Department
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
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Kudos to our police department for last nights busy night, some punk shot 5 times at someone and missed. We have gang members here, thankfully they have no aim.
ReplyDeleteOnly question I have is how long between the shots being fired and the response by the police department.
Deletei was near the shooting, it took almost 20mins for them to respond and be on scene...
DeleteThis will also take care of SOME of the drug dealing going on near one of our local elementary schools. It has been well known for quite some time that drugs are being dealt with in close vicinity of the school. There have been many recent incidences that have occurred within this group. Just last year after 8pm one night (well after sunset) multiple shots were fired and reported fired up by the water tower, bullets were found to be that of a handgun. Also drug paraphernalia (needles) has been found on Union Street Schools grounds. I only wish there was more that could be done. This is why I do not and would not let my kids walk the streets of Springfield, I only wish other parents would wake up and see the danger of allowing their children to roam around. Common Sense; things are not what they used to be, and that goes for most anywhere!
ReplyDeleteHow is this happening or allowed to happen so close to a school? What great role models Union Street kids get to see on their way to and from school everyday, something needs to be done.
DeleteSomebody needs to make them all move or shut those buildings off. I would much rather see a couple more vacant buildings then have scum be the first things kids see on the way to school and last thing they see on their way home.
DeleteSomething needs to happen!.... My son was one who brought home a needle he found at the bottom of the school hill while walking home from school!!!!!! HE WAS IN 1ST GRADE!!!!how many more are to be found? There is nothing worse than driving by your kids school and seeing a bunch of thugs hanging out on the sidewalk, sure gives you a hell of sense of security! It makes me ill... i so would love to be able to trust that my kids can walk to school with no issues, but these days are gone by the wayside.
DeleteParents are pulling kids into private schools because of union street's neighbors, and not the school itself.
DeleteI couldn't agree more. I have a 5th grader at union street this year and I REFUSE to let him walk or ride his bike to school because of everything that goes on within that whole strip. I won't even allow my high schooler walk to school. I commend all of springfield's finest. I also wish more could be done like maybe a neighborhood watch? But I know and realize that the ADULTS are a HUGE part of the problem.
DeleteI saw a post somewhere that people were planning on attending the Selectboard meeting on Monday to demand action by the Town to get the police on this. Might be time for all you armchair complainers to show up. Just sayin.
DeleteUntil such time that the powers that be hold the Town Manager and the Police Chief accountable for their inaction/inability to address the issues in this town,nothing will change.
DeleteThe Chief of Police HAS the resources to address the issues within town, but refuses to do anything. He and the town manager should be fired and replaced with someone that actually cares about the issues in our town.
There seems to be plenty of police time being allocated to scanning cars with radar guns, would it not be possible to have the police reallocate say 70% of the time they spend sitting in their cars with the radar on to patrolling the known drug trafficing areas like Union Street, Wall Street, the plaza parking lot and the McDonald's Parking lot?
DeleteNow you folks need to calm down. Don't go and get things riled up at the Selectboard meeting. The police are very busy with those newfangled radar guns that we equipped them with. Its very important that nobody rolls through a stop sign or something, after all somebody might get hit by a car when they are running across the street to avoid bullets or something. We have this all under control just ask Mr. Forguites if we don't -- I am sure he will have a very detailed response for those good citizens who show up at the Selectboard meeting. Probably involve having every citizen in town and all the merchants do the police's jobs for them -- so they don't have to take time away from their radar guns.
DeleteBoss is right we don't need a lot of people showing up at the Town Board meeting, the Selectboard and Town Manager might get serious about doing something that would interfere with the private sector housing market. Now what you need is to have a meeting where the police expounded to you about gangs and the evil of drug abuse. Its very well known that if you spend a lot of time saying that people who dress and groom differently than you do are gang members. Well eventually the problem just disappears, and we can go on ignoring the adults doing drug deals out in the open, after all we all know this is a problem with the kids, right? So what you really need to do is spend a lot of time dissing on the youth in the community and their parents and every once in awhile the school system. That solves the problems.
DeleteCan town government take over the aforementioned properties by eminent domain for reasons of public safety?
ReplyDeleteI am sure it would be somewhat costly, but so is having drug dealers running around town shooting at people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain
Please, for goodness sake. This town could be redeemed if they cleaned up that street... Permanently.
DeleteI would say have the town buy them for a reasonable amount front the owner.
DeleteNow, now...we don't want the Town doing anything. Its the general consensus of all the anonymous's on this blogsite that the Town should do nothing except lower taxes. And of course that is the correct approach.
DeleteBoss, i get your point. Clever way to spin that all anyone ever talks about on this blog is reducing taxes, but i would gladly pay more taxes if it meant the demolition of the blighted properties on union st across the street from beautiful new school that was just renovated.
DeleteOr maybe we could sell our beautiful ladder fire engine to pay for the properties, then my taxes wouldn't have to go up.
Interesting we support having the Town government tear down buildings, but not the school educating our children, or the renovation of buildings in Town. Don't get me wrong, I support the idea of the Town intervening to do something about the drug zone in front of Union Street School including condemning some of the structures. Just a little amazed about the inconsistency of some of the arguments -- which I guess must have been Boss Hogg's point once you cut through the sarcasm.
DeleteWell Jack, the reason the schools are not supported is because the administration and the district board have not been able to produce manageable results other than becoming an employment agency at the taxpayers expense. Again, I will back that up with the amounts cut for the budget fiasco and once the budget passed the board has been adding the hours taken away, back in and moving positions around and re-naming them administrative to afford un-necessary hours and jobs. It is obvious that there is absolutely no fiscal restraint and it is all at the taxpayers expense. We don't even need to go into the abuse issues and twisting of truth that has happened for years in th system. THAT s wy we no longer support ourt schools. These students don't stand a chance to succeed. They are ot being accepted into Harvard, Stanford or Yale they are going to Castleton and community college and the question remains if they finish their 4 year program let alone a two year. A huge difference and says alot about a systems success.
DeleteYes, and they really shouldn't have renovated an elementary school in that neighborhood, and then had the audacity to have everyone's kids of a certain age go there. Its important that we continue to encourage people to vote against their economic interests and if you force good clean upstanding people to walk or drive through Springfield's designated slum...well that's just unAmerican in my book. Its important that we ignore the fact that the school system is producing scholars that leave Vermont to find decent colleges and do just fine there, and we keep dissing the schools based upon the streetwalkers. Otherwise, they might figure out that the Town Government's neglect had a major role in all this. We need to keep all those conservatives on the Town Board so that when people inquire at Candidates night about what can be done about the drug trafficking in front of the elementary school, the subject gets immediately changed to a discussion of union contracts. Its very important that we discuss union contracts rather than what the police are or are not doing.
DeleteWhoa, when have I ever defended Vermont's college system. Our public schools routinely rank in the top 3 in the nation, our college system routinely ranks about 47th. Even the Old Confederacy States do a better job of post secondary education than Vermont. Springfield High School students who leave the State to go to college do fine. We are producing scholars who go on to be teachers, lawyers, doctors, accountants, and engineers. A student who tries to stay in Vermont, however, has challenges. We have one mediocre State University which is grossly overpriced, one good college, and a nationally recognized private law school. Springfield has no real college presence. CCV is a joke and in Springfield it is worse than a joke since its not really a campus where you can complete a worthwhile degree, its a recruiting center for CCV hubs located elsewhere. Springfield needs a real college where you can go and actually be able to take the courses needed to complete a BS or BA within 4 years, or a grad school where you can go and complete an MS or MA in two or three years. Every committee that has studied what to do with Park Street has recommended that we recruit a real college there to train students in either nursing or therapeutics, or some other collegiate course of study. The college attrition rate for students coming out of SHS's college track program is not because of our high school which is actually better than the surrounding school districts, its because of our broken post-secondary system in Vermont. Gov. Douglas' approach to the problem was to mandate UVM to accept CCV credits since hardly anybody else would. No when you have a public support of post-secondary institutions which is ranked near the bottom, you can't expect much from students trying to complete degrees here.
DeleteI actually heard the gun shots but thought it was fireworks. The world is becoming a very dangerous place.
ReplyDeleteNo the world is not becoming a more dangerous place, just Union Street and parts of Park Street, and even that they are not very dangerous because the drug dealers can't shoot very straight and the houses in the neighborhood are very good at absorbing stray bullets. We need to make sure we keep taxes down, so it is important to keep the police cars out of that area because we don't want them to get bullet holes in them.
DeleteThere are statutes that allow for the confiscation of property associated with drug dealing. If we have landlords on Union Street who are renting to repeat drug dealers and their properties are being used as drug dens across from a school zone, perhaps it is time to start confiscation proceedings. If there is a crackdown on the landlords, we could get some relief.
ReplyDeleteThey also might consider confiscating the police departments radar guns so they spend more time on foot patrols in these neighborhoods and less time on speeding tickets for awhile.
Are these statues on record in springfield Aethelred?
ReplyDeletesorry statutes...
DeleteTowns have ordinances, Federal law permits the confiscation of property, fairly sure that State law does as well.
DeleteWell the State law is a bit restricted. Its located at Title 18, Chapter 84, Section 4241. Not sure about the Federal law.
DeleteFederal law is less restricted. Its located at 18 United States Code section 981.
DeleteThe fault lays with our Selectboard. Nearly every election a candidate runs promising to clean house and make needed changes. Inevitably he is viewed as too much of a maverick or divider and looses to what you have now. A bunch of listless do gooders that refuse to take action.
ReplyDeleteThe solution is simple. Put a cap on low income and section eight housing. Tax all section eight properties at an increased rate. A rate proportionate to town services they consume. Would serve to reimburse the town, deter non resident landlords from easy prophets, and decrease housing costs as these properties finally rent for what the an unsubsidized market will bear.
Institute and enforce strict zone by denying occupancy permits. Offences being, up keep of buildings, fire codes, off street parking, loitering, and non resident squatters.
Lastly, have SPD park their butt 24/7 directly across from these residences. Not a single citizen that would object to this vs. hiding on Clinton Street to pinch those of us trying to get to work. The cops have to be somewhere, and I can't think of a better spot.
For now, support the invisible empire.
We're working to protect your homes, businesses and families where the town refuses.
www.stormfront.org
You had me until you posted that silly website...now i just think of you as a psycho.
DeleteHey maybe we can tattoo the low income people in town or make them wear badges so we can spot them anytime. We don't want them getting any public help like subsidized housing. Who do they think they are? Those tax credits and other public fundings belong to the wealthy and not the poor.
DeleteIts not all the poor who are the problem, just a few. State and Federal law regulate the amount of tax that subsidized housing pays, at least I believe that is the case. I am not sure that creating homeless people is necessarily the cure. But, I agree that somehow the Town government needs to make sure that the Town police spend less time setting up speed traps and more time making their physical presence known in areas known to be where the drug deals are going down: Union Street, Plaza Parking lot, McDonald's Parking lot, and Wall Street.
DeleteWhen you have vermin call an exterminator!
ReplyDeleteToo bad Charles Bronson isn't around.
ReplyDeletewell one of your selectman live 5 houses down from this place......
ReplyDeleteto the guy who put the website url up your ideas were fine but looking at your website you appear to be just as big of a scum bag as the people involved in this incident. In fact to anyone who has ever purchased an illegal substance in this town shame on you for contributing to this bs and making a great, once proud town look like crap! your are at fault as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is EXACTLY why I carry a handgun. A gun in my hand is better then a cop on the phone, just saying.
ReplyDeleteWell that should be wonderfully effective in reducing the amount of violence.
DeleteActually, statistics show that when there is an armed citizenry, violent crime decreases. It is sad to see Springfield the way it is now. Not at all the way it was when I was growing up. Unfortunately, if you continue to elect people who run the town as their own little fiefdom, you will continue to have problems with crime. There is just as much lawlessness in the town government as on the streets.
DeleteActually studies also show that violent crime decreases in places where gun ownership is strictly regulated as well, which suggests that gun ownership may not have much if anything to do with why crime decreases. Although, I suspect that Mexico would tell you that the huge supply of guns in America has not exactly been beneficial to their country. Not that I am particularly in favor of restricting gun ownership, just not sure that it would have benefited society that much to have had two people blazing away at each other in Springfield given the lousy aim of these people some innocent bystander or a person simply watching TV in their home might wind up stopping a stray bullet.
DeleteThat, "This is EXACTLY why I carry a handgun" mentality is foolish. Go to the SPFLD police Facebook page, people are there talking about "why shoot, fight like a man......" how about you just don't do drugs and don't fight at all? (Brilliant idea right?) "Fighting with fists" makes you look like a "douche bag" (as THEY say). People need to grow the "f" up (as THEY say) and get jobs and make this world a decent place. Springfield is an awesome town that gave me a great education in our own town, a great college education and in turn led me to a wonderful professional position within my hometown. Only 7 years ago we held the best testing scores in the state and VT had the best test scores in the nation, let's get back to that status.
ReplyDeleteWE, being Springfield, have some amazing teachers who are young and enthusiastic in this school district and of which are ready to make a difference. Let's rally behind those type of people... the people who have energy and who are positive. We have many young professionals moving back to the area, just take a look at the Springfield Young Professionals, positive people are coming back, let's let them take the lead. As a community we need to be proactive, make a mission for this town that is truthful and attainable.
The drug and gang problem is real, WE need to take a stand. Monday night there is a select board meeting... attend. Even if you know you will not say anything, attend. Your presence will speak for itself.
As Springfield, let's take a stand. If you buy, sell, or use drugs, YOU'RE the problem. Let's clean up our act and move forward without the scum of the Earth following us. I realize this post may offend a few and/or take this context and the situation a little off point however, people are thinking it and it must be said. Guns and drugs should not be tolerated in this town and we must TAKE ACTION SPRINGFIELD!
Well, am afraid the Vermont Constitution is a bit clearer than even the 2nd Amendment on the gun issue. But possibly something could be said for outlawing radar guns by Town police, I don't believe that radar guns are protected by the Vermont Constitution. Perhaps then the police might actually try to be visible instead of spending their time ambushing drivers.
DeleteI am educated, I attended college and served our country. I also carry a weapon at all times with me, thats whats great about our state. I am not looking "for a fight" I hope I never have to use it to protect myself or family.
ReplyDeleteI WILL be at the meeting, I know that not much will come out of it except empty promises and angry residents that have no concept about issues.
There IS a gang problem in town, did you happen to notice all the people wearing red bandanas? Red sweatshirts in July? The girls dying their hair with pink highlights? Drive around the area the shooting happened (next to Tangles) watch the action. Go to Union st across from Union st. School. Open your eyes, we don't live in Mayberry anymore.
Or perhaps just take a stroll down Wall Street, or spend some time with your eyes open in the plaza parking lot, etc.
DeleteAnonymous, we need to make sure more comes out of this meeting other than empty promises. We will need to show up at the next meeting and the next meeting and the meeting after that and every meeting from here forward until this drug and gang problem is solved.
DeleteThis can't just be a bitch session, people need to have concrete ideas or suggestions on how to fix the problem. I hope people just don't keep stating that "i know someone who knows someone who's sisters girlfriend is a drug dealer". We all know the problem locations, they have been discussed on here time after time. What i want to know is what is town government going to do to fix the problem and what is the date of the next meeting so that you can report back on what is being done.
I am concerned that this is going to just turn into another lecture on the dangers of gangs and drugs, followed by a plea for the citizens and merchants to become snitches. There is this tendency to go around and ask all the merchants to turn in the names of the people who are dealing drugs outside their establishments which results in no action, but the merchants get their storewindows vandalized. Practically everyone in Town knows where the drug deals are going down, except perhaps the police. The police need to: one become more visible more frequently in the hotspots, and then they need to post some undercover agent observers instead of asking the merchants and citizens to put themselves in harms way. I also hope this doesn't trigger another wave of holier than thou preaching to the youth followed by teenage marijuana busts instead of getting at the dealers of the dangerous stuff. But I have this nagging feeling that this is just going to turn into a general dissing of subsidized housing and the passage of stupid ordinances like the proposed ban on marijuana dispensaries.
DeleteNow Alpin, we all know that it is extremely effective for the police officers to go around at public forums and expound on the indicia of gang involvement and the evils of drugs. Just look at the improvement in the situation this had with all those public forums we had where they went around and dissed on the youth and talked about gangs, etc. Its clearly a problem with the youth...those are actually youth disguised as adults that are doing the drug deals, but if we spend enough time talking about gangs and drugs the problems just go away. We don't need the municipal government trying to do something about the private sector landlords who own the drug dens, because those are adults and we all know the problem is the kids right. You should be praising these people who go around talking the problem to death...its very, very informative. Its what I always say, and informed electorate is very important, that is why I recommend watching Fox News everyday and night. And don't forget to vote for me, I stand four square against government intervention in anything except your sex life.
DeleteWhy don't we start with the slum lord? Now they have the front porch wrapped in black plastic. Vermont Fire and Safety should be called in to see if this property and the one next to it are up to fire code. At least we could get the entrance of the school cleaned up so kids don't see first hand what they see on TV. Private sector needs to do their part first. Land lords have a responsibility to keep their property looking good for the benifit of the village.
ReplyDeleteThis makes sense.
DeleteBlack plastic is incredibly effective at hiding things you don't want to be seen by people outside.
DeleteAbsolutely, start coming down on the slumlords. It disgusts me that Union Street has turned into the ghetto. Time to ghetto them out of there!
Deleteit is not all of union street is infected, just one small section and we can surgically repair it with a very small incision.
DeleteAgreed, but it WILL spread like a cancer if it doesn't get removed, surgically or otherwise.
DeleteHas anybody gone down to the Town Clerk's Office and gotten the name of the property owner? It would be nice to see the name on the deed record posted and perhaps referenced at the Town meeting, along with their mailing address and county.
DeleteWould it be possible to adopt an ordinance that required any landlord who has an occupant who is arrested for violent crime or a drug related crime to submit a safety inspection report from a certified inspector to the Town Manager within say two weeks of being notified of the arrest, and to cure any deficiencies in the building within say 30 days, or be subject to a hefty civil penalty.
DeleteHammond, shame on you. That is unAmerican trying to give the private sector landlords a bad name. You need to spend your time dissing on the public housing, not on the local slumlords who are just trying to make a living in the good ole American way. We want to whittle government down to next to nothing, not make it effective.
DeleteDo the owners of the plaza and McDonald's have some responsibility to hire private security guards to police their parking lots when they have customers present. I mean if one of these drug deals go south while customers or employees are around and somebody shoots off a clip, wouldn't there be some potential liability now that its being publicly reported that drug deals are going down in those locations?
DeleteGet some more of these leaches here because of the golden parachute welfare system in this town.
ReplyDeleteThese people are taking over the nation and now are out numbering us whites in birth.
We are just as bad as Burlington now.
Oh great here come the racist Tea Party remarks.
DeleteRacist remark yes. Don't get me wrong I am not a Tea Pary member but how does that label get applied? Oh I forgot, a good lib will follow company line and throw the racist term out when he can add the words Tea Party behind it.
DeleteYou and your alter ego have been making some good common sense remarks here, and provided interesting insight. But true to your way you have to let your colors show by attacking a group of people. What is that called by the way? You know yesterday Romney was booed by a group of people that disagreed with him and then he was also given a standing ovation by the same group. How do you label those folks? I only ask because you seem to be into labels.
Otherwise it is time for our town leaders and police department to step up. We provide the tools they say they need to protect and serve Springfield. They signed up to be a policeman so be one. Making traffice stops at six in the morning of folks on their way to work is fine if there was nothing else going on and we lived in Mayberry. There are bigger fish to fry, I want to trust they are dealing with this in ways we don't know about. Why do I doubt that?
Alpin, if a Tea Party member was at the meeting and spoke in support of your stance, where would that leave you?
The remark was similar to the type a Tea Party member would make, and I hope you do agree that it was clearly racist -- reference to "leaches" [sic] followed by "outnumbering us whites".
DeleteSave your Racist, Ignorant crap for some else who wants to hear it. WE DON'T, this is not a welfare, Race issue. Educate yourself!
DeleteWhen exactly have Tea Party members made racist comments? Please cite your sources...
DeleteAnd they got quiet. They spew a Bunche "facts" but have no basis to back themselves up.
DeleteStupid auto correct, spew a bunch of facts....sorry
Delete"...as bad as Burlington now" What did that mean, I have been taking classes up there and it doesn't seem that bad. Or was this some kind of racial slur, don't understand.
Deletehttps://www.google.com/search?q=racism+tea+party&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=GKV&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=FBQDULrRJoG56wG2tJD1Bg&ved=0CGEQsAQ&biw=1440&bih=737
DeleteI suggest to concerned citizens of springfield to Buy the properties in question and demolish the buildings. Costly? of course but the rats will leave the burning shelter. THEN: do not allow any apartment permits. Without suitable habitat the rats will migrate to other places.
ReplyDeleteCorrect!!!
DeleteCould we have the Town Clerk publish a list of the names and addresses of every landlord in Town who has had an occupant arrested for a drug (other than marijuana) crime and require the police to put all rental buildings owned by that landlord under a special surveilance watch say for a year, or until the landlord has provided proof that the occupant has been evicted, and require every real estate agent to disclose the fact that the property is on that list prior to any sale of the property?
DeleteRelevant case study: http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/how-to-get-rid-of-the-local-drug-dealer/Content?oid=875133
DeleteNow, now, we don't want people reading that case study Anonymous 7:03. You are going to get people picking on good old American private sector landlords. We can't have that, you know that the private sector works best if its not regulated in any manner. It makes the market inefficient. We don't want the government intruding into the lives of these private sector landlords who are just out there trying to make a buck.
Deletehttp://www.facebook.com/springfield.vermont.9
DeleteIn my honest opinion, Gang members are the same as rats and need to be exterminated because that is all they will ever be, Rats
ReplyDeleteAlpin Jack I take issue with your connecting racism with the Tea Party. But then the first Tea Party disguised themselves as Indians ( native americansto you) so that must be where you made that connection. If it wasn't for the first tea party we would all still be speaking english.
ReplyDeleteWait, what? But we are speaking English...
DeleteWell, the connection between the original "Tea Party and the people currently calling themselves the "Tea Party" is pretty tenuous. With respect to Anonymous 9:43, if you read very many Tea Party signs and posts it is not terribly clear that they are speaking English.
DeleteTHIS SHOOTING HAPPENED OUTSIDE. IT IS NOT THE OWNER OF ANY BUILDINGS - FAULT. GIVE ME A BREAK.
ReplyDeleteso you are saying the properties across from the union st school are good for the town of Springfield.
DeleteAbsolutely correct, we should not interfere with the private landowner renting for good old American cash. Its not his responsibility to determine the source of the cash he is receiving in rent. Remember this is a private sector landlord, we can only criticize public sector housing when their tenants run amok. How could you get so confused.
DeleteSo i can't criticize the people that live in the woolson block either? That is another place that should be shut down...I refuse to go to that verizon store because i have to pass more air pollution than the biomass plant will emit.
DeleteInteresting question. Is loitering and smoking in front of legitimate businesses, by upstairs tenants (if they are in fact upstairs tenants) the same as loitering tenants doing drug deals and firing pistols at people equivalent. Do they call for different remedies from the Town. Let's think, hm. Yeah, they are different, one would suggest the police need to be enforcing loitering and minors smoking tobacco laws, the other suggests that perhaps we should shut down a drug den. But then, its hard for me to predict the thinking of others.
DeleteI want you to know that the reports that the police beat up the person who was shot at are completely false, as is the argument that they went around and rounded up people for parole violations to make it look like they were actually arresting people. There is absolutely no truth in the assertion that the landlord rents to drug dealers in hopes that the buildings will burn down so they can collect on insurance. Such assertions should not be made about these fine upstanding people.
DeleteIf the professor in my journalism class is correct, it seems like a little investigative reporting would either put an end to the rumors that Boss Hogg is referring to, or indicate there is some truth to them. Looks like it would even be fairly simple investigative reporting. Could they not check the crime reports for the residence of the people being arrested against the deeds to the ownership of those properties to see if there is a correlation or not. And, they could check the fire department records to see if there is any correlation between fires and ownership of properties where either drug dealers, prison releasees, and or prison guards lived. Personally, I would be interested in whether the rumor that the shooter shot out the windows of an apartment where prison parolees lived, and the police went in later arrested all of the parolees in reaction to the public outcry.
DeleteWhat I find funny is that we all know where the problems are, but yet there doesn't seem to be anything done about them. Its not like these properties were set in Mayberry last weekend, they have been this way for years.
DeleteIf I asked any high school student in Springfield I bet they could tell me where the drug houses are, but the PD can't seem to figure it out.
Maybe this incident is the smack in the face the police and town leadership need to see what we have all seen for years.
Anonymous 8:03, I agree with you. Anybody with eyes to see knows where the drug deals are going down, yet we still have police cars sitting hidden to do what? Arrest people doing 10 mph over the speed limit. Yet at candidates night, all the candidates raced to say how they supported the police -- need to do that to support their conservative credentials, I guess. Well, it looks to me like the police have done a very crappy job with the acquiesence of the Town Manager and the Selectboard. Its time for some heads to roll. I keep seeing people screaming for heads to roll with the school system, and then look at the drug dens allowed to develop in Town, the people allowed to loiter in storefronts, and the dealing done right out in the plaza and wonder -- why is it they jump all over the school, but the Town government gets a free pass. About the only thing they were willing to talk about at the candidates night was the union negotiations -- what about the lack of patrols in the drug zones? Since this scandal has broken, we have finally seen some police cruisers roaming town and I almost fainted the other day to see a uniform (other than the parking enforcer) walking downtown.
DeleteMaybe if the cops would spend less time doing background checks on their kids friend's using tax dollars and taxpayer time and spent more time actually policing the streets, stopping the kids walking around, asking if they are staying in line, pestering those that loiter then and only then will they start to get a handle on the problem but until the bad elements feel pressed everything will stay the same. Further, as long as the voters keep believing the crap spewing out of the mouths of some of the town elected officials noting will change. Again, the taxpayer does not get it that each vote for the town budgets keeps these people employed. Why do you think they spew the crap they do....cause it is their money bag!
DeleteYou all run your mouths to much some people need to do deal to feed there kids not everyone grows up in money not everyone can go out and just get a job where ever they wont some people are homeless at the age of 18 or even younger.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is unsympathetic to the plight of the kids who took a wrong detour during high school. But there are programs out there for them to get back on track. It takes initiative, but drug trafficking is an express highway to a place nobody really wants to end up. These people are not role models, they are idiots who took a wrong turn and never looked back.
DeleteSpeak for yourself Alpin Jack, here we are trying to preserve a slum in this town by benign inaction from the Town government. The town fathers have been very accomodating in providing a place for these people to live and a way for them to make money. They even have their own police force that occasionally burns down the residences of people who screw up in the system. All you do-gooders are just depriving these people of a way of earning a living. Besides, they help provide income to the private corporations that manage the prisons and bring in these wonderful prison guard families with their youth organizations that have these colorful and distinctive clothing. We don't need your liberal sop.
Deletelisten F U C K YOU Boss Hogg.
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ReplyDeleteWe better put a stop to it NOW while we still can I shouldnt have to pray the D.E.A arrives soon before this quiet little country town turn's into the bloody Bronx, until then I guess I will sit back and continue to watch our wonderful little city take the fast track to hell in a handbasket p.s. yeah if it quakes like a duck, walk's like a duck, flies like a duck....most probably it is a......if they dress like a 'Gangsta' talk like a 'Gangsta' ...most likely.....if their immulating a 'Gangsta' than they are most likely they are trying their very best to be a "Gangsta" & if you are one just know that you make hard working, honest citizens like me SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK, go back to what ever drug infested community you ruined last week you bunch of LOOOOOOOOOOOOW Life's if you ask me I am certain last week's shooting was somehow connected to drug's I do not care what they say look at the parties involved & it say's it all!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDo ducks shake? Never studied them close enough to see if they "quake". I suspect that we have two groups of individuals involved here. The first group are our homegrown n'ere do wells that we need to help get their lives sorted out and back on track so they don't wind up consuming our tax dollars with incarceration for the rest of their lives. The second group is the group that unfortunately seem to be associated not only with drugs, but with the State not keeping two promises: 1st to hire the prison guards locally, and 2nd to not release prisoners arrested elsewhere back into our community. This second group is violent and are in fact referred to amongst the prisoners themselves as "gangsters". It would be helpful in fashioning remedies if we could differentiate between these two groups before the first decides to join the second permanently.
DeleteYou wont believe what I just saw in downtown Springfield; two police officers walking down the street and checking alley's. I had to pull over to see if what I thought I was witnessing was real.
DeleteIs the PD starting to get IT or is this just a dog and pony show to sell to the citizens that they are doing their job.
It does appear that the fire storm is already changing some police operations -- the question is whether the populace can keep the pressure up so that it becomes a permanent change. That will depend on the number and voices of the people who show up at the meeting on Monday night, I expect.
DeleteNope...I don't believe it. This historically is "what they do" in springfield. When someone challenges the system all of a sudden we see all this caring and changing and new systems put in place to appease the public and once everyone goes away ie;just like the parents at Elm Hill and the school board meetings, it all stops and goes back to regular. What a shame the residents and voters are too stupid to see it and compare but then again these people went through the system here and stayed so that says alot. Where are all the do-gooders and concerned parents now at the school board meetings? Where have you been during select board meetings? Vermont is quickly evolving into an extension of West Virginia and its mentality and residents. That state began the same way VT did and now they are the highest in the country for prescription and drug abuse. The writing is on the wall wake up!
DeleteI would guess these officers did this on their own, hopefully they wouldn't get in trouble for doing real community policing. The chief and LT only care about the number of traffic stops each officer does on his shift. It's a joke when the yearly police report has a large number of "citizen" contacts, these two administrators count each traffic stop as a "citizen" contact. What happened to the Bike Patrol? A few years ago we taxpayers purchased bikes for the PD. How about assigning a walking beat. NAH! That would again be community policing. It's time the selectmen do a real evaluation of the police administration! There are good officers being hampered by an outdated administration.
ReplyDeleteHad heard rumors about the quota system, but didn't know about the bikes.
DeleteWell we need to quit spreading rumors about these fine establishments. What we need is some cop-free zones where the good clean people of this town came come and pick up their recreational pharmaceuticals and carry them out wrapped like sandwiches. Then nobody would be offended by seeing drug deals go down in parking lots, etc. It would all look very nice and upstanding.
DeleteHow about Jasinski's Market parking lot, and area around it... And the gas station, Go Go Gas, right next to the police station. Both are where drug deals go on.
ReplyDeleteHad heard rumors about the first, but not the second...right next door...they should have put the donut statue out front of the department...lol
DeleteTHE SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE TOWN OF SPRINGFIELD AND THE "GOOD OLE' BOYS" WHO RUN THIS TOWN ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS !!!!!!!!!!!! They ARE the one's stealing your money, the state's money, and federal money while YOU get a half ass town where YOU don't want your kids walking around on main street in a nice Vermont town. Where did all the money go? I read ALL THE TIME about all the money coming to make Springfield, VT BETTER. And yes, a fake group called Springfield on the Move pretending to do good while all they are doing is STEALING YOUR MONEY PEOPLE. It is front. I ask you. If you own property in this town, do you feel your taxes are justified seeing that YOUR CHILDREN can't go buy a coca-cola on Main street without being subjected to such scum?
ReplyDeleteThere are good clean people in Springfield, VT - some even own property on Main street - but where is everyone? You see scum because the clean good people are where?
To stop this town from its own demise, the good clean people have to rise up, be seen, and demand a change, demand the people in charge start answering serious questions, some will have to step down from there positions, and we MUST demand that our taxes be adjusted down to the true reality of what this town is worth !!
So right. Rather than all this fuss about clamping down on landlords and parking lots we need to simply systemize things and let the private market take of it. We now have a very profitable commodity in town and we need to make sure that market stays black so that it stays a profitable market exempt from these bothersome taxes. But like all profitable systems, I grant it needs a little tweaking. So I propose that we declare certain areas cop-free zones, or perhaps certain stores cop-free zones. That way the good clean people can order their drugs over the phone and just come in and pick them up and walk out with them wrapped up as sandwiches or something. No fuss or bother, and no random shootings on the street, etc. As for Union Street, well we all know it was that no good school board that renovated an elementary school in the middle of a slum, they should have paid attention to the Town Government's plan to let Union Street and lower Park Street slowly decay into ruins -- it makes sense to reserve parts of town for the less clean people, they have to live somewhere and we certainly don't want anymore subsidized housing in town. Now if everyone would just pay attention to the town plans and let the inevitable take its course, we can systemize everything else so the good clean people of the Town don't have to see the great unwashed.
DeleteBoss Hog, people need to rise up, pay attention, because what you describe is currently what IS ALREADY going on in this town...
DeleteThey want us to shut our mouths but I can see that the good people living and paying taxes in this town are FRUSTRATED !!
Let's take back Springfield ! Good clean people deserve a chance in this town too. And when good clean people see a majority of other good clean people, they start to come out of the clockwork.
Oh Anonymous, the good clean people just need to leave the great unwashed to me. The Town government has this well in hand. We just had a little hiccup involving flying lead, no reason to get your undies in a bundle. It is a little unfortunate I must admit that they went away from neighborhood schools so that now some of the better folk's kids are attending Union Street and Elm Hill has had to fool around with cloud rooms, but it will all sort itself out. What we need are some more classes on how to identify poor people, I mean how to identify gang members. Once everybody understands how to identify them then they can avoid them, and the police are pretty good at that...then everyone can settle down and go back to paying their speeding and parking tickets.
DeletePeople are scared, angry, frustrated, to say the least. Flood the selectboard meeting and hold them accountable for coming up with a solid plan. We as a town need to come together; not fall apart.
ReplyDeleteI hope no one gets hurt before our town acts. There are many more people in our town that are just as bad as Terrick Craft. They ALL have extensive criminal backgrounds from arson to aggravated assault and home invasion. Seems odd that this one 'group' hails from the Newark, New Jersey area
Very sad when you don't want your teens walking to work or to go downtown. It's time for a change.
Now, now, no need to engage in conspiracy theories like looking from where they recuited prison guards or anything like that. We just all need to calm down, and we will schedule a bunch of forums for the good police chief to come talk to you about the indicia of gangs and the dangers of drugs,etc. And then you can all go home fully enlightened, and we can go about doing what police do best. Handing out traffic tickets -- see you feel better already don't you. All we need to do is educate the good clean citizens as to what gang members look like and then you can avoid them, like the police do.
DeleteI suspect that one might want to try and figure out what the connection is between New Jersey and Springfield, Vermont. Were or are their prisoners or prison guards or prison administrators from New Jersey? Does the landlord have some connection with New Jersey? Why would someone from New Jersey just randomly decide to live in a decrepit house on Union Street? Just our luck of the draw?
DeleteNow, now, we don't need to have the police wasting their time trying to figure out what the connections are here, that might embarrass the State Representatives and they do such beautiful photo ops. After all this is an election year and we don't want to muddy the waters with actual real issues about whether the State is keeping its promises. Let's just focus on identifying what teens look weird and keeping that revolving door at the prison in working order.
DeleteBetter yet flood the State Attorney General with complaints and ask for a state investigation and accounting of the town systems! How about that!
DeleteOr better yet flood our State Representatives offices with complaints and demand a full investigation of whether the State has kept its promises to Springfield regarding not relocating convicts here and hiring prison administration and guards locally, and that they investigate our revolving door parol system to determine why it is that they release prisoners before they have completed the rehabilitation courses instead of after.
DeleteThis one's for you Boss Hogg, you know how it works:
ReplyDeleteWe need a few more "Magic Mushroom" business's. Hell, with all the drug dealings going on in this town, they should just rent a space next to the Magic Mushroom. I doubt they would get robbed! And, even if they did, we have a JAIL for them to reside. Then, when they get out=of=jail, they will be required by Probation and Parole not to leave the town as it will be a violation of their conditions. But wait, they won't have any money from robbing or drug dealing as they were in jail so, we will get them Section 8, welfare, vocational rehab services, free training, etc.. And if they are really lucky, will can put them up in a halfway house in Springfield. See how they work it? If we can keep them in jail for a long time, we might have a chance!!
Now you have the idea. And when they get out of jail, we can require them to take a bunch of courses from HCRS which they can't afford. Then when they get all their courses paid for we can arrest them again for a minor parole violation and start up the whole jail followed by courses thing again. Plus, the police get to report having done a sweep of all the parolees on their arrest reports. Then everybody feels safe. It all works very well and the Town doesn't have to spend any money trying to fix the town up. And just to help out don't forget we can always schedule a bunch of those forums again so we can lecture the parents and upstanding citizens on the idicia of gangs and the dangers of drugs. It makes them feel "educated" and they can then avoid those people that kind of look weird. But we need to be sure an pass that ordinance against a medicinal marijuana dispensary, that cuts into legitimate pharmaceutical profits we need to support our local drugstores you know. Plus banning those dispensaries helps keep the black market thriving.
DeleteSomeone finally gets it.
ReplyDeleteGets what?
DeleteI think he means me Alpin you dorky liberal you. We have to base sound policy on the facts as they exist, and we have a very sound system established here. We should let one small aberration involving a few lead bullets flying around mess up our approach. A few more lectures on how gangs behave and what gangmembers look like are just the ticket. All we need to do is ostracize those critters some more and keep the good clean citizens away from them...that will solve the situation. Every town needs its slum and Union Street through lower Park Street seems to be well on the way, so let's not rock the boat here. The Town government has this all well in hand. If you start demanding that they do something about the way we handle parolees you are going to substantially impact the funding for HCRS and we wouldn't want to do that. There always needs to be sacrifice, and the property owners on Union Street through lower Park Street are simply being called upon to do their patriotic sacrificial duty. Its really all the fault of the school board for renovating Union Street school in violation of the Town governments plan for that area to slowly decay over time. Next thing you know they will want the Town to get involved in trying to renovate Park Street School.
DeleteFrom the sounds of it, we should have 20-30 people running for the Selectboards 2 seats next march, finally some people willing to stand up, instead of selectboard members running uncontested for the seats they now hold. Yeah right, now back to reality, I bet there will be maybe 4-5 people running including the two up for re-election in March. C'mon people, put your time and ideas where your mouth is
ReplyDeleteIt would be pretty funny to see Boss Hogg, Mittens, Alpin Jack and Aelthered as names on the ballot.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of people writing in Mickey Mouse, I say we write in Mittens.
Am sorry, I am presently running for President having retroactively retired from Bain Capital otherwise I would be more than happy to apply my extensive business know how towards sucking your town completely dry.
DeleteMittens - You believe you can suck this town even more dry than it already is ?!! You got my vote.
DeleteGet rid of doug jonhson as police chief
ReplyDeleteYou are wright he has no balls as a police officer take care of the probems in town.instead of drivn around and pulling people over for going 5 mph over the speed limit
ReplyDeleteNot entirely inaccurate. The police union has prevented town mgmt from forcing officers to do basic police work. Instead of solving property crime by canvassing neighborhoods for leads, and being a vigilant and visible deterrent within known crime areas, you have what we've got now. Lazy, useless cops, endlessly riding around in air conditioned cars intent on enforcing trivial motor vehicle infractions.
DeleteSPD has rightfully earned 1000s of critics. See what hiding on Clinton Street at 5:30 in the morning handing out $100+ tickets yields? Get off the back of those of us trying to earn an honest living and start protecting our neighborhoods for a change.
I'm curious how the police union has prevented the Town from making the officers do police work?
DeleteI knew it, I knew it...its those pesky unions again they are always the problem. I knew it couldn't be the Police Chief, why that was all the Selectboard candidates talked about before the last election was the union contract. It probably says something about them not doing foot patrols and requires them to make so many traffic stops a month. My daughter hasn't gotten to talk to them as much anymore though because she is on this strict diet and is limited to a half dozen donuts a day, did I tell you she is down to 250 lbs. Yep and she can almost catch her own kids now, except the big strappin ones that attend Gateway. We just need to get all those progressives off the Select Board and everything will be just fine. If they could sing "My Country Tis of Thee..." at the Selectboard meetings that might help set the tone as well.
DeleteThe VPA needs to provide new recruits with "city training" Four months of training new recruits will not prepare these officers for what epidemic is soon to hit our beautiful state.(already has & going to get worse) Being brought up in the country and not being exposed to city behavior confuses our locals into believing what crime is taking place can't possibly be an emergency. The city drama we Vermont residents have been witness to in the past five years and even more is just the beginning. It WILL spread like the plague. For the older folks, this is not as concerning as it is for the younger generation. 5-8 years from now, I am sure you'll be able to drive down Wall st. or Union and pick up some crack or a fling down the road with ease soon enough. Unless.....their is a crackdown. I know cities would need Marshall Law to make a difference due to its sheer size, but Springfield, VT?? It is MANAGEABLE. It is not impossible. We all know where the drugs are at, and so does our local station. That is all it takes, what is the hold-up? Recruit enforcement and OCCUPY VERMONT. Can anyone recall the last shooting that took place in Springfield, VT? Holyoke, MA Springfield, MA Albany, NY Schenectady, NY Buffalo, NY Hartford, CT New Haven, CT Burlington, VT. Shootings happen on a daily basis in these locations, and if you were to connect a line to all of these locations on a map, our community would be right smack dab in the middle of its vortex. Do you see now?? You will when a loved one or someone close to you falls victim to its crime. We will keep doing our daily routines with our blinders on happy we live in such a peaceful safe community, that is how I manage to stay......for now.
ReplyDeletePrison Guards? Prison officers. CO stands for Correctional Officer. If you were involved in what work it takes to manage prison life day to day, you would change you term. A "Guard" stands in one place all day and has no other responcibilities. I know it is off track from the real subject.....just wanted to set you straight so you don't write as if you are clueless anymore.
ReplyDeleteWhat would people complain about if these scum-bags just start disappearing, no trace, just gone? It could happen.
ReplyDeleteI think it is time to reevaluate our town officials and police dept. The same people have been in charge for eons. Have you ever heard the expression, "familiarity breeds contempt"?
ReplyDeleteI also think the school system abhors and punishes bullies but (from personal experience with our town officials) I feel they are the worst offenders. Bullying the little guy is just the way it is here in Springfield. Time for a change.
A Springfield home owner and tax payer.
I too am a taxpayer. I have read some of the comments left on this page. I have 3 children and I am a home health aide for a nursing company. I plan on attending CCV in september so I can make a better living. I work seven days a week no paid time off. I work hard. I have been with the father of all my children for 15 years. By the way,i receive therapy at HCRS because I was abused as child not because of a drug addiction. I understand why most of you feel the way you do because of what goes in that building everyday but there are some people like me who need to go there because of a terrible childhood. If I didn't have HCRS I would be lost. I ave had my job for 3 years and have been in health care for ten years. HCRS didn't pay for anything for me if anything I pay them for my sessions. Everyone has their reasons for needing therapy. I just don't understand why it has to classified as a drug rehab only.
ReplyDelete