Monday Musings...

".....(ouch)....."

Well, it's SUPPOSED to be spring...just not seeing that much OF it.
We might be getting a brief snow-shower today...how's that getting rid of winter?
Welcome to another fun-filled week (and yes, that IS sarcasm you're hearing...lol), such as it unfolds.
Our Hoosierland weather will see us with a high today of only 36 degrees (or thereabouts), with mostly cloudy skies and a mild breeze, JUST to keep a wind-chill around.
Sure have to hand it to that (damn) groundhog...seems he knew what he was talking about.
In the meantime, let's all get a cup of our favorite morning drink and set aside some time to see what all is going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the shooting gallery is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
March 23 - 
---Today is NATIONAL CHIP AND DIP DAY.

I got some chips and some (onion) dip...guess I'm all set, then.
(just not gonna have that for breakfast)
---And, it's NEAR MISS DAY.

(Whew...that was a close call)

I suppose we can call this one at least every OTHER day down here in the crotch of Fort Wayne, with a few exceptions here and there.
We'll get into THAT shortly.
It would appear to be more of an "asteroid" nature...near misses are GOOD in that respect...REAL good.
Someone once said that "close" only counts in HORSESHOES and HAND-GRENADES...
I really have to agree there.
Now, I wonder if our nation's  AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS are celebrating this day?
Sure gets one to thinking.
---It's also NATIONAL PUPPY DAY.

"AAWWWwwwwwww"

How can anyone NOT want to adopt all of them ...they're SOOOOOOO cute!!!!
*** Next up, a few near misses and at least ONE HIT score Fort Wayne it's FIFTH HOMICIDE of the year.

What ELSE could it be?

Update your dead pools, folks.
(yes, I:m calling it before the coroner...it's THAT obvious)
And, here's the story so far (from WANE):
http://wane.com/2015/03/22/police-on-scene-of-critical-shooting/
Now, I don't recall hearing any gunshots last night (was flipping between The Talking Dead on AMC and Stossel on FNC), but this took place around 2230 hrs last evening in the 4600 block of S. Oliver st. And that puts it about 1/2 mile from our "Fortress".
Gee, and here I said YEARS Ago that crime which was pretty much contained farther NORTH of us WOULD be coming down here like a rising tide.
And once again, I don't appear to be in error on that assessment.
Now, the specifics of this shooting (homicide) are few (a usual).

"Another one bites the dust..."

Police had been called to that location EARLIER in the day for a couple *911* calls for gunshots, but police found no evidence of it.
(I guess doing some "door-to-doors" doesn't mean shit these days?)
When police rolled up again last night, they found a man dead inside a house (bit of a conflict here - other sources claim he was outside) at 4609 Oliver. Multiple bullets holes were seen through one side of the house, and it appeared as if someone attempted to return fire, as some holes came from INSIDE the house.
Police also noticed "multiple people" flee the area, both on foot and in vehicles (no officer chose to pursue those on foot at least?)
Investigators did recover spent shell casings in the area.

Not downtown...JUST everywhere else.

No one else was injured and police were looking to talk to a person who called in one of the *911* calls earlier in the day to see if they witnessed anything further.
Police are not saying as to whether this is gang or drug-related, or what possible relationship the victim had with the shooters.
No suspects are in custody and no arrests have been made (guess someone's gonna be asking for OUR HELP  soon enough).
*** And now, for some of MY TAKE on this crap - I know I made two calls into the FWPD over the weekend for a signal *44LM* (loud music), and that seemed to quell the ":natives" , but you know they'll always start back up again.
Hell, if a FWPD car rolls through, it does get quiet, and as soon as the patrol car's gone. the music gets loud again.

Seeing ID believing, folks.

Lots of these "locals" around here know how to "play" the po-po.
And the FWPD has dropped it's chunk of the log as well, by NOT enforcing certain laws.
I keep saying that all this ignored small stuff DOES in fact, metastasize into the BIG stuff soon enough, only those in charge aren't all that worried about it, and if they ARE, it doesn't show.
I feel that for the past several years, the FWPD has had more of a "hands-off" approach with policing, and I can't blame the rank and file officers for this - hell, they're just following orders.
But, there is an underlying feeling that if law-enforcement would take it "to the streets" and not JUST rely on big drug busts to make the headlines, there might be a chance for the SE to make a comeback.
When people don't feel safe in their own home or out on the streets, that should be a "biggie" for those in Public Safety.

But we DO have Menards and Wal-Mart.

When businesses refuse to open on the SE side, that's also a red flag going up. It's not that there are no properties AVAILABLE...hell, we're LOUSY with vacancies down here for businesses...of ALL types.
When houses are bought up by dubious people that don't care WHO they stick in these houses, as long as that government subsidy check keeps coming, that's another red flag that goes up, and many folks don;t realize that an ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD can go to hell quicker than they think if only ONE house gets the wrong element renting or living there.
Thing is, when these mooks get a pass, they run with it...and have done so...for decades.
That is why you're seeing the crime spread out now.
I suppose the city once thought (erroneously) that "if we keep all the badasses in ONE part of town, we can keep a better eye on them".
Well, how's that been working out for you folks downtown, hmm?

Helluva game...and NO winners!

Try asking those further north on the EAST side of Fort Wayne, or ask some of the people now dealing with crime on the SW side of town...the type of crime WE'VE been dealing with for YEARS.
Now, to me, who only took ONE year of accounting in business college (before I dropped out with a 4.0 avg...long story), allowing one entire quadrant of a city this size doesn't  add up in the ":revenues received" column. The city has pissed away a LOT of revenue by allowing crime to flourish, and if you think they have NOT allowed it, you're sadly mistaken.
How ELSE can you explain businesses leaving, once nice houses turned into rentals (and in some cases DUPLEX rental apartments), only to be shot up, or burned down pr otherwise vandalized along the way (some cases several times over).
All the while, the city touts it's PROGRESS in the DOWNTOWN area...
(while much of the south side enters another year of REGRESS)

Part of the problem, not the solution.

If you didn't live down here and see things for yourself, you'd hardly believe it possible.
But yet, councilman for this area, Glynn Hines. praises the new housing and that new McMillan Park center...as MAJOR achievements.
Can't stop houses being shot up, or people shot at in a Southgate parking lot, or stop robberies of cartloads of booze rolling out of a at a Krogers (well, they did eventually catch THAT perp), can you?
Can't get a handle on young black males being found dead in alleys, or dealing drugs at rental houses or along residential streets, can you?
What the hell CAN you do, sir...except to blame everyone else for the problems of YOUR people, when in fact it's the ignorance of you and your people that are CAUSING these problems.
And a new youth center isn't going to cut it. Ditto for any new government-sponsored housing.

How long before this place turns to crap?

Wonder how it will sound when that place gets vandalized, property taken, or some serial arsonist takes a shine to the facility?
You only have to drive through (at your own risk) areas down here to see how things that USED to be nice have devolved into a ghetto-like slum.
And no one can blame "whitey" for this...these cretins do this to themselves...because they can and have never been taught the VALUE of things (or people, it would seem).
As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to keep calling these mooks out for WHO THEY ARE...as well as for who they are NOT.
And I will also consider my SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS as my CARRY PERMIT from now on.
*** Last back to the crime scene...too many decent people have been "chased" out of this part of town. Some were neighbors, others were business owners, and some didn't even get THAT opportunity (like Jim Didier).
Who the hell speaks for THESE people, I ask you?

And how many more people will be FORCED from their homes because of the crap that constantly bombards those of us who still give a damn down here? When are the wrong people around us going to start being held accountable for their actions and behaviors, and responsible for following the laws like those of us that see no problem with doing such everyday things?
As long as you have the wrong people running the city, and can only see dollar signs for a very few particular projects, while allowing hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue (yearly) to go down the crapper, along with damn near a THIRD of the city, that won't change, that is what you'll have.
Someone (besides me) needs to remind City Hall about all the windows that have become BROKEN over the years, and do something about that OTHER than ignoring them.
Problems do not go away magically (or any other way) because someone chooses to not acknowledge their existence.
It's time someone clued them in downtown about this...make that a LOT of someones.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.