Greeley speeding tickets carry $55 surcharge

Greeley has a $55 dollar surcharge on their traffic tickets. This means a ticket for 12mph over the speed limit carries a hefty cost of $185. This is done in the name of traffic calming, which is equal to hiring more traffic cops to give out more tickets.

For comparison:

In Loveland, a four-point ticket will cost you $100 with a surcharge of $10 if you pay the ticket before your court date. Loveland doesn’t have traffic calming surcharges or victim’s fees.

The same four point ticket in Fort Collins will cost you at least $135 because the city has a $100 fine for four-point tickets and a $35 traffic calming fee. If you go to court in Fort Collins and are found guilty, you will pay a $25 court cost as well.

Greeley City Council has decided to sacrifice Economic Development and Charity funding in favor of five more police officer.

Perhaps not the best move as the country moves into a recession.

A scheduled rap concert for February 9, 2008 has been canceled after Mayor Ed Clark and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck voiced their disapproval.

Both Buck and Clark were concerned that this concert would increase gang activity in Greeley.

“This is a matter of public safety,” Clark said. “(Mr. Capone-E) is a South Side gang member out of L.A. He has a criminal record…he was going to bring South Side gang members with him.”

Greeley to get more cops

After reducing funding for many area agencies and charities in the 2008 budget early in the year, Greeley may again cut their funding to pay for the five additional police Greeley City Council has said the city needs to address public safety concerns. The council will vote on the proposal in early February.

Looks like our new mayor is keeping his promise. Now if we could just get some assurances that these police officers will be used to stop gang activity and violent crime, rather than giving out ‘failure to use turn signal’ tickets.

Greeley’s new Police Department is having an open house tomorrow, May 19.

Events include

• 5K Run
• Artwork dedication
• Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
• An Open House with tours

Greeley Central High School and University Schools were both forced to cancel classes today due to bomb scares.

Details are a little unclear, but it sounds like there was a suspicous box in one school and a suspicous backpack (containing sneakers and a track baton) the other…

The University of Northern Colorado Police Department has generated a list of 24 persons who are not welcome on campus, and posted the list on their website.

Comments made to The Mirror indicate that this is in response to the events at Virginia Tech.

Nate Haas, media relations manager, has acknowledged that the massacre that took place at Virginia Tech last week was a large factor in the administration’s decision to produce the Web page.

Unfortunately, no one seems to know what any of these people have done to achieve their persona non grata status. Sure, we all know about Mitch Cozad, and Brittany Bethel claims her only crime was a struggle with anorexia (glad they posted her picture, wouldn’t want an anorexic girl attacking someone).

Amazingly, the site itself states that

The individuals listed below were issued PNG orders this academic year. They aren’t necessarily dangerous, but they are unwelcome anywhere on campus.

If these people aren’t dangerous, they why do the Police care if they are on campus? How does a list of people who may or may not be dangerous published on a website make the campus safer?

A year after breaking ground, the Greeley Police Department will open their new location today.

The Larimer County Sheriff, James A. Alderden has started his own newsletters.

The Bull’s Eye is a bi-monthly publication written by the sheriff himself concerning public safety issues.

The Bull Sheet is written by Public Information Officer, Eloise Campanella. It will be published weekly and follow current criminal trends and activities.

Ken Buck, Weld County District Attorney, cleared the officers that shot Brian Croissant when he approached them with a knife.

It’s appearant from most related articles that Croissant was unstable and had alcohol problems.

The most unfortunate part of the article is this one:

Last November, according to the DA’s report, Croissant locked himself in a Fort Collins hotel room and threatened suicide.

“Fort Collins police didn’t shoot him then, and it was the same type of situation,” said Brian’s father, Larry Croissant. “Those officers called his family to ask how to handle him. They didn’t shoot him.”

Because of that incident, his family asked the court to commit Brian Croissant to a 45-day treatment center.