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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 15, 2005 Sweep needs foundation of daily plan Monday's coordinated show of police force along the Bear Creek Greenway attempted to get back into control this vital regional public space. But lost in the display of uniformed officers stomping through the weeds, removing trash and displacing homeless camps was the nagging question of why such a show was needed in the first place. The greenway had become like an unkempt garden, where the lack of attentive and procedural care allowed the beauty of it to be overgrown with runaway weeds and many other thorny problems. Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters said Monday, "We're going to take the greenway back." In so doing, more than 80 officers combed through the public walking and biking corridor, questioning people and breaking up homeless camps. The effort came as a direct response to last week's alleged rape of a teenage girl on the greenway. The shock that reverberated through the Valley from Central Point to Ashland led to Monday's response. While the show of force and coordinated action certainly will make the greenway a safer place to be today and even tomorrow, what about three months from now when the community ire has dissipated and the problems return, one by one? Lost in all the swirling helicopters, television cameras and media reports is the question of what less-dramatic security and cleanup procedures are in place. Coordinated "operations" are great stuff for news reporters, but the public has a right to know that every inch of the greenway is being regularly patrolled and that a plan for public safety along the greenway is in place. Probably some type of plan is already in place. That it isn't effectively solving the problem is evident in the need for a cleanup operation in the first place. Furthermore, any framework of such a plan should be presented to the public openly, so the community can be assured that the patrols are reasonable and the response measured. We don't mind the sheriff's office having its Operation Green Sweep. The garden of the greenway was likely out of control and like the first time a hoe strikes the cool earth in spring, tending to the land needed to be done. It's possible that part of any plan will be unscheduled similar, albeit less dramatic, sweeps. But if Monday's effort is not followed with a coordinated and organized daily plan for public safety - one steeped in community input - the end result will be of little more value than a 30-second sound bite and a front page photo. Police and the public agree that the greenway is a special artery between our communities. Now let's work on finding a plan to ensure it remains that way. Based on Operation Green Sweep, it seems this plan is long overdue. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams