Property Damage, Loitering And Drug Paraphernalia Lead Business Owners, Residents To Question Crane Board
August 22, 2019
Isaac Estes-Jones
About 20 Crane business owners and residents attended the Monday, August 19, meeting of the Crane Board of Aldermen to discuss ongoing, and apparently escalating, issues with a group of presumed homeless individuals who have reportedly been causing trouble throughout the city, especially on Main Street.
These citizens state that they have been having issues with people sitting or laying on the sidewalks in the middle of the night and at other odd hours, attempting to break into buildings, leaving trash and using drugs.
Several in attendance mentioned finding dirty needles in their dumpsters or even on the ground.
Closing of the Post Office lobby
Of major interest to many in Crane is the closing of the Post Office lobby after business hours. Chrissy Johnson, Post Master in Crane, was in attendance at Monday’s meeting. “We’ve had people sleeping in our lobby, leaving trash, stealing electricity and also sitting with dogs,” she said.
Last Monday, August 12, after garbage was found in the lobby of the Post Office, Johnson called the police and, after a witness was identified, a report was filed with the Crane police. “I called immediately Monday morning,” Johnson said.
Later that day, a witness was found. The witness was able to give a description of the people allegedly responsible. “Unless we have a witness, our hands are tied as far as giving citations or anything else,” said John Elmore, Chief of Police for the City of Crane.
According to what was said at the meeting, a report was filed after that witness was identified and they signed the complaint. “We’ve delivered citations to two of them and we’re going to deliver the other here in a few minutes,” Elmore said.
Later that same day, according to Johnson, a young woman she had never seen before came into the lobby and sat down. Johnson said she asked the unknown person to leave.
As a result of these incidents, Johnson received permission from higher ups at the USPS to close the lobby after hours for a week. The night of the meeting was the first night the lobby, with access to the Post Office Boxes, was left open since the incident. “I have to reopen it, but, personally, I’m not comfortable leaving it open,” she said.
Issues raised by other citizens
The owners of other businesses along Main Street also voiced their concerns. Heidi Rasmussen, who runs Hickory Grove Cafe, said her workers found needles in the trash behind the business and reported that she called in to file a report.
Sandra Bowman, with Bodacious Boutique, has had repeated issues with several individuals sitting or sleeping on the stoop of her shop. She also told the board about an incident where one of the people came into the store and asked if she was alone.
Mayor Brannan asked Bowman, “Were those [incidents] called in?” Bowman said most of them were not. “I don’t think any of us realized the extent off the situation until we started talking recently,” she said.
The manager of the Rapid Roberts gas station on the north side of town, Tennessa Evans, also told her story to the board.
Evans reported that on July 4, a man clearly strung out on drugs came into the store while she was working. The individual allegedly shoved his phone, which was playing pornography into her face and otherwise made her feel unsafe. She was eventually able to call 911, but, since filing the initial report, there has been no follow up from the police, she said.
“Eventually, I did see one of the officers and asked for an update. He said, ‘Did you get the security footage?’ I said, ‘That’s not my job. I gave you my corporate number,’” she said.
“I can tell you, it has been followed up on,” said Officer Mike, with Crane Police Department. “We’ve called [Rapid Roberts Corporate] four times and still haven’t gotten the footage,” he said.
“My issue is there is communication,” Evans said, continuing, “I see John [Elmore] everyday, so why no follow up?” she asked.
Officer Mike responded. “We came by one day and you weren’t there. We left a message with an employee. If he didn’t pass that along, that’s not our fault,” he said.
Other business owners or representatives talked about the issue, as well. Some said they have seen individuals living in the storage units behind Main Street.
Others reported seeing several individuals laying on the sidewalk around Stockman’s Bank with dogs. Tera Matthews said, “That makes me worry about our business customers that use the night drop box. I know I wouldn’t want to get out of my vehicle if I saw people there.”
Others reported finding used hygiene products and human excrement around their businesses. There are also reports of these individuals tying their dogs to posts outside of businesses or bringing them inside.
The major question all of the participants in this discussion seemed to have was, What can be done about this?
“We can’t just run people off when they are on public streets,” Chief Elmore said. “However, every time we received a report with a witness, we’ve issued citations,” he said.
“We do have loitering and other ordinances that can apply in these situations,” Mayor Brannan said. “Most of them are available on our website if you want to look. However, we can’t do anything about them if we don’t know about the issues.”
If you see something, call it in
After much discussion back and forth among those in the audience and others involved, talk moved to who to call to report these issues.
Chief Elmore gives his cell phone number out to people in the community so they can get in touch with him on issues, especially those where having a quicker response is important. Alderman Kyle Bentley said, “John tries to solve lots of things himself because sometimes he is more available.” Alderman Doug Minton said, “There might be sort of a learning curve here. When I got John’s cellphone number, I thought that was enough. Then, after an issue up near my house, I realized my first reaction should be to call 911.”
“Central dispatch through 911 is our call center,” said Mayor Brannan, who also serves on the Stone County E911 board. “911 is the call center, which creates a record and helps with accountability. If you want an immediate, guaranteed response, call 911,” Bentley said.
911 or the non-emergency number, (417) 339-9117, can be reached at any time to get in contact with the police. It is not just for a “someone is bleeding” type emergency.
People feel comfortable
Much of the issue surrounding these individuals, according to city officials, is they feel comfortable. “Crane is a good, nice town,” was said by all members of the board. However, Chief Elmore said that may be part of why these two to six individuals have been in town for the last several months.
“They are getting money from somewhere to buy drugs. They are getting food. If people are comfortable, they’ll stick around,” Elmore said.
“We’ve got a lot of good people in this town, but if we keep getting the complaints and everything, it will make them more uncomfortable and eventually they will move on,” he said.
“We’ve dealt with this before, about 9 or 10 years ago,” said Brannan. “I don’t remember exactly how that all played out, but eventually it did stop.”
Steps already taken, steps to take
Several steps were made to help mitigate this issue before Monday’s meeting.
Wifi at the library in Crane is being turned off in the evenings, as these individuals were thought to be using it.
Stockmans Bank is turning off the power outlet on the side of their building so no one can use it to charge their phone.
The post office has reopened the lobby at all hours for the time being, but that may change.
There was some discussion of turning on the city’s surveillance cameras. Every year, the city turns on a few cameras to keep an eye on the Christmas tree.
Those cameras were damaged during a lightening strike recently, but, during the meeting, the board seemed in favor of repairing them and turning them on to help watch what is happening during the night on Main Street.
“They aren’t watched all the time,” said Brannan, “But, that would give another resource to check if something is reported.”
The cameras will be repaired by Mayor Brannan as he has time. A hard deadline was not set, but, he said they should be functional again within a couple of weeks.
Crane does have enforceable ordinances against loitering and other laws that can be used against these individuals. “Being homeless is not illegal,” said Brannan. “We technically have an anti-vagrancy ordinance on the books, but court rulings have shown those to be unenforceable.”
Isaac Estes-Jones
About 20 Crane business owners and residents attended the Monday, August 19, meeting of the Crane Board of Aldermen to discuss ongoing, and apparently escalating, issues with a group of presumed homeless individuals who have reportedly been causing trouble throughout the city, especially on Main Street.
These citizens state that they have been having issues with people sitting or laying on the sidewalks in the middle of the night and at other odd hours, attempting to break into buildings, leaving trash and using drugs.
Several in attendance mentioned finding dirty needles in their dumpsters or even on the ground.
Closing of the Post Office lobby
Of major interest to many in Crane is the closing of the Post Office lobby after business hours. Chrissy Johnson, Post Master in Crane, was in attendance at Monday’s meeting. “We’ve had people sleeping in our lobby, leaving trash, stealing electricity and also sitting with dogs,” she said.
Last Monday, August 12, after garbage was found in the lobby of the Post Office, Johnson called the police and, after a witness was identified, a report was filed with the Crane police. “I called immediately Monday morning,” Johnson said.
Later that day, a witness was found. The witness was able to give a description of the people allegedly responsible. “Unless we have a witness, our hands are tied as far as giving citations or anything else,” said John Elmore, Chief of Police for the City of Crane.
According to what was said at the meeting, a report was filed after that witness was identified and they signed the complaint. “We’ve delivered citations to two of them and we’re going to deliver the other here in a few minutes,” Elmore said.
Later that same day, according to Johnson, a young woman she had never seen before came into the lobby and sat down. Johnson said she asked the unknown person to leave.
As a result of these incidents, Johnson received permission from higher ups at the USPS to close the lobby after hours for a week. The night of the meeting was the first night the lobby, with access to the Post Office Boxes, was left open since the incident. “I have to reopen it, but, personally, I’m not comfortable leaving it open,” she said.
Issues raised by other citizens
The owners of other businesses along Main Street also voiced their concerns. Heidi Rasmussen, who runs Hickory Grove Cafe, said her workers found needles in the trash behind the business and reported that she called in to file a report.
Sandra Bowman, with Bodacious Boutique, has had repeated issues with several individuals sitting or sleeping on the stoop of her shop. She also told the board about an incident where one of the people came into the store and asked if she was alone.
Mayor Brannan asked Bowman, “Were those [incidents] called in?” Bowman said most of them were not. “I don’t think any of us realized the extent off the situation until we started talking recently,” she said.
The manager of the Rapid Roberts gas station on the north side of town, Tennessa Evans, also told her story to the board.
Evans reported that on July 4, a man clearly strung out on drugs came into the store while she was working. The individual allegedly shoved his phone, which was playing pornography into her face and otherwise made her feel unsafe. She was eventually able to call 911, but, since filing the initial report, there has been no follow up from the police, she said.
“Eventually, I did see one of the officers and asked for an update. He said, ‘Did you get the security footage?’ I said, ‘That’s not my job. I gave you my corporate number,’” she said.
“I can tell you, it has been followed up on,” said Officer Mike, with Crane Police Department. “We’ve called [Rapid Roberts Corporate] four times and still haven’t gotten the footage,” he said.
“My issue is there is communication,” Evans said, continuing, “I see John [Elmore] everyday, so why no follow up?” she asked.
Officer Mike responded. “We came by one day and you weren’t there. We left a message with an employee. If he didn’t pass that along, that’s not our fault,” he said.
Other business owners or representatives talked about the issue, as well. Some said they have seen individuals living in the storage units behind Main Street.
Others reported seeing several individuals laying on the sidewalk around Stockman’s Bank with dogs. Tera Matthews said, “That makes me worry about our business customers that use the night drop box. I know I wouldn’t want to get out of my vehicle if I saw people there.”
Others reported finding used hygiene products and human excrement around their businesses. There are also reports of these individuals tying their dogs to posts outside of businesses or bringing them inside.
The major question all of the participants in this discussion seemed to have was, What can be done about this?
“We can’t just run people off when they are on public streets,” Chief Elmore said. “However, every time we received a report with a witness, we’ve issued citations,” he said.
“We do have loitering and other ordinances that can apply in these situations,” Mayor Brannan said. “Most of them are available on our website if you want to look. However, we can’t do anything about them if we don’t know about the issues.”
If you see something, call it in
After much discussion back and forth among those in the audience and others involved, talk moved to who to call to report these issues.
Chief Elmore gives his cell phone number out to people in the community so they can get in touch with him on issues, especially those where having a quicker response is important. Alderman Kyle Bentley said, “John tries to solve lots of things himself because sometimes he is more available.” Alderman Doug Minton said, “There might be sort of a learning curve here. When I got John’s cellphone number, I thought that was enough. Then, after an issue up near my house, I realized my first reaction should be to call 911.”
“Central dispatch through 911 is our call center,” said Mayor Brannan, who also serves on the Stone County E911 board. “911 is the call center, which creates a record and helps with accountability. If you want an immediate, guaranteed response, call 911,” Bentley said.
911 or the non-emergency number, (417) 339-9117, can be reached at any time to get in contact with the police. It is not just for a “someone is bleeding” type emergency.
People feel comfortable
Much of the issue surrounding these individuals, according to city officials, is they feel comfortable. “Crane is a good, nice town,” was said by all members of the board. However, Chief Elmore said that may be part of why these two to six individuals have been in town for the last several months.
“They are getting money from somewhere to buy drugs. They are getting food. If people are comfortable, they’ll stick around,” Elmore said.
“We’ve got a lot of good people in this town, but if we keep getting the complaints and everything, it will make them more uncomfortable and eventually they will move on,” he said.
“We’ve dealt with this before, about 9 or 10 years ago,” said Brannan. “I don’t remember exactly how that all played out, but eventually it did stop.”
Steps already taken, steps to take
Several steps were made to help mitigate this issue before Monday’s meeting.
Wifi at the library in Crane is being turned off in the evenings, as these individuals were thought to be using it.
Stockmans Bank is turning off the power outlet on the side of their building so no one can use it to charge their phone.
The post office has reopened the lobby at all hours for the time being, but that may change.
There was some discussion of turning on the city’s surveillance cameras. Every year, the city turns on a few cameras to keep an eye on the Christmas tree.
Those cameras were damaged during a lightening strike recently, but, during the meeting, the board seemed in favor of repairing them and turning them on to help watch what is happening during the night on Main Street.
“They aren’t watched all the time,” said Brannan, “But, that would give another resource to check if something is reported.”
The cameras will be repaired by Mayor Brannan as he has time. A hard deadline was not set, but, he said they should be functional again within a couple of weeks.
Crane does have enforceable ordinances against loitering and other laws that can be used against these individuals. “Being homeless is not illegal,” said Brannan. “We technically have an anti-vagrancy ordinance on the books, but court rulings have shown those to be unenforceable.”