Police Cruiser Petition Short 350 Signatures
By JOSELYN KINGArticle Photos
WHEELING - The counting is complete, and petitions seeking a special election to overturn Wheeling's two-man cruiser law came up 350 signatures short.
But efforts to collect more signatures and have an election will continue in the coming days, said George Jones, organizer of the petition drive.
Under city code, petitioners get 10 days after certification to collect any needed signatures and resubmit them.
City residents Jones and William Hefner, on May 5, presented to Wheeling City Council 107 petition pages bearing the 2,463 signatures they had collected since January 2008. Those who signed were attesting that they wanted an election to overturn existing city law mandating that two police officers must ride in cruisers on patrol.
A total of 2,212 valid signatures - representing 10 percent of all registered voters in Wheeling - was required by law to hold such an election.
City Clerk Janice Jones said it took more than three weeks to verify the petition signatures submitted by Jones and Hefner, and that she even had to hire a part-time employee to assist her.
In the end, it was determined that the petitions included 1,862 signatures - exactly 350 fewer than required, according to Janice Jones.
Included in the valid total were the signatures of 16 people who have died since signing the petitions.
"It's just like in early voting," she said. "If the person dies after early voting, the ballot is still counted."
Most of the signatures rejected were from residents who weren't registered voters or who didn't live within Wheeling's city limits.
Janice Jones said she has yet to officially certify the petitions. After doing this, she must send George Jones a letter informing him that the petitions were short, and that he has 10 days to gather the needed signatures.
She noted that she planned to send out the letter today.
"I tell him they'll have to get more than 350 signatures just to make sure they're all good," Janice Jones said.
George Jones said Tuesday that he planned to go out during the evening to start seeking more petition signatures, and he believes obtaining 350 in the coming days will be achievable.
"I hope so," he commented. "I was hoping she could hold off and give me a day or two more, but we'll deal with what we got."
George Jones has placed petitions at the following locations throughout the city:
- Elm Grove - at the Elm Grove Pharmacy and the Paper Shack.
- Downtown - at Laupp's Florist and the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce office.
- Warwood - at Books on the Avenue and Ace Hardware.
- North Wheeling - at the Convenient Food Mart.
- Woodsdale - at Mail Center Plus, Nau Plumbing and True Value Hardware Store.
Those wishing to volunteer for the effort should call George Jones at 304-242-4227.
The two-officer cruiser law has twice gone before the public. It was first approved as law by Wheeling's voters in 1973; it was upheld in a second election in 1980.
Because voters passed it into law, council can take no action to abolish or retain it, according to city code. Changes to the law can only be accomplished through another election.
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Used2LuvWV
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06-11-09 7:06 PM
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ok people.. without the flexibility to efficiently assign officers ask what happens when car 4 arrests someone. well I will tell you what happens! the two officers then take the arrestee to headquarters for post arrest processing thus tying up 30-40 minutes of their time and leaving elm grove to fulton and all points in between without police patrol (unless a supervisor, deputy, dog cop, or trooper happens to pass through). Ok so that ties up 30-40 minutes without having a patrol car in that area and now because of the wonderful regional jail system, we have to add in a trip to moundsville to drop off the arrested at jail... that trip takes another 40 minutes before they are "back in the city" (unless of course they drive 80mph like the deputies do)... so that is a waste of close to 90 minutes of one officer's time. if whg was able to fluctuate, one cop could be on patrol.
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CoachC
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06-11-09 11:30 AM
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I'd like to know the statistics of hired police officers in 1973 compared to 2009. Wonder if it in any way reflects Wheeling's population slide. Roughly 17,000 less residents today than there were in 1973 when this law was passed.
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Hefner
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06-11-09 11:04 AM
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wv26003 - Thanks for your support and suggestion.
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GETACLUE
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06-11-09 8:34 AM
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Wrong Ellis it was passed by the citizens of Wheeling. Unlike you the residents that actually live in the city of Wheeling,*****you don't even live in this state
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EllisWyatt
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06-11-09 6:49 AM
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The 2-man crusiers petition was originally passed by members, and friends and family of members, who feared losing their jobs. It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with featherbedding.
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bredwards
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06-11-09 4:57 AM
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Theres got be a hidden and a real reason why the citizens of Wheeling voted to have 2 officers in a cruiser.>>Billy Ray
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wv26003
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06-10-09 8:08 PM
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Bill Hefner... this should be a BIG sign to you. Don't bother running for office again.
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EllisWyatt
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06-10-09 7:21 PM
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With a two man cruiser law, the chief has no flexibility in the deployment of his assets. With NO two man cruiser law, the chief can assign one or two man cruisers as the situation dictates. You cannot demand efficiency and safety from a police department and then tie the hands of its' leadership (in Wheeling's case, mediocre, DUI). A chief should have the flexibility necessary in that line of work. What next? 6 men on every fire truck?
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tmoore
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06-10-09 4:50 PM
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Council planning on two bus drivers on every bus???????????????? Greens donuts were the best.
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CoachC
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06-10-09 4:18 PM
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Wheeling population statistics: 1970 - 48,188 1980 - 43,070 1990 - 34,882 2000 - 31,419
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richardwhee
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06-10-09 1:22 PM
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As usual , the city and a few individuals are keepiny progress from being made. Perhaps some of the cops are sons or daughter and they are afraid of losing their jobs. You know how the jobs in the police & fire depts work.
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acousticportal
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06-10-09 12:41 PM
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The people have spoken and the process has occurred. People won't even come out to support our schools let alone worry about how many people ride in a car. What ever happened to the days good ole' railroading issues?
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ElScorcho
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06-10-09 10:55 AM
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The petition result is typical of such nonsense. Take a couple of strident fools with too much time on their hands and you'll have this. Perhaps they have a "Plan B" such as a petition to impose a tax on birds flying over the city. Now that would get my signature. The two man cruiser issue was proposed to provide greater safety for the patrolling officers. The sole purpose in cutting it to one man cruisers is to allow attrition to reduce the size of the department which will guarantee lighter coverage throughout. Another post indicates that removing personnel from the five patroling cars will not result in setting up 10 cars (since there would then be extra staff). This means that Wheeling could effectively drop its police department to somewhere around 60 or less. That (and the astoundingly inept prosecutor's office) should make everyone feel safer.
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Faustus
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06-10-09 10:48 AM
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It appears that signing this petition is hazardous to your health.
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rover1958
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06-10-09 10:40 AM
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Used2LuvWV opined I must not be from Wheeling because there are no more donut shops in Wheeling. Actually I was born and raised in Wheeling and it was a wonderful vibrant city in the '40's, '50's, and '60's. Had several donut shops, and I know they are gone now, but still exist in my mind's eye. My favorite was the 'Spudnuts' shop on Warwood Ave, about two blocks North of the High School.
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McCausland
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06-10-09 9:51 AM
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If there are 5 cars working the city on a daily basis - does the city have the finances to run 10 cars on a daily basis? Also if we spread the cars out to cover the city - what happens when backup is needed? The officers have to wait - which could take several minutes. So if you are the person needing help and the officer is waiting outside your home or place of business for backup - those precious minutes will seem like hours. Everyone jokes about how the police spend their time in "donut shops" or "sleeping", but I guarantee you when you need them you will feel differently. In the "big" cities - they have thousands of officers, so there is always plenty of backup - Wheeling can't say that. I think it is a big mistake.
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Used2LuvWV
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06-10-09 9:25 AM
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The two man to a cruiser bit really is so typical of wheeling... I have to wonder... if you look at when it was originally enacted you will notice that it was just before wheeling started slipping and sliding and sliding and sliding.... Also who was in charge of the petition to rescind this back in 1980 when it "failed"? I mean how was it placed before the voters? I doubt there was a petition but I could be wrong. WHEELING NEEDS TO GET WITH THE PICTURE!!! but I know better. Oh, and rover1958... you must not be from wheeling because the last time I checked, wheeling had no donut shop anymore!
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ChaplineRow
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06-10-09 7:30 AM
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I was a cop for almost ten years most of which was in the state of Florida. The only area where we had two man cars was a large section of the city that was mostly black where we had a lot of robberies, shootings, etc. As I have stated before one man cars, rover cars and bicycle partrols in trouble areas I feel is more cost affective and gives better coverage. Saturate trouble areas and make Wheeling persona non grata to punks, criminals and hoods. They will move on if every time they turn around they see a patrol unit.
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popeye
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06-10-09 7:15 AM
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2 man cruiser means one officer can sleep and then they rotate.
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EllisWyatt
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06-10-09 7:03 AM
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The City of Pittsburgh has 1 man to a cruiser. Ohio County has 1 man. Allegheny County has 1 man. The state police have 1 man. In fact, the only town in the US, that I have heard of, that has a 2-man cruiser law is Wheeling. Something must change.
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rover1958
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06-10-09 6:21 AM
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You go to other cities...big ones......dangerous ones.....don't see two officers riding about in police cruisers. Watch COPS, it's one officer in the car calling for quick backup if the situation looks dangerous. Gosh, Wheeling must be rich! Why not have four officers in the cruiser? That way they could get a card game going at the donut shop.
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wvhoopie
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06-10-09 6:01 AM
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Do the people getting these signatures work for ACORN?
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