Jul-18-2008 15:52
Woodburn Drag Strip Grandstand Theft is a Symptom of Meth Abuse and Ignorance
Tim King Salem-News.com
A scrap metal company in Salem worked with police to bust two men, but the meth problems generally behind this type of crime, are poorly addressed in this country.


Photo courtesy: Marion County Sheriff

(SALEM, Ore.) - Oregonians keep getting clobbered over the head with the stories of the meth freaks, but we must have a shorter attention span that I realized. In spite of all the methamphetamine horror stories, police, federal officials in particular, are spending your tax dollars like chumps, arresting people for marijuana while the crank fiends dismantle the very place we live in.

Meth addicts are human beings operating on a distinctly different level from all others. For the public, their own children and families, and in this case, an Oregon drag strip, they represent a hazard. Meth users are way more dangerous to society than other drug violators. The problem is not getting any better; we have our priorities extremely mixed up.

Meth is a chemical, pure and simple. A little of this, a little of that, throw in some sulphur, some ingredients that you wouldn't give to your worse enemy like draino, and you are on your way. Meth used to be a substance that was manufactured legally, but your government shoved it underground by banning ingredients. It took meth from a somewhat legitimate diet pill, to a cruel substance manufactured in bathtubs and Honda Accords rolling down the street that people snort and fire into their arms with needles.

The Good News

But today there is a good story in the mix, sort of. At least one that shows that some of our law enforcement officials are actually busting people for methamphetamine-related problems and not spending all their time trying to lock people for up harmless and victimless crimes.

Thursday afternoon, 53-year old Danny Packer of Hubbard, and 54-year old Larry C. Mathews of Woodburn, were arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail on 50 Counts of Theft 1, and 50 counts of Criminal Mischief 2. There are no pending meth charges against this pair, but their crimes are synonymous with the acts of those who are fully addicted.

Regarding metal thieves and meth addicts, a police officer once said it this way; "Who else would go to this much effort"?

Sgt. Kristin Knutson with the Marion County Sheriff's Office, says the arrest stems from a report and investigation into the theft of over 300 Aluminum bleacher seats, 20 feet in length, from the Woodburn Dragstrip, in Woodburn, Oregon.

"The 300 metal bleacher seats are valued at $25,000-$30,000." Knutson said.


"Soon after the Theft was reported, Cherry City Metals notified Law Enforcement that the two were attempting to sell approximately 50-60 Aluminum Bleacher seats, which had been cut into pieces."

Once the suspects learned that the police had been called, the two departed Cherry City Metals according to Knutson, leaving behind the stolen bleachers.

"Sr. Deputy Brenda Lumley spotted and stopped the suspect vehicle on Hazelgreen Road NE and Nusom Road NE at approximately 3:30 PM. Senior Deputy David Wagner arrested Packer and Mathews for the above charges. The investigation is still continuing as there is still a significant amount of Metal outstanding."

As bad as it is, this is also a good story because it addresses the obvious problem that has allowed meth freak metal thievery to grow into a problem that literally endangers our lives. That problem is the buyers of the metal. We have heard about window frames in country houses being stolen, sprinkler heads, all kinds of construction equipment, and even a BLM aluminum bridge being stolen and sold for scrap.

Railroads are in danger, other bridges could fall victim to metal thieves, and there is what I consider to be the laughingstock of all meth metal thief stories: in Arizona where Republicans and anti-immigration zealots have "the Great Wall of America" under construction to allegedly cut down in "illegal immigration" traffic from Mexico, off-duty deputies are being called in to babysit the wall; both the installed and the uninstalled fence sections. Why? Because faster than you can spell Border Patrol, those fence sections are being carried away by meth thieves and sold for scrap!

I guess that is one testimony to the notion of repeating the actions of the Soviet Union and China. The only thing the wall really does is drive families into much more deadly places to cross, which they still do. Instead of problems from these folks seeking a better life, we are dealing with the actions of AMERICANS who live in a thrashed economy and among police who list meth and pot on the same page as a "controlled substance." It is all worth both laughing and crying over. Maybe some day we will pull our heads out of the shadows and try to live like people who have even half a clue.

By the way, anyone with information about the Woodburn Drag Strip bleachers is asked to contact Sr. Deputy Wagner at the Marion County Sheriffs Office, 503-500-5091.



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