Enforcement makes the heart grow fonder

It’s a bit unusual for the gal who drives 67 mph on the highway, most of the time, to call for more enforcement.

Yes, I usually bend the speed limit rule of 65 as it seems so slow. Sixty-seven is just right. And I can’t eat my chili too hot or too cold either.

However, I do see enforcement of the laws and rules as becoming less apparent in our society. Respect for authority is nearly non-existent in today’s world. This is so wrong and is indicative of a social ill too broad for me to even start on.

Case in point is the fact that Maryville has a code enforcement office within the public works department which has a couple of officers employed that see real issues on several fronts. While I do not know their workload, I would expect it to be quite daunting. And I also take into account the times when the enforcement officer has a good experience with a property owner never gets repeated to the local newspaper publisher; instead it would seem there are inconsistencies with some of the hit-and-miss violations.

So let me explain what I’ve been told. There is an individual who owns a business in Maryville’s center that has been told the outside of his structure cannot have any advertisement hanging onto it. Yet, there are other businesses throughout town, who just happen to be competitors, that I have seen do have advertising signs and posters on the outside of their building. Not sure how equitable this enforcement is. Maybe they are just getting around to visiting with all businesses?

Another enforcement issue, which I have witnessed through the years, involves snowfall and cars parked on the street. You have probably seen the streets after a sizable snow where the snow plow has had to weave in-and-out of the parked cars trying to clear the roadway of the snow and not vehicles. There are some streets in town that have signs designating them to be emergency snow routes which denotes an even stricter enforcement. The vehicles left on these streets can and should be towed. I can remember cars being towed back in the day but I don’t believe that is happening anymore. Probably if it was enacted just one time, it would cure this issue pretty quick as I recall the tow charge is not small.

There is another street sign near the Nodaway News Leader’s portion of East Third that states cars should be off the street from 2 to 6 am. Yet, it would appear, there are cars belonging to the people who live in apartments that stay on the street every night, all night long. And one special vehicle with an Arkansas license plate that is continually backed into the parking space. There are others throughout the town when the driver goes to the trouble to back into a parking spot. Some drivers cross traffic and park in a parallel spot going the wrong way. Now maybe that is legal and acceptable in Arkansas, but Maryville is a bit more classy than that.

These types of continuity issues create a disparity for the citizens to understand and comply with. Consistency is important. Plus, needless to say, it really bugs the dickens out of this Goldilocks.