The news story in the Sunday Globe (Aug. 16) about the cheerleading moms getting $350 traffic tickets in Duquesne reminded me of the time when I got stopped by the Duquesne police.
It was 1 a.m. and I was making a quick run to buy medical supplies for my dad. There was absolutely no one on the road that night — except for a car parked in the intersection turning lane of Rex Avenue and 13th Street. I stopped and turned right — and ended up getting a ticket for running the stop sign. The car in the intersection was a Duquesne police car. The officer said my wheels still had a slight motion to them.
I went to court on the next court date to talk to the judge. The room was filled to capacity — with people standing in the back (dozens of people had already arrived, paid their fines and left). I was puzzled as to why so many people were getting tickets until I read in the Globe that Duquesne has no property tax. With no property tax, how does a small village of 1,700 people pay for a large police force and a large staff at city hall? By writing traffic tickets and handing them out like candy!
This gets me wondering as to how much money is generated per year — $2 million? Three million?
I would suggest to the citizens of Duquesne that they pay a modest property tax, as they are going to end up paying one way or the other. Also, I would like to suggest that the patrol cars lighten up on the rest of us.
Kenneth Fredrick
Joplin
