Now, it has come to this; writing an article after waiting many months patiently to receive some sign that he, Eric Linhardt, paralegals, Deb or Patty are doing their job. He is the chief cop for the citizens of Lycoming County. Facts are facts, and here are a few and not just conjecture.
I'm sure there is a litany of situations like this, where citizens have been a victim of a crime or an eyewitness to crimes which they reported to the police, and have not had any follow up, i.e. phone calls or discussions about the crimes. I, for one, have been a victim of a crime and also, eyewitness to a few crimes, of which I reported to Old Lycoming Township police. Reports were made and I so much as never received a phone call about any of them. For one to take the time to go to the police and give such public officials full details regarding a crime, crimes which are quite severe, and then not hear anything later about the investigations, is to me quite ludicrous.
The crimes I reported were in such detail, in fact, one had photographs, that arresting the criminal would be a slam dunk. One was a murder, where a young girl lost her life. On more than one occasion, I went back to the police to find out where the investigations stood, and it was like pulling teeth to get any information.
It is a pretty good crime watch when you have 45,000-plus citizens watching their streets to keep them safe. It seems only logical the paid police should help them out. It doesn't take an erudite citizen to report a crime, just about anyone has the capacity to fulfill the job.
As an ordinary citizen, I am concerned about my/our town. I have taken such concerns to Eric Linhardt more than a couple of times. He assured me things will get zone; I have seen zip.
Rest-assured, I have seen some good police work regarding DUIs.
DUIs are not the only thing the police should be doing. In Williamsport, occasionally I read of some significant drug busts and the ilk, in Old Lycoming Township and my immediate area, it is DUIs. That shouldn't be the only thing on the job descriptions of our police officers. Some of my neighbors are rather solicitous about the crime in the area, yet apathy is the norm and they do nothing. Some who have been active, have had the same results as I have experienced.
Alan Cohick
President
Lycoming Creek Business and Merchants Association
