Burton Quick Bits:

Watering Village Flowers:  If you follow this blog much, you will remember that when the Burton Village Council was crying "poor boy" some months ago, I launched a campaign here saying that one of the BIG money drains was the not only the extra help the village hires during the summer, but the fact that two or three of them were taking a ONE TON truck around with a water tank and sitting there idling for hours while one college kid stood in the bed and reached up and watered the town's hanging flower baskets! Katie bar the door! Say it ain't so Virginia... Needing money? Oh sure... Let's give them MORE to waste... So there was one or two of these extra summer workers sitting in the truck cab listening to tunes or talking on the cell phone and a college girl up there watering flowers while the truck burned fuel and was a HUGE traffic hazard (it was parked in the street around the circle). It's hard to believe that any person with an economical mind could come up with some a colossal waste of human resources, fuel and general WASTE of valuable TIME and TAXPAYER money not to mention the hazard itself. For puny little baskets of flowers? Give me a break... Then to discuss in a public meeting after this kind of waste that they need MORE MONEY is absurd. Any business that ran that way would be out of business quickly, but for some goddamn reason, businessmen lose their heads when they are SPENDING YOUR MONEY. Think about it: You're pulling two or three workers and one ton truck with a V-8 engine TO WATER FLOWERS EVERY DAY! Insane... But there is light at the end of this crazy tunnel - maybe they have changed their ways: This week I observed ONE village worker with a garden tractor and water tank going from hanging flower plot to hanging flower plot around the village. One would say this is an improvement/saving of money. But there was one hang-up: HE WAS WATERING THE PLANTS DURING A DOWNPOUR OF RAIN! OK, I give up. I really do... Who is running this show? Who? I really want to know.

Dan Ott Murder:   Any time I publish something about Dan Ott, I get a bunch of people calling and running theories by me as to who might have done it. Very interesting... MANY people think that person who shot Dan Ott out at his Rt. 700 farmhouse on May 25, 2006 is still right here living among us. Many feel it was drug-related. It is a fact that Dan Ott did use illegal drugs or sell illegal drugs, but many feel he was a victim of mistaken identity because drug use/dealing was going on nearby. And it's a fact that drugs were once used/dealt at the residence Dan Ott lived in on Rt. 700. The other theory was that while Dan Ott did not drink heavily, gamble, deal/take drugs or other vices, his one downfall was women. And some people think - given the fact that he was to leave the state for a new job in a few days when he was killed - that cuckolded husband or disgruntled boyfriend came over to "settle a score".  Whatever the killer's motivation, the immediacy to "home invade" was tied to Ott's leaving. In fact, Ott had furniture already in a rented apartment in Michigan. All of these are controlling factors. 
     Here are several tendencies here in Geauga County in terms of murder: We do know that when we CATCH a killer in Geauga County, the justice is swift - witness the recent Sandy Franklin murder of her husband and the former Cline case. They went away quick. So once we HAVE a convicted killer, they are dealt with swiftly. That's good. And we do know that it takes law enforcement FOREVER to connect the dots in this county in terms of murder... Witness Ed Edwards - the Burton serial killer - it took them DECADES to figure this one out and only after another law enforcement agency in another state used the DNA to advantage... That's not so good... And with the Ott murder was MUCH evidence as well as an eye witness to the murder. Drive out to the death house and see how close Mary Ann Ricker was in the kitchen window to the perp as she dialed 911. CLOSE as in less than ten feet. And she saw him close in the house as well. The getaway car was less than ten feet. She HEARD the murderer speak. There was shotshell residue - wad, shot, powder left in the murder victim. Perhaps tracks. Fiber evidence. The duct tape. I could go on and on.

"No-Gun" Sign at Shetler's Printing:  Two years ago one of my favorite businesses in the area - Middlefield's Shetler Printing put up a "NO-GUN" sign.  I sent a letter to the manager about it, but they it remained up.  I took my office business to Staples up in Chadon.  In those two years I have spent over $10,000 on office supplies, toner, office furniture, printing, etc.  The ticker is still running on that...  So these "No-Gun" signs not only endanger the workers of any given establishment that posts, BUT IT COSTS THE BUSINESS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!  Of course.  Advocates of the Second Amendment stick together for sure.  And gun owners are the most wealthy people around.  Stand in my store for ten minutes and you'll be amazed who walks in!   Two days ago there was a BILLIONAIRE in here buying guns.  The dudes ain't dumb and if they see a "No-Gun" sign, they will avoid that establishment like the plague.  And then any business that posts "No-Guns" will go on a boycott list.  Bad news travels fast.  We have special cards printed up that explain our position.  You've heard me talk about this issue before.  Anyway, one of my customers said that the Shetler Printing "No-Gun" sign was down!  So I went over there and sure enough it was GONE!  I promptly had one of my workers go in and make a big purchase.  So it just goes to show you that some merchants will come around.  Too bad this particular one had to LOSE TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in learning that lesson.  One must wonder how many other gun guys avoided the place and perhaps will never return.  You know what Mark Twain said:  "A cat that sits on a hot stove lid will never sit on another hot one, but it will never sit on a cold one either."