Sleepless in Midland

The Chief says "Goodbye"

Area residents had a chance to say "goodbye" to retiring Midland, Texas, Police Chief John Urby this afternoon.  Here's Tina Jauz's news release with highlights of his career:

The Midland Police Department will host a retirement party for outgoing Chief of Police John Urby. The event will take place Thursday, April 26, 2007, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the third floor conference room of the MPD. The media is encouraged to attend.

Urby’s retirement will be effective April 30, 2007, bringing an end to a 27½ -year career with the Midland Police Department.

Urby was first hired by the City of Midland as a Police Officer on August 8, 1979. He was promoted to Sergeant on October 1, 1981, to Lieutenant on January 1, 1990, and Deputy Chief on February 1, 1993. Urby was appointed Chief of Police on December 1, 1997.

During his tenure as Chief, Urby has lead the department to national recognition, remained on the cutting edge of technology, and helped to obtain increased in salary for sworn personnel. The MPD is one of 574 agencies out of 17,000 to be a nationally accredited department. In 2006, the MPD was named a Flagship Agency for the first time ever. The department is serving as a role model to other agencies. MPD’s National Night Out has been recognized for eight of the last nine years. New technology is now being used at the department including in vehicle laptops, field reporting, AVL/CAD in the works. Pay Progression for sworn employees with steps 4-9 funded and overall salaries increasing 50% since he has been chief.

Urby plans to remain in Midland while he pursues other interests.

(AVL/CAD stands for Automatic Vehicle Location and Computer Assisted Dispatch.)

Chief Urby is very well liked in the community and is held in high regard by the members of the police department.  The photo was taken on March 28, 2007, and shows outgoing Chief Urby with newly appointed Acting Chief Price Robinson.

Blasted away at the Bad Boy Blast

There was some pretty fancy shotgun shooting out at the Bad Boy Blast Saturday.  Each shooter had to pony up $150 for the opportunity to shoot around 100 clay targets out of the sky to compete for the top spot.  And some of those shooters were quite impressive.  There were also drawings for prizes, tons of them, including shotguns.   So for those who participated it was surely a rewarding experience.

The event was a fund raiser to benefit the police and sheriffs' departments of Odessa and Midland, and once the dollars are counted, they're sure to get a windfall.

Speaking of wind, I suppose in the interest of full disclosure I should mention the breezy conditions.  Locals are accustomed to a regular Southwesterly wind.  But even by West Texas standards that one was stout with winds of 25 mph gusting to 33 mph.  By late afternoon everyone looked pretty much the same, coated with a thin layer of red West Texas top soil.  Last night the tub and shower drains in the region must have run red with dirt.

Here's a tip of the hat to the people who planned and organized that event.  They did an outstanding job.  Janie could tell you all about it, she was one of the planners.  This is the second year I worked at one of those things, and any problem any of us had last year had been acknowledged, corrected and improved this time.  It was really impressive.  Those people should be building rocket ships.

Now if only they could control the weather.

Oh, if you were there and wonder if you saw me, I was the guy running at about ten mph behind the hat traveling at about 33 mph.

MSNBC - it was better with Imus

MSNBC gave significant air time this morning to the rantings of the Virginia Tech murderer, and the unctuous David Gregory conducted the navel gazing analysts in their efforts to rationalize MSNBC's decision to air the killer's suicide video.

It seemed like only yesterday that morning tv viewers who flipped onto MSNBC had to endure Don Imus' endless apologies to the Rutgers women's basketball team.  Imus was sacked because his remarks were deemed so crude that the apologies, though apparently accepted by the team members, could never be good enough for people at MSNBC who must have thought that those basketball players' self esteem was so permanently damaged that they could never recover.

We were told that the deciding factor for the MSNBC brass in the Imus affair was the protestations of the politically correct MSNBC staff.  So given that the staff has such control over what goes on the air, then the mass murderer has both the staff and the brass to thank for granting his last wishes.

With Imus the viewers had to take the bad with the good.  But at least he had the courage to call attention to and ridicule the stupid decisions of his bosses.  And MSNBC, please try to do better.  Al Jazeera shouldn't be your role model.

Urby out, Menchaca in

Tina Jauz's 4/17/2007 news release:

CITY COUNCIL CONCLUDES EXECUTIVE SESSION

The Midland City Council has wrapped up an executive session held to discuss the employment of the City Manger and the Retirement of the Chief of Police.

The session ended at approximately 1:00 p.m. During the morning meeting, Police Chief John Urby requested time with the City Council. He announced to them his plans to proceed with his retirement effective April 30, 2007.

During the process, it became apparent to the City Council there are communications issues that need to be addressed. According to Mayor Mike Canon, “Through our discussions with the Chief, other Department Managers, Assistant City Managers, and employees, it is obvious that we need to address managerial issues and styles. This will start with the City Manager’s Office and filter through the entire organization.”

City Manager Rick Menchaca will remain in his position as City Manager. The City Council is ready to move forward and get back to the business of the City. “Going through this process confirmed we have a great city staff and a good system in place. I am confident in the work and service they provide to our community. The Council has listened to many concerns and identified things that need to be addressed. These improvements will be made so that our employees and our city as a whole can move forward,” said Canon.

Price Robinson, the one deputy chief who didn't sign The Letter could become the next chief.  Hopefully he, or whoever becomes chief, can smooth feelings, mend fences and do whatever it takes to keep the police officers content with their jobs, and that's a tall order given this speculation in the Command Staff's letter:

We also hesitate because we fully believe that if this letter does not have the desired result, and we continue to work under the administration, there will most certainly be retaliation, be it overt or subtle.

So City Manager Rick Menchaca now has the opportunity to prove that he isn't as vindictive as they fear.

Related, see MPD Blue .

The MPD Command Staff Letter

Twelve high ranking Midland Police Department officers sent a letter dated April 2, 2007, to Midland, Texas, Mayor Mike Canon and the members of the City Council.  It took a lot of courage to sign and send that letter, and the result for them could be either good or very bad -- there doesn't appear to be a middle ground.

Specifically, the problem they have is the way City Manager Rick Menchaca has dealt with the Police Department, and by extrapolation, the other city departments over the course of the years in which Mr. Menchaca has been City Manager.

Excerpt:

Our problem is the dysfunctional condition that exists between the Midland Police Department and the city manager's office.  The following statements we believe to be the truth based primarily on our personal observations, the culture that has developed in our organization in recent years, and to a lesser degree, on what other credible people report.  The Command Staff of the Midland Police Department has no confidence in City Manager Rich Menchaca, Assistant City Manager Tommy Hudson, or their ability to effectively lead our organization.  This has been true for a number of years.  This is a result of approximately seven years of micro-management and behavior that is both belittling and berating of Chief John Urby, and his peers )other City department heads).  Our lack of confidence is also founded on what we believe are the vindictive actions that result from a difference of opinion with the city manager.

They make a strong argument.  And one of their requests, that the City Council go into Executive Session to discuss this problem, is already in the works with an Executive Session having been scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm today.

Reports indicate that the police department is presently understaffed by 19 officers.  And the current private sector hiring boom has probably severely limited the number of potential applicants.  And people say that there are roughly 25 police officers who have worked the sufficient period time to be currently or nearly eligible for full retirement.

I think that, for the most part, police officers have accepted the bargain of getting low pay in exchange for being able to hold such a powerful and respected position.  But with the Midland Police Department employees making 8% less than the average at comparable cities -- as the recent survey revealed -- that theory can carry only so far when we expect quality police officers.

We've got quality.  The Midland Police Department has a pretty good reputation with police departments in other cities.  In fact, a few years MPD Lieutenant Jim Sevey landed the job of Chief of Police of Nacogdoches, Texas.  [Link to Nacogdoches PD.]

So we are asking a lot of our police officers.  But however much pay is an issue, it wasn't even mentioned in the letter.  The concern of the Command Staff was the unacceptable condition of working under City Manager Rick Menchaca.  Read it for yourself.

Typepad has limitations on the size of images I can show, but hopefully the JPG images will be legible.  However, the letter in PDF format should be suitable for printing if need be.   Here's a special thanks to Joe Hathaway for assistance in transforming the letter into the PDF format. Download here:  Page01.pdf , Page02.pdf , Page03.pdf and Page04.pdf

Related, see MPD Blue, infra.

Paper or plastic? Glass or aluminum?

Those were the selections today in the park where I worked picking up litter.

There's something more than a little off putting about picking up other people's trash.  Yet in spite of an almost universal dislike of the job, KMB Executive Director Doreen Richardson managed to get 1,500 people to volunteer locally to pick up litter today.

It was the Don't Mess with Texas Trash-Off , and locally, Keep Midland Beautiful.

There were a lot of no-shows, possibly due to the cool, high wind -- that wind would literally fight you for your trash bag.  But there was a significant turnout in spite of the weather.  The plan was to get groups who were already organized for some purpose to commit to cleaning up an area of town.  But solos were welcome, so someone like me who isn't a member of any group whose members wanted to do this, could pitch in, pick up and carry out.

So I took a park, a big city park with lots of trash.  I had the whole place to my self, and I worked on that sucker from 7:30 am to 10:30 am.  That must be about nine hours in volunteer time, right?  Fortunately, the weather still isn't ideal, so the place should stay clean at least until tomorrow.  And perhaps the park patrons will be inspired to tidy up after themselves.  And here's a note to beer drinkers.  Glass bottles are prohibited in parks, but if you are going to do it anyway, at least remember that if you can't hold onto your bottle then it's time to give it up.

Nothing is too Southern or unusual for this show!

If there's anything to be learned in recent days it's that the tv networks so loathe negative stereotyping that they would never stoop so low as to ... oh wait, never mind.

Orlando-Based TV Production Co. Researching for New Southern Style Court Show!

Did your neighbor borrow your tractor and then wreck it in the process? Did your horse not receive the right shoes and then lost the race or threw you off because of the sloppy job? Were you stuck in bed for days due to the local hangouts new line of deer, fish, or duck dishes? Did you fall down during the two stepping at the local fair because of the bad structure of your cowboy boots and want the company that made the snake skins to know?

If so, WE WANT HEAR YOUR CASE!

We are currently seeking individual cases that have filed or are planning to file a SMALL CLAIMS case and would be willing for us to possibly document the process and have your case settled in a true southern style courtroom. If you are, WE WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE!

Nothing is too Southern or unusual for this show! We are looking for a variety of different types of small claims cases, issues between neighbors, friends, property damages, etc.  [ Emphasis added . ]

From Craigslist.

MPD Blue

The room was filled with blue at the Midland City Council meeting today.  The police were there in tall numbers to support any proposal for a pay raise.

Officer Raymond Miller made a passionate plea for  a raise saying that staffing was at a crisis point with a shortage of 19 police officers.

A survey had been made of cities with a population range of 50,000 to 350,000 to compare what Midland city employees were earning in comparison with other cities. And the results presented to the Council were revealing.

Both the Fire Department and the Police Department were 8% below average.  And entry level salaries were below average in those departments and in almost all the other categories as well.  City employees will probably get a raise, but the question now is how much?  The City Council plans to study the survey and make a decision so that any raise can be initiated on May 1, 2007.

The Council planned to hold an Executive Session to discuss the complaints against various city employees, including those against City Manager Rick Menchaca.  We will have to rely on our imaginations as to what the complaints against Mr. Menchaca are as the session will be closed to the public.  But you don't have to look to far to find someone in a city administrative position who would complain that Mr. Menchaca likes to micro-manage each department.  Mr. Menchaca has his fans, one of whom addressed the Council today complaining that the policemen should have kept their complaints private rather than calling a media conference.  [See Police officers condemn city manager in the Telegram.]

The heads of the departments got their positions the hard way, by earning them.  And assuming the complaints about the micro-managing are true, one has to question whether Mr. Menchaca's decisions are better than those of all of the department heads.

One thing that has brought this controversy to the attention of the rest of us is the announcement of the retirement of Police Chief John Urby.  The prevailing view is that he has done a terrific job as Chief, and he is very well liked by the citizens of Midland and the rank and file of the MPD.  However, there was speculation that he resigned because he got fed up with having to deal with Mr. Menchaca which was brought to a head in a disagreement over the punishment of a police officer.   [See Chief Urby Explains Why He is Retiring at CBS-7.]  The unidentified police officer's infraction involved the internet circulation of a video shot from a police car camera.  [See the video on Youtube here or here.]

But the Chief is a classy guy, so he certainly wouldn't go public with a reason like that.  [See City manager, chief deny rift cause of retirement.]  Chief Urby has been eligible for retirement for a few years, and he has said in speeches that he could retire at any time.  So we shouldn't be too surprised that he finally decided to do it.  But we also shouldn't be surprised if we later learn that Mr. Urby has landed a plum law enforcement position in another city.

The Policemen's Ball

The Police Department held it annual awards banquet on March 28, 2007.  The event was open to the public for a whopping $3 ticket price.  So it was too hard to pass up, and here are a few highlights.

I'm always impressed with citizen involvement, especially at the volunteer level.  And there were a pair of Citizens on Patrol volunteers who received an award for having logged in 900 patrol hours during 2006 and having helped apprehend car thieves, burglars and beer thieves.  Hey, give THEM a raise!

There were five retirees who were scheduled to receive a Medal of Service.  But only two of them showed up to get their medals.  Frankly, I don't know what to make of that.  Are they burned out so much by the time they reach retirement that they don't want anything else to do with the PD?  Maybe this relates back to the pay issue.

Finally, if you like a good story then here's the payoff for having read this far.  The most dramatic presentation was to a police officer for something that happened in September of 2006 in which he ended up fighting for his life.

It happened early one morning when the officer pulled over a car in a residential neighborhood.  The driver took off running, and the officer chased the guy on foot to a fence.  The guy started climbing the fence, and the officer drew his gun and yelled at him to stop.  The guy turned around and charged the officer.  A fight ensued between a 230 pound guy and a 130 pound police officer.  The guy grabbed  the gun, but the cop held on for dear life.  The gun discharged three times, and the third bullet struck the guy in the head killing him.  For the newspaper account, see Midland man dies in officer-involved shooting in the Telegram.

On March 28 the police officer received a Medal of Valor and a standing ovation.

I'm dreaming of a white Easter

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it -- a white Easter's Eve!

The Easter bunny certainly won't have any trouble hiding those eggs this time.

Mysterious Blue Jet Visitor

Yesterday afternoon a couple of interesting looking military style jet aircraft dropped in at Midland Airpark.  One was solid dark blue color, and the other was two tone desert sand with a red star on the tail.  And I'm sure I wasn't the only person on the freeway craning his neck for a better look.

The friendly folks at Basin Aviation were kind enough to relay their tail numbers:  N139CK and N39ED.  FAA records indicate that the planes are owned by Mach 1 Aviation, Inc, and Maya Properties LLC, respectively, of San Diego, CA.

Each plane was  an Aero Vodochody L-39, and according to Wikipedia, that's a jet trainer made in Czechoslovakia.  Many of them are now in private hands due to their relatively inexpensive resale value of somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 a piece.

In any event, they certainly made a dramatic entrance at a small airport in flyover country.

Calling all cars

Be on the look out for this guy.  This is the composite drawing of the suspect who robbed a fitness center the other day.

Here's the news release:

Midland Police now have a composite of a suspect wanted in connection with an Aggravated Robbery that took place last week.

On March 26, 2007, at approximately 7:30 a.m., a man entered the Super Shapes business located at 4612 Billingsley.  He held a gun and asked an employee, who was alone at the time, to sit down behind the desk and give him the money. She then gave him the moneybag, which contained an undetermined amount of cash. He then asked for her wallet but fled on foot before she gave it to him.

The moneybag was located behind the business.

At the time of the Aggravated Robbery, the suspect was wearing a red ball cap, dark blue t-shirt, and jeans. He is a Hispanic male.

Anyone with information about the suspect should contact the Midland Police Department at (432) 685-7108.

Weird Advertising

Here's an unusual form of advertisement -- a sort of product placement.  See that guy in the second row wearing the crown?  He placed himself in a position in a House hearing where the C-SPAN cameras would broadcast his image across the nation.  Putting aside the minor detail of viewers not being able to make out what he's advertising, in the world of the sandwich board ad-man he's got to be at the top of food chain.