Badges, Bars, and Badly Written Letters

The police blotter was good today; besides the secret marijuana lab in Kankakee, it included this item:


Man arrested


JOLIET — A dancing, spinning, allegedly intoxicated man didn't need a badge, but he still ripped one off a patrolman's shirt, police said.

Jonathan Hinton, 37, of 216 S. Richards St. was arrested on charges of battery, resisting a police officer and disorderly conduct following the midnight Tuesday incident near the corner of Collins Street and Elwood Avenue.

Officers on patrol reportedly spotted Hinton "dancing and spinning" in the middle of the northbound traffic lanes on Collins. Hinton also was carrying a cup of wine, police said.

The officers approached Hinton to "check his well-being," police said. He reportedly attempted to conceal his cup of wine next to his leg and "continued walking away" from them.

He also "refused to cooperate," police said, and would not leave the roadway.

When the officers attempted to remove him from the roadway, he ripped the badge from a patrolman's shirt, police said.


In other news, Melanie of Joliet reported that three out of four cars in front of Miss Camille's on Tuesday night were Cadillacs, each a different color. . . There must have been some roadside musical chairs going on on Essington Monday night, as Nate ran over a folding chair in the middle of the street on the way home from Spider-man. . . Whiskey Tango made its way to Naperville last night as Shannon, Joe and I spotted some Women's Workout World employees (one with a big orange 'fro) posing on top of the bar at the Samba Room. . .And finally, there's been some controversy in the world of education in J-town as the city is considering reopening Carl Sandburg Elementary, and sending some of the kids who go to Thomas Jefferson elementary to that school. Some poor misguided soul apparently couldn't get her facts straight and thought that Thomas Jefferson would be closed completely. In her anguish she wrote the following letter, a copy of which arrived with our Herald News today. All the spelling, punctuation, and grammar are exactly how they appear in the letter.



SAVE THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL


Dear residents the county is trying to close down Thomas Jefferson and relocate all students' handicapped or not to other schools. I wish I can stop them myself but I need your help save Thomas Jefferson. I like a lot of parents and teachers are trying to stop them from doing that. I wish you all could help us stop them from taking or kids of of the school that they have been going for years. Mostly from k-4 grade the kids like it there most parents like that school they are trying to send our kids to Carl Sandburg which just last year a student got out of hand and the teachers there took it upon their selves and hit the student. So please help fight to save THOMAS JEFFERSON SCHOOL that we mostly all probably went there one time or another.


I'm sure that "the county" will be moved by this eloquent plea. My favorite part is the assumption that "we mostly all probably went there one time or another. I mostly all probably went to Troy and Joliet Catholic, but not Thomas Jefferson. Let's just hope that whoever wrote this letter is not a product of Thomas Jefferson, because it doesn't say much for their language arts program.