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Mayor Hotline March 28 to April 3

 April 3, 2009 ⋅  Post a comment

DOGS DOMINATE THIS LENGTHY 9 PAGE INSTALLMENT. ON LEASH, OFF LEASH, COPPER SHOOTING DOG AND MORE. WORTH A READ

3/30/09
Jay Yost
Dog Shooting: I’m calling in response to the officer who shot the dog. That is the exact type of
officer that I’m talking about that needs to be removed from the force. His judgment is poor; his
first response is to pull a weapon instead of using a little forethought before he puts himself in
those situations; he created a worse situation by not thinking. These are the kind of officers who
need to be removed. These are the ones I’ve been talking about all along; they do not think in
advance, they think from hindsight, and they’re always judging things wrong. Then they lie
about it. If an officer says they’re afraid for their life when they go out on patrol, then they
shouldn’t be an officer. That is a problem; if they’re always afraid; their first reaction is to use
deadly force. Now let’s get rid of the chickens and let’s put in some real men and women in
there that can do the job and can do it with forethought. Thank you.
BPD

3/27/09
Anonymous
Code Enforcement: I’m calling about Cherry Lane, 83705, Boise, ID. We have a huge problem
on this street. We have people like the Evergreen Apartments which have a Conditional Use
Permit for a children’s public playground in that apartment area which now contains a chicken
coop and a bunch of garbage. (NAME DELETED BY BG), has already been prosecuted and his car
hauler is out there where there is no sidewalk and the children have to walk around it to go to
school. It’s a huge health risk for the children to have to walk around that because the oncoming
traffic comes straight at them. They’ve prosecuted him and given him a year’s probation to
clean the place up; he has 37 non-working cars, and now they allow him to keep that car hauler
on the street. This is a public health risk for the children in our area; the Evergreen Apartments
are a huge risk for crime and I just wonder why you’ve given up on this area. We have police
protection but there are a lot of people here who are elderly; they have lived here 57, 37, 44 years
and it’s being taken over by crime. We would like to know why the city doesn’t seem to care;
even if they investigate somebody like (DELETED), they let him leave his cars on the street. He
used to have 9, which he claimed would slow down traffic and now he has one car hauler which
he keeps his motorcycles in, but it’s parked in retribution in front of the people that complained
by his house. So all of his cars that were complained about are parked in front of the houses of
the people who complained. It seems like you don’t want crime in this area and the people who
have lived here for a long time can hold down the fort, but there’s just no teeth in the part about
City Planning and Coding. The Coding department said they would do something about it but
they never do; it took 7 years before all those cars were wiped out of (DELETED)’s place and
that’s on Cherry Lane, which is registered, but yet they’re building back up and they’re
constantly gaining more cars again which is what he was taken to court in the first place about.
Evergreen Apartments doesn’t seem to be a problem; they’re on a conditional use permit for a
playground to be where the chicken coops are and the people who live there, one burned down
and they don’t do anything about that. This area has the potential to be a good neighborhood and
it’s being brought down by a lot of crime. We have plenty of police protection because it needs
it, but it wouldn’t need it if the codes were met. I’m really concerned about the area going
downhill; we’ve lived here for many, many years and never has it been to point where code
enforcement doesn’t care. Even though they care in some respects and they prosecute people,
they don’t do anything about it. Thank you.
PDS

3/28/09
Bill Erickson
2236 Leadville
Boise, ID 83706
484-1131
Dog Off Leash: I’m calling this morning to let you guys know I live about 100 ft. from Ivywild
Park. I was born and raised on Leadville and now I’m living here in my grandparents’ old house
and I have a Golden Retriever that I walk every morning and exercise with a Frisbee. She is
totally under my control and the animal control officer cornered me shortly after 7:00 a.m. this
week and told me that I’m going to be getting a ticket and stuff. I have a couple of problems
with that. My dog is totally under voice command; my big brother has been training canines
since Viet Nam and was a 25 year veteran of the Spokane Sheriff’s Department as a canine
handler. I know exactly what I’m doing with my dog out there and yet I got harassed by
enforcement officers and what I don’t see at Ivywild are regular police officers enforcing other
codes. For example, there’s a port-a-pottie that’s been there all winter while the regular
bathroom is shut down. The port-a-potty is placed about 5 ft. from a storm drain and some kids
knocked it over a month ago. All the effluent, feces, urine, what have you drained out of the
thing into the storm drain. That’s a code violation, not to mention it does environmental damage
to our river. It pollutes our river, our precious Boise River. That thing was put there by you
guys, by the city, so I would like to see a little bit more level playing field here. If you guys are
going to break code enforcements and pollute our Boise River, then I don’t understand how you
can come and harass me for exercising my dog. I can’t run my dog because I’ve had both my
knees operated on; throwing the Frisbee or the ball for her is how I keep her healthy and in
shape. That’s just how I do it and I’m not going to change how I do things; I’m not going to load
her up and drive somewhere and waste gas and pollute the air so I can legally exercise her at Fort
Boise. There are other Code Enforcement violations; there are softball teams that are leaving
trash everywhere, most of them are Mexican Nationals and they don’t even speak English.
There are guys who have totally out of control dogs that are running rampant; they have no voice
command over them. Now in the middle of the afternoon, I never see cops or animal control
officers during that time. I’ve made several calls to Boise Police to try to get a handle on people
speeding on Leadville Avenue where there are speed bumps, slow signs, children playing, city
park, we’re 3 blocks from Garfield Elementary so kids are walking to school all the time and I
have a few people that live around here that I have been trying to get cornered by the cops to
slow down. I’ve approached the people myself but they’ve refused to accommodate me now. I
hope you can digest all that and make sense of it and understand why I am getting very frustrated
with the city. I just see this hypocrisy going on that is driving me nuts. If I’m going to get
tickets and hassled for exercising my very well-behaved dog in the super early hours in the
morning when no one else is using the park, then I damn well better see these other violations
being taken care of. Thank you.
M/CC BPR
Action Taken: contacted

3/28/09
Lorraine Graves
7586 N. Peppermill Wy.
83714
340-0029
Humane Society: This is regarding Boise’s noise ordinance for excessive dog barking. I filed a
complaint against my neighbor on this issue; it’s been going on for about two years. I spoke to
the owner; I complained to Animal Control several times and I logged the barking by date and
time well over a year and a half period of time. I was intimidated by my neighbor and other
neighbors who were confrontational in the beginning. I was informed by my neighbor that the
city doesn’t do anything with complaints; total waste of time. One of his male neighbor friends
came to my home to tell me I needed to put up with his neighbor’s dog and that because I was an
outsider, I needed to know that the neighborhood was a certain way and I better get used to it.
Leading up to this complaint, I was also discouraged by the Director of the Humane Society who
said that I stood little chance of any enforcement. What ensued was that the City Attorney, Jill
Musser, and her team, the defendant, and “good old boys” from the neighborhood concluded
there were opposing views and she could not go forward with the complaint because she did not
believe she could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. She did not ask me to bring witnesses or
evidence; she simply dismissed the complaint on the word of the defendant and his witnesses.
My daughter is a District Attorney in another state and she is appalled at the way this was
handled. Jill Musser, City Attorney and Prosecutor, also offered that there were just too many
cases and it was her job to screen out the complaints. This probably has more to do with it than
anything. When I first spoke to her, she wanted to pursue a large fine as a deterrent, yet
suddenly dropped that tactic. Her decision was to rely solely on the defendant’s witnesses,
which in no way takes into account that none of these witnesses has a home that is little more
than 5 ft. from this dog, as mine is, and none have been on my property, in my house, in my
backyard and listened to the noise generated from this dog. Obviously the noise diminishes as
you get further from this dog, but this attorney didn’t have the intellect to be able to discern that.
It would seem if someone said they were an eyewitness to a crime, but they were too far away to
see anything, how could they be a witness? I have witnesses that have been in my home, heard
the loud incessant barking and said in no could they handle it. One workman in my home said I
needed to kill the dog as he has had to do in his own situation in the past. Furthermore, it is well
established that this breed of dog, Great Pyrenees, a huge dog, is known for having a problem
with excessive loud barking, and from what I read owners shouldn’t be surprised when neighbors
call the police to report the noise. The sheriff, Heidi Fortell, who wrote the citation, said the dog
barked for the half hour that she was in my home, and if she was subpoenaed, she would say so.
It should also be known that the defendant lets his dog out to wander and use neighboring
properties, including my own, as a bathroom. Sometimes, this huge dog frightens passers-by
when he goes after them, which the owner finds amusing. Also, I have observed the defendant’s
house painter to repeatedly pour paint down the street drain. This is not exactly an upstanding
citizen. Why does Boise want to protect and enable such an individual, and why do you run such
a sham of a legal system?
IHS BPD Legal

March 28 – April 3, 2009
3/29/09
Anonymous Female
Dog Shooting: I am just outraged about the Boise police killing that dog, about killing people.
What is going on with Lynn Hightower? She constantly defends the police force, because that’s
what she’s paid to do, I suppose, but it’s very suspicious. Can’t she say they were wrong and
they were investigating it, but no, she never says that? I want to know what’s going on with the
police department and why they’re getting away with shooting innocent dogs, innocent people,
and committing murder. What is going on? The Mayor needs to investigate this and talk to
Lynn Hightower. Doesn’t he have any power over the police department or is this just a police
state now; they can do anything they want and get away with it. What’s going on?
BPD

3/29/09
Carol Clark
Garden City
Dog Shooting: I just left a message. I just wanted to add that I think that if something isn’t done
about the cowardly actions of the police department and the cowardly actions of Lynn
Hightower, then Mayor Bieter is a coward too.
BPD

3/30/09
Vanita Hepler
Dogs Off Leash: I’m calling about the dog off-leash proposals. I have four points I would like
to make. First, I think the proposal is mean-spirited and narrow. I think if we’re honest, we
know that damage has been done to the foothills not by dogs but by humans, especially those on
bicycles. To put all blame on off-leash dogs seems really mean spirited. I think dog owners
would be fine with the compromise and perhaps we could designate within the city certain trails
that can be totally off-leash dog trails. Two, I’m astounded by the lack of understanding of dogs
and their needs; it reminds me of people who think the only good wolf is a dead wolf. Large
dogs need to be able to run and I’m not talking about tearing up the environment. It would be
sad if the city couldn’t have any large dogs because there’s no place to allow them to get some
exercise. I think if you pass these proposals, fewer dogs will be adopted from the Humane
Society and more people will take their large dogs to the Humane Society. Three, I am elderly,
over 65, and walking in the foothills is good exercise. I have great concerns about the safety if I
have to go outside of the city; in the city I’m close to medical care if I have an emergency. If I
have to drive out, are there parking spaces, are there toilets, are there emergency phones, and is
there any kind of medical service that will be available? Four, I certainly was in favor and paid
to support the proposition to pay taxes and acquire the foothills, but in the future if the
community is going to be so narrow minded and mean spirited, I will not support these kinds of
proposals. Thank you so much.
M/CC BPR

3/30/09
Jeanette Limbert
5711 Sites
Boise, ID 83705
570-4002
Dogs On Leash: I’m calling in regard to the implementation of dogs on leash in the lower Hulls
Gulch and Military Reserve. I think it’s totally ridiculous. You are taking away every right that
we, as citizens, have in this city. You tax us beyond belief and you’re not listening to the people
who voted you into office. I did vote for Tibbs and I did vote for Bieter, but next time I will not
vote for either of those two people, even if I can’t stand the other guy. If you allow this to go
through, then more dogs will end up going to the pound because if they have no exercise, they
will end up destroying property and people will get rid of their dogs. They’re going to make
more dogs be murdered at the Humane Society because of this stupid law.
M/CC BPR

3/30/09
Jan T. Petersen
3361 Forsythia Dr.
Boise, ID 83703
336-2136
Trespass: I’m asking for protection from people loitering or entering onto my property without
my permission. I have been the sole occupant of this house since November 19, 2008 and I’m
interested in keeping everyone who is not invited off my property. I would appreciate police
cooperation with this effort. Do not harass me; do not bother me; do not enter my garage; do not
steal my property; do not enter my home without my permission. I appreciate your cooperation
with me. Thank you.
BPD

3/30/09
Lynn Lubamersky
791 Harcourt Rd.
Boise, ID 83702
388-1068
Yellow Book: I’m calling because I just received a Yellow Book put on my front porch. I regard
these excess telephone books to be garbage because I would like to go and throw it on their front
yard. So, I really would like to see the Mayor and City Council charge or ban this practice and
fine the people who engage in it because it’s not free speech, it’s garbage. Not many in the 21st
century use one phone book let alone the many that are delivered on our front porch. I tried to
contact Yellow Book and ask them not to deliver to me next year. They are in Cedar Rapids IA.
They wouldn’t give me the name of the local distributor. Many of my neighbors are elderly and
leave Boise in the fall and return in the spring. In the meantime these phone books sit on their
porch which alerts burglars that the residents are gone. I’d like a council member to call me back
to get rid of these. Thanks.
M/CC
Action Taken: contacted

3/30/09
Annabeth Elliott
571-0462
Dogs On Leash: I’m calling to voice my support for the new dog policy that’s being proposed
where many of the trails are on-leash only. I really support that; I am in the foothills a lot and I
think for a number of reasons, this needs to be undertaken to protect our assets in the foothills.
In addition, I like the policy, but I would like to see at least one trail be no dogs at all. I have
several friends who are deathly afraid of dogs and also small children, and it would be nice if
they had just one trail to go on where they didn’t have to worry about dogs being off leash and
out of control.
M/CC BPR

3/30/09
Cathy Galdos
930 E. Riverpark Ln.
Boise, ID 83702
Dogs On Leash: I am protesting the planned project to make most of the trails in the Rivers to
Ridges on leash for dogs. I’ve lived here all my life and it’s not been that way before. I walk my
dogs up in the foothills frequently; I’ve not seen a problem and I’m thinking that it is the bikers’
agenda that’s being pushed here because there haven’t been problems with dogs. With bikers
that I have witnessed or with other dogs, and I’m there quite extensively. So I vociferously
protest the plans to make most of these trails on-leash only.
M/CC BPR

3/30/09
Larry Mendenhall
1847 Glocester St.
Boise, ID
Dog Shooting: I am calling regarding an incident that happened over the weekend, a dog
shooting at a police call for disturbing the peace. This matter was brought to my attention from
some friends of my son who were at the party, and the owner, David Hinkley, is a person known
to me. I’ve listened to the news reports and I’ve tried to make sure that I’m making an objective
decision based on what I’ve heard from these kids and also from the news reports. I believe that
there is enough questionable conduct on the part of the Boise City police that this matter needs to
be investigated. Any time a weapon is discharged in the City of Boise, I think that the citizens
deserve a full explanation and an accurate explanation as to why that discharge occurred. I
would like the Mayor and the City Council to request the dispatch case from the police officers;
I’ve heard varying stories about the complainant complaining about a dog fight, was one of the
reports I heard. I believe that this matter warrants additional investigation. I am also going to
contact the Boise City Ombudsman, who I believe is charged with investigating these things and
I realize that all police reports are not public knowledge, but I believe the Boise Ombudsman
does have access to that information. Again, I feel strongly; in light of one of the things that
have happened in Boise over the last 16 years that I’ve lived here, that there is a very good
reason that this matter needs to be investigated. I will additionally pursue it through the City
Council and also through the Boise City Ombudsman. Feel free to give me a call if someone
would like to respond to my concerns, otherwise I will try to use the appropriate channels to
make sure that this matter is thoroughly investigated. Thank you very much.
BPD

3/30/09
Mike Yeoman
412-7199
VRT: What you do with the city buses, just auction them off. I might have an idea you want to
know.
Action Taken: contacted

3/31/09
Jeff Blain
8900 W. Midland
Boise, ID 83704
Dog Shooting: I’m very disturbed about the incident that took place with the police and the
young man’s dog. It seems like it’s an all too frequent occurrence in this city that the police
excuse their behavior when they shoot and then try to find out what happened later. I remember
an incident a couple of years ago with a young man and stick. This incident with the dog is
totally unjustified and I just believe that the police either need better training or we need a higher
caliber of individual that we’re accepting into the Police Department; one or the other needs to
take place. As a citizen, I would be more than a little nervous about a policeman coming to my
door thinking that if I had a spatula in my hand, that I was going to stab him and he shoots me
three times. I think that it’s gotten to the point that it’s, one, happening far too often, and two,
that there is no one seeming to bring this issue to the forefront that is simply saying, “Why is it
that we’re reacting this way?” I can’t believe that a little dog is of any imminent danger to a
6’5”, 250 lb. policeman. Also, there is the fact that he has other weapons at his disposal, and if it
was an item of danger, he could have reacted entirely differently. I find it inexcusable and I
think the professionalism in our Police Department is totally lacking, and I suggest that we
allocate some funds to further some crisis training for these individual before we allow them on
the streets. Once again, we’ve had too many incidents in the last few years and I think that it’s
time somebody steps up and makes these people accountable. Thank you.
BPD

3/31/09
Susan Garrett
4813 Irving St.
Boise, ID 83706
Allied Waste: The reason that I’m calling is because we’ve had a problem in my area for quite
some time regarding a beeping garbage truck every morning between the hours of 4:00 and 5:00,
sometimes earlier. I do understand that they need to get their job done; however they’re in a
residential community and it is not welcome by me or other neighbors. I contacted them last
week regarding the same problem. I requested that the information be given to the owner of the
company and a supervisor did then call me back to instigate more issues. I believe that it can be
stopped; I expect it to stop; I see it in the law as illegal, and I would like that to be resolved.
Please do not add my phone # to your computer as this is a residence. Thank you.
PW

3/31/09
Mellie Fields
Smithsonian Article: I’m sure you already know this, but in the April Smithsonian Magazine
under their series of articles “My Home Town”, Boise is in it this time, and it’s written by
Anthony Doerr and it’s beautiful. I though you would like to know that.
3/31/09

Barry Lacow
867-1119
Zoo Boise: I’m a disabled person. I joined Zoo Boise well over three weeks ago and I still
haven’t received my membership card. I’m a grandparent. I called no less than four times and
received no reply. Every time I call they tell me she’s not in; they told me they’re way behind on
membership cards. I think that’s disgusting for Boise to have that in their zoo. That’s just wrong
to have to wait three or four weeks or months for membership cards; that is wrong. I think that’s
disgusting for Boise.
BPR

4/1/09
Jan Petersen
3361 Forsythia Dr.
Boise, ID 83703
Break In: It appears that we have had some break-in’s. I would like extra patrol. My car on
3/14, seemed to have its driver’s side front tires slashed, so I went to Costco to get new tires.
Within two weeks the tires were totally flat and I had to call AAA to get air in them, following a
lock-out on Fort St. That was my second lock-out in a month, having dropped the keys into my
trunk, putting a package in at home, in the garage – that was the first one. The second one was
outside of the Grapevine Club at 15th and Fort. The second guy who responded was a Minute
Man, as I was told by AAA that it would be. It was somebody who was trying to sell me? His
name was Chad. He also had a device to open up the car through the window. Part of my
actuator is gone on the right rear car door; it could have been caused by one of these slim-jim’s
but I don’t know. That part is $200. Before I start making an insurance report as to loss
regarding my home and vehicle through Travelers’ Insurance, I would like to know that a crime
has actually been committed here. I almost lost my life a second time in trying to get to Costco
for those new tires. I was given some wrong tires that likewise had difficulties. I went back for
an exchange on my birthday, the 29th, and that exchange took 6 hours. I came home and it
looked like our shop had been entered into supposedly through a door that is impossible to open,
and some paper work stolen out of there which may include and does include the vehicle titles.
So there’s also possibly an identity theft situation going on here. At any rate, I would appreciate
police protection in my neighborhood, if you would. Apparently none of my neighbors see a
thing. That’s just the beginning, so I would appreciate speaking with Sergeant Rapp who’s on
duty this morning between 6:15 and 6:42 now. If he would return my call, I would appreciate it.
This is no joke, my vehicle is at Larry Miller Honda Service; they have both keys; they need to
re-key a lock that was supposedly picked on the inside of my car. The keying of my key pad has
been changed; you have to have the code for that and it has become very extensive, seeming like
somebody has put something into the gas tank, and so on. Thank you; I need police protection.
BPD

4/1/09
Anonymous
Graffiti: Hi, I reported some graffiti to the dispatch line like you want about a month ago and
nothing has been done to it, not even any of the pink paint dots to let us know that they’ve been
there. So anyway, it’s at far northeast corner of the Special Olympics Headquarters near the
intersection of 30th and Main, 30th and Idaho. It is on the back side of the building at the far
northeast corner. Thanks.
BPD

4/2/09
Dorothy Ware
3110 Crescent Rim Dr. Apt. 407
Boise, ID 83706
343-9373
Transit Center: I would like to suggest that the hole on 8th St. would be an ideal place for the
city transit; it would be close to the Grove and close to everything else downtown. I just think
that’s a good idea. Thank you.
Action Taken: contacted

4/3/09
Leon Baker
989-2174
Transit: I have a suggestion for transportation and that is that we set up a very simple costeffective
system, I think, using ski lifts. You could put four-person chairs, like the ski chairs up
at Bogus, and it could go to a hub and let people on and off to go to Micron, HP, downtown or
whatever. You could enclose them or use gondolas or whatever. They take up very little space
and could go right down the middle of the freeway; you could put solar power to them without
much trouble, and they’re green. Just enclose them, put in a little light if you need or they can
have an open window if you will or just ride right across town; it’s a beautiful view of our great
city. Anyway I just thought that might be a good suggestion; it fits the area well and maybe it
would work.
Action Taken: contacted

Lady from Sacramento called: 3/27/09 PM, 3/28/09 AM, 3/28/09 AM, 3/28/09 PM, 3/29/09
AM, 3/29/09 PM, 3/30/09 AM, 3/31/09AM, 3/31/09 PM, 4/2/09 PM,
Page 10

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