Posted by acedog (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sounds like a inside job. i hope the police catch these crooks soon and the judge give them the max sentence.

Posted by Lilsister (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with you acedog this does sound like an inside job. It appears that someone had information about this equipment. There is also a rumor going around in the community that someone was let go earlier because of missing items and indications of wrong doing. Of course, like so many other things giong on in this system that the public should have been made aware of, It has gone not reported.

Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 2:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

We are all aware of the high prices we must pay to purchase and maintain lawn care equipment. Like the school district did with the school bus business, it may be a wise move to have all of the maintenance work, including yard maintenance, to be contracted out. Several advantages for doing this would insure that the school grownds are mowed on a regular/timely manner plus maintenance projects can be tackled by a larger crew of people. I believe the school system would come out ahead by doing this, just the way they have with the school buses. Projects would get done much quicker if the work was contracted out.

Posted by Swapmeet (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 6:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

That is a good idea. It would probably be best overall to contract out the services.

Posted by ptrsdoe (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 6:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hmmm..I suppose the school didn't have insurance? That seems odd.

Posted by oldschool (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 6:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Oh yea this is a inside job? How lucky can a thief get to steal a loaded trailer and truck with this kind of stuff all ready to go and what about the keys? ?????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????

Come on Natchez Please don't show your ignorence to this crime!

Posted by foreveryoung (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 7:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

That's the Natchez School District for ya! UNORGANIZED! Dr. Barnett would be a great superintendent....why not let him take over!!

Posted by generoberts (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 7:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You asked for it Natchez......several years ago. Well, now you got it!

Posted by kpage (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 7:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Why not ask the Sheriff to fly around in a helicopter to see if someone stowed the whole kit and kaboodle in the county? It's worth a try.

Posted by ladyrider (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 7:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good idea, NtzMom55, about outsourcing. You are so right, foreveryoung, about Dr. Barnett. We need a superintendent who has come up through the ranks. Dr. Barnett is level headed and knows the Natchez School System.

Posted by docmackel (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 7:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

sad times bro sad times

Posted by momoftwo23 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 7:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Why would the keys be left in the vechile? Especially after there had already been one theft. Also, you would think someone would have parked it where it could have been watched after the last theft. That just goes to show they never really cared about having to replace it to begin with.

Posted by hossfly (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

When it is Natchez High as a victim, it is all their fault. When it is Trinity, lets all feel sorry for them.

Posted by kpage (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I believe if the school board could have afforded such equipment, they could have afforded a security system with cameras, too. I can just picture one of the "higher-ups" saying, "we don't need no cameras...ain't nobody gonna steal this stuff". (famous last words in this day and time)

Posted by humorme (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This crime will be solved by the weekend. A big white truck with the school district on it? This was such an inside job I'll bet they already know who did it and are just waiting to find the goods. Come on NPD you can do it!

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Arrests — Sunday
John E. Holmes, 49, 51 West Wilderness Road, on charges of simple assault (domestic violence) and resisting arrest. Held without bond.

Wonder what he was assaulting?

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It could have been someone from another county. How much will someone get for a truck with no legal registration? How about a trailer?
This sounds like a job done by some kids. They may have had guts but maybe not the smarts.

Posted by ncogg (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

(The cougar did it!!!) Now that is really sad. This sounds like an inside job for real.

Posted by livinalovelylife (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Did they still the gas can, too? Let's just see who opens a lawn mowing business next week, lol! This is definitely an inside job. Exactly how do you steal that much stuff, was everything packed and ready for the thief?

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Ntzmom55 that is a great idea...

Why wasn't it insured??

I would also think it was an inside job....

Go get them NPD

Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on June 17, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Some head(s) should roll at NASD in the maintenance department and probably some head(s) above the department.

Posted by wifetoone (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 11:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)

HMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by lilredhead (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 12:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm with kpage----hello cameras!!!! You can go to Radio Shack or online and get a monitor and four cameras that show on a split screen. You can hook it to a vcr or dvd and record. $499.99 for the equipment. I have one at my house and it work great.

Posted by flylo (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I bet those mowers are heading to some big city where some of our South of the border neighbors have a lawn service.
This is happening all the time in places like Houston and Orlando, it's big business to steal equipment for lawn service, and then sell somewhere else to your friends.

Posted by overthehill60 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I havn't seen anything about Vaughn's City Drug store in Ferriday being robbed Monday. They used a bb guns, but still meant businaess. Natchez Democrat get do your job and let us know what happened.

Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Most people who do lawn care on a regular basis do leave the equipment and such already loaded up for the next day to save time. Maybe the truck was hot-wired, it doesn't say the keys were in it, and it also doesn't say no insurance. Read the article people, not just the comments.
However that being said, I too am afraid this stuff is in Mexico,or at the least Texas by now. We are too trusting as a whole, and unfortunately we don't live in Mayberry any more.

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The county has plenty of secured fenced yards to lock up equipment and keep it guarded. If equipment cannot be locked up then the sheriff should post a deputy on guard duty. This is ridiculous.

County and School employees should take more pride in their work and prevent such theft

Someone should be held accountable and fired

When I was working for the State of MS and was responsible for equipment, buildings, people, job being done, etc I took it for granted that if I ever allowed theft to occur due to my negligence or poor planning then I would be punished in some manner. It never happened because I kept all "my" tractors, mowers, tools, buildings, and all the gear we used locked up and counted. I would keep an eye on stuff and make sure nothing happened because I cared enough and wanted my projects to be successful without unnecessary replacements and costs. We had a budget to stick to and if I had allowed accidents or theft then the project would fail. I took pride in my job.

I pay a lot of taxes for that equipment and the wages for the people that work with that gear. It really makes me mad that this has happened twice in such a short time. Someone is making a fool out of us all in Adams Co and I want his tail in jail and I want an example made out of this so that all county employees know that if you steal, you will get caught and you will go to jail for the maximum allowed time.

We can do better. That gear is supposed to be locked up and secured, the managers/supervisors and operators should all be put on leave without pay until some information comes out and arrests are made. Someone knows who these thieves are, someone on the county payroll set it up so that the thieves could gain access and make a getaway. We're talking a truck and mowers that someone had to have keys for.

This is way out of control and we need to make sure that the county supervisors, sheriff, school board and every county employee related to this equipment are investigated and raise hell over this nonsense.

I want some hard, long jailtime for these thieves.

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)

And for anyone to be talking about replacing this equipment is ludicrous

Talk about not caring and an apathetic attitude!!

I don't want another penny spent on replacement because obviously what the county school system has is not being taken care of.

Make em cut grass with a swing blade, maybe then they'll take care of all that nice mowing equipment and lock stuff up and take some pride in their job, in their equipment, and in the county for which they work.

This makes me sick, and fightn' mad.

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Actually - on the subject of outsourcing the jobs of grass cutting/landscaping

The county would save money if the BOS would come down hard on it's managers and make them toe the line on getting jobs done efficiently and with pride.

An independent private contractor is trying to make a profit above what it costs, the county does/should not.

Come on people, cutting grass and landscaping for the schools is not that hard of a job. Just fire the uncaring idiots that are allowing these thefts, fire the crews that don't take care of their gear. I know there are people in this county that need jobs and would love to work for the county and get the job done right and take care of their equipment.

Too many people have gone soft in their work ethic and morality. It's time to get back to basics and realize what it takes to get any job done right. I know from growing up here that there are a lot of people that think that working for the city or county is a side job and they abuse those jobs every chance they get by using county/city vehicles for personal use, stealing tools, shopping while they should be working, etc. It's time we got back to having pride in what we do and taking personal responsibility for how things are done.

Posted by cooper3k1 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here in McComb, we do not "hire" anyone to take care of the schoolyard's grasscutting and landscaping. They are done by the selected prisoners. There is someone that watches over them while all the grass is cut and weedeating is done. It seems to work well here. Maybe Natchez needs to consider this. It saves money and gives the prisoners a way to pay back society.

Posted by ITSME (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well Krogers just to let ya know for the most part the city/county have some excellent employees some even have to use there own vehicles when they get called in all hours of night so that the higher up Managers etc. can have a ride to haul there familys around on weekends and such so to get it straight not all are theives and as someone else mentioned sometimes the trailor and lawnmowers are left on to get out early the next morning before it gets so hot.

Posted by rattlesnake (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Cooper3k1 you are right . Just let the prisoners do the work. And catch a cougar and train it to guard them.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Whew, ITSME likes run-on sentences.

Posted by cooper3k1 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 4:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

LOL...Hey obamayama, How's your day? The closer it gets to 5:00 the better I am!!

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 5:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Everyone who buys insurance, that is property insurance, will pay in the long run!

Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on June 17, 2008 at 7:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The only insurance that pays in the long run is life insurance. Now, whether that is a good investment is questionable.

Property insurance is a current outflow of funds for catastrophic/unexpected losses and everyone of us hope we never have to collect. It is not an investment but a protection against the loss of assets.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

25 years...NO parole...NO exceptions..Fight fire with Fire. It will certainly deter theft. I guarentee it will help;

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A good friend of mine was going to work at a prison,but the immigrants they were holding had so many rights they don,t allow them to do anything,even wash the dishes in the galley. We had to wash dishes and fight in Vietnam,but illegals have huge amounts of rights,so much he had to go to 3 weeks of school to learn all their rights and privliges.
They have to be handled with the greatest of care and not angered in any way. This country is getting sicker and stupier by the second.soon all common sense and life as we have known it will dissappear because we need to take a HARD very HARD stand on all these issues, the babysitting and being afraid of every tiny right of all these criminals is absurd. Any self respecting idiot on the brink of insanity knows better than some of these laws and the people who create them...If we don,t get tough they will take all we,ve worked for and kill us all and laugh while their doing it.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you weren,t on the front lines fighting for our country don,t say, you can understand. You might think you do,but i promise you,you have no idea what it,s like to capture the same hill over and over,only to have to stop at a certain line and place, then have to do it over and over again.

Posted by lilredhead (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Agreed texasranger! Where are my rights? It seems the only right I have is to pay taxes! What kind of world are my poor innocent children going to grow up in? It breaks my heart.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The bleeding hearts and softies will let the country fall into the hands of thug,thieves,terroists,anyone who wants to take it over while screaming for their rights. My buddys life stopped when both his legs were blown off in Vietnam. Our country is going to the weak and the ones who scream equality and then never give, just take and plunder.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Most judges give very little punishment, it almost never fits the crime, they never have to pay for what they destroy that people work hard and sweat for,they laugh at our law system, It,s a huge joke, at the least.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Take back the streets,make it so hard they will be afraid just for once...come down so hard they will beg and scream for mercy. Then give them a boot in the rear about every other step. Like the do in Maricopa county in Arizona,watch the program they run on Trutv sometimes. They have a real prison,no frills,they run it to the letter of the law,everyone is treated the same,,no excuses,same punishment for everyone and it is strictly enforced. Their theory is you wont want to come back to their prison.................EVER

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 10:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have saw that texasranger it is a good show...I think they all should be run like that....Where are the rights of the ones they harmed or stole from etc.....

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 11:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well Boston won!!!!

Posted by singlemom (anonymous) on June 18, 2008 at 5:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with you, foreveryoung, that Dr. Barnett would do a great job as superintendent. At least he cares about the school district. Why are we bringing in outsiders as new administrators?

Posted by charliebug5865 (anonymous) on June 18, 2008 at 7:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with you tx. ranger! thats exactly whats gonna happen,if the good citizens could flush out the career criminals,we might have a fighting chance to save the great country we live,but most of the politicians now are criminally minded now,so I THINK THAT WE ARE ALL GONNA GET TO SEE LIFECHANGING EVENTS THAT WILL CHANGE OUR U.S.A. 4-EVER. I truly beleive we are living in the ENDTIMES.Its really scary, if you think about it, we may not live long enough to see it,but I AM SURE OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL BE SUBJECTED TO ENDTIMES!