On The Fence With Ken Kalthoff

The Dallas County Sheriff’s race is a wild ride this year.  Today the largest deputies organization endorsed Republican Lowell Cannaday over his April 8th run off opponent and their former boss Jim Bowles.  The Dallas County Sheriff’s Association says it’s members do not want Bowles back.  Cannaday is the former Irving Police Chief and a former Dallas Police commander.  But last week, Bowles was endorsed by BOTH of the defeated Republican primary candidates, Cockrell Hill Police Chief Catherine Smit and Mesquite Police Lieutenant Charlie Richmond.  The Republican winner will face Democratic Sheriff Lupe Valdez in November.  Many political observers were surprised to see Valdez beat 3 other Democratic challengers in the primary to avoid a run off after failing to get the county jail certified in any of the 4 years she’s been in office.  Bowles lost the job in the Republican primary 4 years ago under the cloud of a corruption investigation that never produced any convictions.  Republicans want to win the sheriff’s office back!  But Dallas County gets more and more Democratic every year. 

 That’s my view from on the fence.  What do you think?? 

Thursday’s story was about rampant Metal Theft in Dallas.. The Pleasant Grove Business Association wants Dallas to forbid scrap dealers from buying metal from anyone other than licensed electricians, plumbers and contractors… people with good reason to be in possession of scrap metal items.  The city says it is already doing all the law allows, but that it will review the idea.  Councilman Steve Salazar said that used auto parts dealers don’t face such restrictions, even though stolen cars and auto parts are a tremendous problem.  Dallas scrap metal dealers tell me they are already seeking identification for all sellers and keeping extensive records.  The business people who’ve repeatedly been vandalized by metal thieves think the excuses are weak.  What do you think??

Try as you might to ride the fence, it’s not always possible to just remain detached from what you see.  My assignment Wednesday was a custody hearing for the two young boys thrown off a freeway overpass early March 12, 2008 by their mom, Khandi Busby.  What a sad situation.  Here’s a picture of Derrick Tennison, now 6, and Gary Ford, now 8. 

The older boy was still in the hospital recovering Wednesday.  A judge ordered the state to retain custody of the boys.   Several family members hope to care for them in the future.

This picture of Busby was taken by Dallas County Sheriff’s deputies at the hospital where she was recovering after jumping off the bridge herself.

Busby had been in lesser trouble with the law before.  These are other mug shots taken of her at the Dallas County Jail. 

Despite her past troubles, her sisters say she loves the boys and her family could never imagine this behavior.  Her father says she suffers from bipolar disorder and evidently had not been taking her medication.  They say she was quite normal years back.  Her appearance in her high school graduation picture is much different.

Are serious psychiatric problems any excuse for such shocking behavior?  The court is not treating it that way.  She’s being held on $2 million bond. 

But, how can you argue that this woman needs medical as well as judicial attention?  Her father and sisters say they recognized that she was extremely disturbed just prior to the incident and tried unsuccessfully to get her help earlier.  Her father says they were on the way to a psychiatric hospital that morning when he stopped at a filling station to gas up his car and she bolted for the bridge.   How will those boys ever understand what happened to them?   

Mental health problems are real and many families struggle with them.  The most caring relatives may not understand how different the world looks through the eyes of a person with psychiatric trouble.  Undoubtedly Khandi Busby’s behavior is not indicative of all bipolar people.  Hopefully it will not cause further stigma that keeps other people from seeking help.  Perhaps it will show that mental health care is crucial.

A famous actor has argued against psychiatric medication and care.  The Busby family does not agree with him.  

Some thoughts from the fence.. sometimes an uncomfortable place..

Hello.. and thanks for stopping by! 

I like to stay up on the fence.  If you jump down on either side, you might miss the green grass on the other side.  Up on the fence, you can see both sides much better.  And I cover a lot of things that sure do have opposing sides!  But I also get to see a lot of things that never make it on TV.  So in my little blog, I’ll try to share with you some of the other things I see from up on this fence.  And if I happen to fall too far on either side, I hope you’ll let me know..

Ken