Chapter 7

But to his surprise, as he picked up his copy of The Clarion next morning, the front page headline read "Snowmobilers Threaten Eminent Domain. Reopening Of Resort Jeopardized!" As he read the article by the paper's editor he was taken back. It was a scathing attack on the snowmobilers' efforts. He couldn't understand why. Then, he remembered the editor had been an investor in the company that had run the resort for many years, and lost a great deal when it closed. He probably stood to gain quite a bit financially from its reopening.
As he drove to work he turned on the local talk show and he found there were just as many people calling against the snowmobile club as FOR it. But he rallied his forces, though he was having trouble even at home! His wife was openly supportive, his son begrudgingly so, but his daughter was openly hostile.
"You've got miles and miles of trails, daddy!" she complained, "all over this damned country. There's what, twenty miles of trails on the mountain. Why don't you leave the people alone? I'm getting a job at the lodge, waitress in the restaurant. I don't even have to worry about getting there! They'll have a free bus that will pick everybody up and return them home, at the end of shift. They're doing EVERYTHING they possibly can to provide jobs for the people of this county. MANY of us won't have to leave after graduation. We'll have jobs here. Why can't you leave them alone?"
"We just want them to be FAIR," Victor answered, "share the mountain with us that's all. They won't be FAIR!"
He found many of his coworkers shared the same attitude. He was definitely not getting the overwhelming support he was expecting. Neither was anybody else.
Thursday came, and Deputy Fife sitting outside the resort entrance, saw the car he was waiting for leaving, and called in, advising dispatch he was making the stop.
"O.k., Barney!" the dispatcher came back with her usual sarcasm. The deputy drove off wondering for the thousandth time if he should legally change his name, and cursing his father for giving him it! He turned on his lights, sounded his horm, and the car obligingly pulled over. The deputy got out walked up to the driver's side, and leaned over, as the driver rolled down the window.
"Something wrong officer?" he asked.
"No," the deputy answered, "the sheriff would simply like to have you stop by his office and discuss the situation with the snowmobilers. He'd like to find some solution that would avoid difficulties. Would you follow me, please?"
"NO!" a voice came from the back. "We have informed the sheriff before we do not wish to converse with him on this subject, and we WILL not! If we have committed no violation we are proceeding! Drive on!"
The driver rolled up the window and drove off. Deputy Fife stood there in total bewilderment, then keyed his mike.
"Dispatch!" he snapped, "They refuse to comply! They said they won't come to the office."
The sheriff's voice answered. "Deputies Richardson and Parkes are waiting at the bridge. They'll form a roadblock. You block 'em in from behind, I'll be there in a few minutes. They're coming to the God damned office if I have to bring them in handcuffs! They've refused to obey a deputy! That's a chargeable offense!"
Fife got back in his cruiser and in a few minutes caught up with the resort's car. As it neared the bridge the other two deputies blocked the road. Fife stopped behind the vehicle, and got out again.
"You folks are under arrest," he snapped, "for refusing to obey a deputy. Get out of the car!"
No one in the car would move. The sheriff's car pulled up, but as it did so, a state trooper's car also arrived. Trooper Donnell and another trooper emerged
"All right!" he remarked, "What's going on here? We got a call from these people that you're harassing them again!" "We're NOT HARASSING THEM!" the sheriff screamed. "I want to talk to this God damned son of a bitch! I want to resolve this damned situation, that's all I want to do...talk to them! Why won't they talk to me? Now they fled an officer. That's a chargeable offense, and don't tell me it isn't!"
The trooper looked to the deputy. "Deputy, why did you stop these people?"
"The sheriff told me to," the deputy answered, "told me to bring them to his office."
"They committed no violation?" the trooper asked. The deputy shook his head. "Then you had no legal right to stop them," the trooper continued. "The sheriff wanting to talk to them is NOT a valid reason to stop someone. As the deputy had no just cause to detain them, they had every right to depart. Sheriff, your charge of flight will never hold. You're opening the county for a severe lawsuit!"
"Why won't this son of a bitch talk to me?" the sheriff screamed.
"Did you ever think they don't want to?" the trooper answered, "they see no need to? They intend to make no compromise, arguing about it will be a waste of time."
"Why are you siding with them?" the sheriff asked.
"I'm not," the trooper answered. "my superiors have simply ordered me to see to it that these peoples' rights are non violated. Now, come on, sheriff, leave them alone! Maybe if you do a dialogue will open and you'll find they're not really bad people. They just have their own opinions."

Page 13

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