Teen Charged With Booby-Trapping Snowmobile Trail

[revwardoc]

LYNDEBOROUGH, N.H. -- A teenage boy has been charged with booby-trapping a snowmobile trail last weekend by stringing fishing line across the trail at head height.

The youngster is charged with reckless conduct, but his mother said the incident has been blown out of proportion.

Sgt. H. Michael Geha said the charge would have been harsher, but no one was hurt. He said the youth's motivation seemed to be to cause trouble and did not seem to reflect problems with snowmobilers.

Three snowmobilers found the fishing line Sunday evening. It caught one of them in the facemask and pulled his head backward, but he was not hurt because he was slowing down.

The boy has not been identified, but his mother, Tammy Roy, told The Telegraph of Nashua she thinks too much is being made of a prank.

"But I feel this has gone way beyond where it should," she said. "It was just two kids who stupidly put up the fish line. They didn't want to hurt anyone."

Police Chief Jim Basinas disagreed.

"It has not been blown out of proportion," he said. "He admitted ... that he did it, and we have a witness."

Roy said her son regrets what he did.

"My son realizes he made a stupid, stupid mistake," she said. "It will affect him the rest of his life. Kids do kid things, and the kids are going to suffer for it. I'm very upset childish pranks get taken so far."

Juvenile penalties could include a fine, community service and other sanctions, depending on whether the offender has a previous record.

The three snowmobilers followed tracks in the snow from the fishing line to Roy's home Sunday evening, where Roy said they confronted her husband and stepfather.

One of the men said afterward that the people at the home said they had a problem with snowmobiles.

"They were very angry when they came to my house. They demanded to talk to someone," Roy said. "To say that we did this to stop snowmobilers is insane. We are quiet people. We have no problem with snowmobilers. We encourage them to go up there."

[Jerry D]

If this situation had led to the Snow machine driver losing his head(which is a possibility when hitting a fishing line at 60 mph) I wonder if his parents would be saying this was a harmless prank? I think the kid should have done hard time at Juvenile Hall. I agree totally with Chief Jim Basinas!

[revwardoc]

http://tricities.com/servlet/Satelli...ws/localnews&s=

Girl, 10, brings K-9 benefit effort to Bristol

BRISTOL, Va. ? Ten-year-old Jessica Story didn?t mind giving up part of her spring break to travel here Monday.

The Stephens City native was here to talk to more than 50 St. Anne?s Catholic School students about helping to keep the city?s four police dogs safe. About $4,000 is needed to purchase bulletproof vests and temperature controllers for the animals, she said.

"I started doing this because I don?t want dogs to get hurt or killed in the line of duty," the fourth-grade student said.

Less than a year ago, Jessica founded a nonprofit organization, Mission: K-9, dedicated to protecting police dogs and their handlers. The temperature controllers are used to monitor the temperature in patrol cars and alert officers when conditions become unsafe for their dogs.

Thus far, she has raised more than $12,000, enough for 18 vests and two temperature controllers, for other departments.

"This equipment is expensive, and police departments don?t have enough money for the vests," she said. "I started buying bulletproof vests because I believe (dogs) needed to be protected while protecting us. (Without vests), the police officer is in greater danger because dogs help protect officers."

In 1996, the Bristol Tennessee Police Department?s dog, Sgt. Boris, was killed in the line of duty. Boris was tracking suspects in a drive-by shooting when he was shot. He was not wearing a bulletproof vest.

The Bristol Virginia Police Department has two bulletproof vests and needs two more, said K-9 officer Angela Cunningham. The department also needs four temperature controllers, one for each dog, she said.

"The (bulletproof) vests are very much needed," Cunningham said. "We?ll send them in first on calls where there is a person with a gun or a knife."

The maintenance costs for the dogs, including food, training equipment and veterinarian visits, already runs about $10,000 each year. Buying additional equipment is hard to do, Cunningham said.

It?s the largest amount the girl has tried to raise for a department, said Mary Odum, Jessica?s mother.

"I?m really pleased to watch the growth in her," Odum said. "It?s been real good for her. I don?t push her to do it. It?s her thing."

Through her non-profit organization, Jessica can get equipment at a lower price than departments could, she said.

All the money donated from this area will go toward helping the city Police Department, Jessica said.

"I want the Bristol police dogs to have the safety they need," she said.

[Jerry D]

thats a great story on the K9 equipment