Montezuma County is truly a destination location, and for the 26,000 or so of us privileged to call it “home,” an oasis of calm in the midst of a frightening national crime explosion. Unfortunately, even here we are experiencing increasing vandalism.

In 2019, my neighbor’s political signs were torn up. Last year, another neighbor had her “VOTE” flag shredded, and the costly pole bent in half. When asked if she had reported it, she replied, “Why bother? Its not like the court cares about this stuff.”

Roy Best, former warden at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility, once stated, “Felons are seldom born felons. They ripen over time, one small crime on top of another.“

Recently, friends in Dolores had their political signs ripped up and thrown in the street. When they first saw the vandalism on their security video, they thought it was someone who had simply “had a bad moment.” They did, however, file a police report.

When asked to sign the citation, the perp wrote a profane word. Had he shown respect for the law, he and his victims could have agreed to disagree, and moved on.

"Felons are seldom born felons."

I encourage and implore our district attorney’s office as well as our judges, to nip potential felons in the bud by sending them a clear message early in their “careers,” declaring that in Montezuma County our laws are enforced, and if you break them, regardless of how minor they seem, there will be consequences.

Summer Kabakoro

Dolores