Tough as Nails …

… but are the tires?

This morning I stopped in Crystal Lake along U.S. 14, just east of IL 176. You know the corner; right? Where Wayne – of David vs. Goliath – has been known to park and hold a sign directing passersby to www.ripoffreport.com

A little voice told me not to drive onto the shoulder, so I parked nearby and walked to the open spot on the shoulder – Wayne’s Territory, don’t you know?

Imagine my surprise to see hundreds of nails on the ground, spread for 60 feet along the shoulder of the highway. I’m not talking about one pile or a little spill. These nails were spread from one end of the dirt shoulder to the other, and from the curbline to the field. I measured it – about 720 sq. ft. (60 x 12), give or take a little.

Now you might be wondering how so many nails would get there, and not one nail in the roadway.

I called the Crystal Lake Police Department and requested an officer to come and take a report, telling the dispatcher to warn the officer not to drive onto the shoulder unless he wanted four flat tires on his squad car. Within a few minutes the dispatcher called back to inform me that an officer would not respond, because the police already had a report.

She added that they have a suspect and he doesn’t match the description of the man who parks there. That would be Wayne, of course. I told that, of course, the description didn’t match Wayne. Wayne is certainly not going to dump a box of nails in the place where he parks to protest a previous sales experience with Viking Dodge, is he?

Then I called Crystal Lake Public Works to ask if they would send a street crew to clean up the nails. They advised that they would not, because it’s a state highway and up to IDOT. I asked if they could at least send a truck to put out some traffic cones to keep drivers off the shoulder, and they said they would.

Then I called the Woodstock IDOT yard and gave them the information about the nails, even though Crystal Lake had said they would make that call. The IDOT employee didn’t know about the nails and said they would take care of them.

When I went by again about 2:00PM, the nails were gone. I mean, the area was clean! The IDOT crew had done a great job and swept the area clean.

If you know of anyone with knowledge about this crime (dumping nails on a highway or shoulder IS a crime), please call the Crystal Lake Police Department and provide the information. The phone number is 815-459-2020, Ext. 1.

This dispute has taken on a nasty tone, when “someone” dumps a box of nails in the public right-of-way. I hope the police are diligent about investigating this. To many it will seem “small potatoes”, but it constituents Disorderly Conduct, Attempted Vandalism, and probably a whole list of other crimes, including attempted endangerment of the elderly.

No one will doubt for a minute that this nail-dumping is directed at Wayne.

I’ve got news for the culprit(s). It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog. You have picked on the wrong dog.