Mayor’s Row………………..by Ned Mitchell

Have you ever had one of those days where you think it would be better to just stay in bed and pull up the covers? Those kinds of days are hard to deal with.

Over the weekend two news stories caught my eye and both involved the shooting death of popular police officers, one in the metro east area and the other in Chicago. Both officers were murdered on duty by well known thugs who should not have been on the street in the first place.

No sooner was the news breaking in Chicago than politicians up there were immediately loudly screaming for more gun control. Of course the media up that way just love that. The actual shooter in Chicago that allegedly murdered the officer had been in court three times recently on various violations of felony probation that had been given to him in prior convictions. Note I said convictions! So here we have an individual who has shown time and time again that living a life within the law is not going to happen.

We have a massive amount of gun laws on the books right now in this state and whether you are pro gun or anti gun you will all have to admit that these existing laws will only work if judges will do their jobs and lower the boom on these criminals that are amongst us

Its not only in Chicago my friends, it is abundant right here in Franklin County. Some of the cases that I am familiar with that are frustrating to me include a senior citizen caught looking at child pornography is sentenced to 10 years in prison for looking. A grandfather who plead guilty for sexually abusing his granddaughter at age four is given two years probation. You just read that right, two years probation for committing the act of violating a four year old family member and walks right out of the Franklin County courthouse grinning!

Or how about we talk about a DUI case in this county that has been continued 15, yes 15 times, over a period of 3 years? One judge granted a continuance or delay 8 times by himself on this case.

The alarming difference here though is that the grandfather who pleads guilty had a high priced attorney who also delayed this case for years. The DUI case that has been stalled 15 times now; had the defendant employing a well known criminal defense firm. The senior citizen who got 10 years in the slammer had the public defender because he did not have the money to pay for a private attorney.

Are you beginning to see a connection here? Is it any wonder that folks who get charged with serious crimes all end up in prison if they cannot afford to hire an attorney? Those in this country that can afford to hire an attorney many times either walk on the charges or get probation even if found guilty.

So in my opinion; if you are a part of this scandalous activity in our court system; shame on you. Who is speaking out for the victims here? Where are the local media on cases that I have just mentioned? Oh, yes shame on you reporters also for not doing your job. Sometimes the real crime is not committed by the defendants alone; they have help within the system! Shame on all of us for putting up with it!

After closing the Opera House Café last Sunday evening I stepped into the historic theatre to check the lights and utilities as I do every night just to make sure things are okay. As I walked across the back of the theatre and glanced toward the stage a quiet pall came over the building. Just a few hours prior the stage was alive with performers, a live orchestra performed from the pit and the audience cheered.

Performers in live theatre tell me there is always a letdown after a show. They spend so much time rehearsing their lines and routines or building set or any other function that once the show is over, they find themselves at a loss for something to do.

Then there is the fact that you always meet new people either in the show, a new family, or a new fan that once the show is over you wonder if you will ever see that person again.

So I found it odd that as I closed the Opera House Theatre up that evening, I missed the cast, I missed the orchestra, and I missed the audience. I did take time in the silence to reflect on what we are doing with the building and I felt satisfied that we are keeping the dream of the Charlie Gualdoni family alive by using the very building that his heirs donated to us years ago.

We were able to host about 1.000 people who attended this show over the weekend and that is simply good news for Sesser. We had visitors from St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois who made the trip here for the first time just to see this show. All of this is made possible by the sponsorship of the People’s National Bank and the Bonan family and we are deeply grateful for their support.

All of the performers, musicians, set builders, stage hands, ticket sellers and everybody involved serve on a volunteer basis. It is a great feeling to know folks who are this committed to the Opera House Theatre and play an important part in keeping the dream alive.

My sincere thanks go out to each of you. No matter how large or how small your contribution was, I am personally thankful. It gave me a great feeling of satisfaction as I turned out the lights that night and walked out on Franklin Avenue in Sesser and headed home!