10 P.M.: Wise words from a sheriff’s deputy
It was a quiet Homecoming night for Isabella County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. James Hadley.
The 31-year law enforcement veteran took to patrolling Isabella County Saturday night on a 10-hour shift.
Although the department covers more than 570 square miles, it ends up spending a lot of time in Union Township.
“That’s where all the activity is at,” Hadley said.
The county deals with apartment complexes such as Deerfield Village, Lexington Ridge, Copper Beech and the Village of Bluegrass. Some of the complexes are worse than others depending on the year.
“This year, we haven’t really had a bad year so far,” he said.
Hadley did not arrest or detain anyone Saturday night.
With students moving between apartment complexes from year-to-year, the demographics change.
“Each year is a little different,” he said. “The city seems to be busier this year than we are.”
In his 20 years near a college town, Hadley has seen students get in trouble with alcohol. He said has seen as many as five college-age students being treated for alcohol overdose in the emergency room.
“That’s crazy. It’s one thing to go to a party and have a beer or two and enjoy yourself,” he said. “But kind hard to justify getting so drunk you damn near drowned in your own vomit.”
With near 75 percent of college students underage, Hadley said it can be easy to tell who is underage.
Of-age students walking between apartments make no effort to hide their alcohol, but minors will make an attempt to conceal it by putting it behind their backs or setting it down.
“It’s a dead giveaway,” he said.
Another issue Hadley sees is drivers distracted by technology such as cell phones and iPods.
“Technology is good, but there’s a time and place for it,” he said. “Driving down the road isn’t the time and place for it.”
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