Posted on 02/26/2005 10:56:54 AM PST by HiJinx
BISBEE - Supervisor Paul Newman wants organizers of a volunteer group coming to Cochise County to have a county permit to patrol the border.
Newman, vice chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said the "national call-to-arms for the Minuteman vigilantes" to gather in April means the county must take action to ensure the public is safe by requiring permits.
County Planning and Zoning Director Jim Vlahovich, who met with one of the Minuteman Project organizers after Newman's Friday press conference, said a county permit for a planned two-day demonstration in front of the U.S. Border Patrol's Naco Station is not needed.
However, approval from the county Highway and Floodplain Department is needed for the April 2 and 3 demonstration, since the group plans to use the right of way along the highway by the station, he added.
Vlahovich met with Tombstone resident and newspaper owner Chris Simcox after the press conference to discuss the permit problem. Simcox, who formed the Civil Homeland Defense to stem the flow of illegal activities crossing the border a couple of years ago, is one of the organizers of the Minuteman Project.
Before reading a statement, Newman said U.S. citizens have a right to assemble and it was not his goal to impede on constitutional rights.
The supervisor, whose district includes the public area between Douglas and Naco, said he is concerned about public safety.
"Although my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors disagree with me, I believe it is irresponsible for us to sit back take a wait-and-see attitude in light of a large gathering of armed individuals whose purpose is to take the law into their own hands," Newman said.
Calling on the two other supervisors, Chairman Pat Call and Richard Searle, to join him in requiring permits, Newman said, "If this were a rock concert, there is no question that the county could require permits and impose restrictions. We should provide at least as much oversight of this potentially volatile month-long event."
Call responded during a telephone interview Friday.
"I believe the Minuteman Project is publicly pushing its own political agenda. I believe Mr. Newman's comments are all about publicly pushing his own personal political agenda," Call said.
Newman appears to be suggesting the Board of Supervisors limit people's rights to free speech and assembly before they have taken out a permit, Call said.
Minuteman Project volunteers will have to obey county rules and regulations, he said. The group will be watched by law enforcement, especially the county Sheriff's Department. County officials are working with federal agencies, too.
"If they (the volunteers) don't (stay within the law), the response will be appropriate and quick," Call said.
According to the Minuteman Project Web site, 531 volunteers from 47 states and Canada have signed up to come to the county as of Wednesday.
In his written statement, Newman referred to the Minuteman Project as "gun-toting vigilantes." When he read the statement, he changed that phrase to "the Minutemen." He used the word vigilantes other times.
Calling the group vigilantes was too much for Marine Corps veteran Al Garza of Huachuca City.
"We're not vigilantes," Garza said.
The group also is not a white supremacist organization, he added.
"Just look at me," said Garza, who is Hispanic.
Saying the Minuteman Project is well organized, Garza said there is no doubt in his mind the people will be well behaved.
Simcox said most of the volunteers have law enforcement or military experience and as such are disciplined. Volunteers are checked out to weed out individuals who could cause problems, he said.
Simcox also said organizers are working with the FBI checking out volunteers.
However, a Phoenix FBI spokeswoman said the agency is not supporting the Minuteman Project with background checks or doing anything else for the private organization.
Newman said sources told him volunteers would be staying on property owned by American Border Patrol head Glenn Spencer. The American Border Patrol is a private group that is not associated with the U.S. Border Patrol.
"That is a flat-out lie," Spencer said in a telephone interview. "I have nothing to do with it (the Minuteman Project)."
Spencer said bringing volunteers from across the country "on balance is worthwhile effort and worth the risk." But, he said, ensuring there will be complete control of the volunteers "will be like herding cats" because discipline can break down.
The only support Spencer is giving the Minuteman Project is a radio for the volunteers to call him saying where they have seen a group of illegal immigrants or drug smugglers. The American Border Patrol will not share information of where it has seen illegal activities to the volunteer group, he added.
Newman emphasized the law will have a stronger hand by requiring permits.
Likening law enforcement to the Gary Cooper character in "High Noon," Newman said, "Our law must be respected."
"Without control, the crowd could turn into a mob," the supervisor said.
In a written counterstatement, Simcox called Newman's views a means to create panic. "Mr. Newman's statements represent a most vile and despicable defamation of character of American citizens," the statement said.
Calling Newman's comments "hate speech," Simcox said the supervisor's irresponsible statements are biased.
"Mr. Newman should be ashamed of his comments that are based in fear bred from ignorance," Simcox's statement read.
As for the supervisor's concern that the volunteers will take the law into their own hands, Simcox said the volunteers will "engage in nothing more than sitting in lawn chairs with binoculars to spot suspicious illegal activity and report to the proper authorities and to provide lifesaving aid to individuals in need of assistance."
Tombstone Mayor Andree De Journett was at Newman's press conference.
Sitting next to Newman, De Journett said on April 1 a rally is planned in Tombstone and no permit is needed. The mayor said it is the right of people to meet to make their views known.
While De Journett expects no problems during the rally in Tombstone, he said there will be extra law enforcement present.
Newman said the large group of volunteers expected in April may lead to other problems. There may be counterdemonstrations.
To control that possibility, Newman said he want to make sure those who oppose the Minuteman Project have county-issued permits if an event is going to take place in the unincorporated area of the county.
Newman also questioned the additional strain on the county by people moving in for a short period of time.
A proposed place for volunteers to park RVs or to stay in dormitories is the Miracle Valley Bible College and Seminary in Palominas.
Melvin Harter, president of the college, said rentals are being done as a fund-raiser. He admitted that a special-use permit will be required.
Vlahovich said time is running out to complete the process because of county rules for issuing special-use permits. Simcox was told of the process, he said.
Unlike a temporary use permit that can be issued by the planning department in a week, a special-use permit requires the county's Planning and Zoning Commission to make recommendations to the county supervisors, Vlahovich said.
With legal notices required and other procedures, and even with a faster process, it will be difficult to meet the April 1 start of the arrival of volunteers, he said.
Now, where have I heard that phrase used before?
Daily articles are pulled a day after posting to the Herald Web Site, but can be retrieved from their archives. The link will go to a different story tomorrow.
Although the title and parts of the article aren't clear on this point, the reader should be aware that this constitutes this county supervisor's personal opinion and should in no way be construed as a consensus opinion.
This idiot supervisor has had years (or whatever length of term he has served) to lauch a counter illegal immigrant effort in his district. Now that someone else is going to do the job for him, he want's sign off. Bull!
"Although my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors disagree with me, I believe it is irresponsible for us to sit back take a wait-and-see attitude in light of a large gathering of armed individuals whose purpose is to take the law into their own hands," Newman said.
Which group is he talking about, the Minutemen or the Slave-Traders and Drug-Runners?
This left wing county commissioner is hot to have extra police "watching" the volunteer patrol but not willing to watch and apprehend illegal aliens. BS.
On the face of it, this looks like a reasonable request from the County Supervisor, after all, these visitors should respect the law and get their permits, right?
Until you get to the end of the article and realize that by now, it's probably too late to get the permits before the 1st of April. And that's the real result Mr. Newman is looking for.
However, a Phoenix FBI spokeswoman said the agency is not supporting the Minuteman Project with background checks or doing anything else for the private organization. .."
Both can't be true.
You're right...and to be honest, the county sheriff has done a lot to help stem the tide. He is pretty solidly behind the citizens who've had to arm themselves to protect their property and their own lives.
If you were to take a look at Sierra Vista Herald archives re: Mr. Newman, you'd find he's had some interesting run-ins with the Feds.
Actually, they can. Remember, the Phoenix FBI office tried to tip off HQ about Middle Eastern men taking flying lessons, and for days HQ denied that report.
It's not too hard for one hand not to know what the other is doing.
No American needs the governments permission to protect their country!
(law,com)
permit
1) v. to allow by silence, agreement or giving a license. 2) n. a license or other document given by an authorized public official or agency (building inspector, department of motor vehicles) to allow a person or business to perform certain acts.
license
1) n. governmental permission to perform a particular act (like getting married), conduct a particular business or occupation, operate machinery or vehicles after proving ability to do so safely or use property for a certain purpose.
BITE me, Newman!
I'd like to know how many illegals Newman employs...
His pasta sauces and salad dressings suck too.
FMCDH(BITS)
I've saved it in PDF format.
Won't most of the volunteers be on private land? Why do you need a permit to be on private land?
He's not going to be able to do background checks on 500 people in a month. This has everything to do with blocking the effort, and nothing to do with his justified concerns.
I too have valid real concerns about how this is going to turn out.
Those concerns are nullified by the federal governments complete failure to ahere to it's constitutional duties. To put this in a personal perspective, our Congress-Critters, Senators and even the President have failed miserably to protect the states.
Will I buy off on a local supervisor's concerns in the shadow of this? There's not a chance! He abdicated his authority when he became complicit with criminality.
Don't forget that this is also a major drug-smuggling corridor.
Of course, it' also possible that the Tucson office is helping them and the Phoenix office has no clue.
Yes that's true. You just wait until this project is under way to see how long it takes for the FBI to run background checks. Strangely they haven't been able to stop drug runners from entering the nation at will. I wonder which is more of a threat to our nation? And who will the FBI focus on? Yes, I wonder.
Thank you...that was precisely my point.
The involvement of the Phoenix office, to my knowledge, has been limited to trying to find charges to file against local Douglas area rancher Roger Barnett. So far, they've failed miserably.
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