[jhon]

On Tuesday we got back to the Loma parking lot to find every car had the valve cores removed from the tires. Close to 15 cars had this done. Thankfully the Sheriff had called a co op truck to come and help replace the cores and air them up. Granted it cost $30, and some people skipped out on paying after having the work done, driver was collecting Lic #’s to report to the sheriff. Big time bummer to come back to. But it could have been much worse.

 

[Ture]

... and some people skipped out on paying after having the work done...

Those folks are worse than the guys who removed the valves. The guys who took the valves out were teenagers having some misguided fun. The deadbeats who didn't pay the working man who drove all the way out there to save them are thieves. Douche bags.

 

[jhon]

Big time Douche bags! I think they pissed off everyone that was there worse then the vandals who did in our tires. Word is they are from the Basalt area and some guys were talking about tracking them down to get them to pay. not good karma at all.

 

[3d3vart]

We had two cars parked at Loma on Monday night. ON Tues we got to take-out at WW and were told "every car at Loma" was vandalized. We called AAA and had them meet us at Loma, but when we arrived our two cars were fine(?). If you had the Fruita Co-op guy fix our tires, please let me know and we'll get you the dough. From the looks of it nothing was done to the tires, a couple were simply missing their valve caps.

Thanks.

 

[jhon]

I think the Sheriff had the guys from the coop fix the rest as they were only going to stay a few hours and were about to leave. as no one else had come in while I was loading the car up. I still have not had the time to call the sheriff to see what the deal was so maybe they know?

 

[jhon]

I think there was a green car, a subie outback and a forester left then maybea van and a jeep and they fixed all of them.

 

[jhon]

they only replaced the cores not the caps, small loss, who cares, talked to the sheriff, they had the guys do all the rest of the cars and were going to pay them and then charge the people who did it if they find them. Very nice of the sheriff to do that so no moola needed.

 

[Flower18]

I arrived to my car on Tuesday evening and there was no one else in the parking lot. As I was leaving, I noticed a business card under my windshield wiper from the Sheriff asking me to call - so I did as I was driving down I-70. This is when I learned of the tire vandalism to every car's tires in Loma parking lot. I asked the Sheriff if there was anything I should do and he said as long as there is no other damage to my car, that it was fine. If I owe someone money, I'm happy to pay it. I do not like being accused of "skipping out" on the bill, as I had NO idea anything was wrong with my car until I contacted the Sheriff!

 

[jhon]

Sorry if it sounded like we were accusing everyone of "skipping" out if you did not pay as there is/was more to the story. The person that was directed at was talking to others as we started to unpack our gear with cash in his hand and commented that "this just got cheaper for us" turned got in his car and just left without paying the guys doing the work after telling him they would pay.

In short there was only one group that skipped out after having their tires repaired, and they knew they skipped out too.

Flower18 and anybody else that showed up after 3:30 or so you guys are fine, they repaired your tires on the sheriffs tab.

I am sorry for the confusion and did not mean for it to end up that way.

 

[3d3vart]

Thanks Jhon. Mountain Buzz community to the rescue...with all the stories on here of "stupid cops" writing tickets for folks that park next to "no parking" signs, kicking campers out of "no camping" zones, etc., it is good to experience a cop doing a good deed for the boating community. All of us with cars at Loma this weekend, sure appreciate it, and we will be letting them know.

Thanks.

 

[jhon]

Many thanks

3d3vart, Thanks for saying that,
I have a lot of friends that are in Law Enforcement and they will admit that there are a lot of shall we say "ticket happy" members out there. But Dude it say’s NO PARKING and seatbelt’s are the law, get over it. You got busted pay the fine if the officer gave you a ticket. If he just gave you a talking too, then all the better you talked to a better officer then most. As f or the tire thing, Granted I have been on the river mooching spots on rafts and trips being a good deck monkey with the goal of getting my own ride learning the ropes.
On each trip 99% of the people on the river are great! To have someone say that they were going to do something then skip on it is just wrong! I have worked all jobs, from Framing to Stringing fences to after collage as a Planner, everyone works for the money, who cares what they do. Just because some douchebag got your tires do not screw the guy making it better for you and feeling bad that it happened, and the guy doing the work actually did feel bad for leaving all the tires flat, and that is why he called to see if it was OK to do the rest with out the owners there and why he did.
Just my thoughts.

 

[stinginrivers]

That is such a bummer to have that happen to you guys, but that was also very cool for the sheriff to help you guys out like that.

I just sent a nice little thank you to the mesa county sheriffs office via email on their website. I would imagine little things like that can go along ways with the sheriff in building a good relationship with the boating community.

 

[jhon]

Could have been so much worse with the history of break in's there. I too have talked to the sheriff and the PR person there to say thanks and they stated that they would step up patrols in the parking lot at later hours. With that said watch the camping as they stated they "cannot enforce" the camping issue but will open containers in the parking lot, so the beach is fine??????

Talking and being safe and respectful can go a long way, if you are contacted by LE, say yes sir and such, it can defuse the situation and you may find they too use the river just like we do(maybe).

Wow! So did not mean this to be such an issue! Sorry bout that!

Many thanks!

 

[jhon]

Sheriff Stan Hilkey,

As a former City employee and with many Friends who are in law enforcement, I thought you may like to see the positive comments about the actions of your Deputies, in perticular concerning the actions of Deputy Jamie Pennay, #189. This concerns the call paced to Deputy Pennay by the Coop employee's after they expressed their concerns leaving so many vehicles disabled at the loma parking lot. From the communication I overheard they were directed by Deputy Pennay to inflate the rest of the tires in the parking lot with out the owners being present. I feel this goes beyond the call of duty for your office. Many thanks for those who exited the parking lot after I did, not knowing of the issues with their tires.

Here is the link for the conversation, http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f14/loma-put-in-tire-issues-30696-2.html#post186328

 

[3d3vart]

jhon,

do you have contact info for either Sheriff Hilkey or Dep. Pennay?

3d.

 

[jhon]

sheriffinfo[AT]mesacounty.us

Jamie.Pennay[AT]mesacounty.us

 

[jhon]

I am trying to get the info on the guys that worked for the Coop too.

 

[Rich]

Many years ago I spent 4 days on Horsethief/Ruby/Westwater working with the Mesa County (Co) and Grand County (Ut) sheriffs department on a search that turned into a recovery. They are good people! They work hard, have families, love the rivers and mountains and laugh and cry just like we do. You can hate them when they are busting you for speeding or open container, but you got to love them when you are lost in the mountains or bleeding on the side of the road and they are there to help. By the third day of the search/recovery most of them were working for free on their days off, the 4th of July holiday had wiped out their overtime budget and but they were still there to help.

 

[kclowe]

Just want to say that I've had some issues at Loma and I've had great luck with the Sherriff's office there. They were really nice to me when my truck got hit and I'm not surprised that they went out of their way to help out the boaters.
I would like to mention that they put up with a lot of "crap" from boaters and non-boaters alike and they are still great. Much respect to them. We should remember this when we complain about the no camping sign at the ramp.
Sounds like everyone got taken care of at Loma. Great to hear that, but I'm a little sad that the coop guys got somewhat hosed. If you left and didn't even realize your car was vandalized, that's one thing, but if you bailed without paying them because you're a jerk, then bad on you. What goes around, comes around.

 

[jhon]

Reply from the sheriff

Thank you both for your email regarding the event at the Loma boat ramp. I've also read the comments posted on the Mountainbuzz website. Please consider posting this response there as well because I'd like to thank everyone for their kind comments.

This morning I spoke with Deputy Pennay. First, with the holiday weekend ahead of us it is appropriate to acknowledge that Deputy Pennay is a military veteran with combat experience in the Middle East. I feel very honored to be able to work along side people like that.

In true fashion of his professional bearing, Deputy Pennay plays down his role in helping out with this event and is just glad he had the opportunity to earn your trust. He also wanted to give credit to the man from the Fruita COOP.

We are extremely grateful for your comments, and want you to know that we do want to continue to earn the trust of you and your fellow river users.
Please have a great Memorial Day weekend and we always appreciate responsible river users like yourselves because it makes our jobs much easier.
Stay Safe!
Sheriff Stan Hilkey