May 26, 2009 03:39 pm
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No doubt 81-year-old James Stacy of Akron, Ohio, thought he was being a good citizen when it took it upon himself to help the city fix a pothole near his home.
Instead, Stacy was arrested on a charge of criminal damaging, and he could receive 90 days in jail if convicted.
Stacy does not deny that he took a pickax and a broom to help clear the three-foot wide pothole, but he says he did it because he thought the pothole was about to be filled and his work would make the repairs last longer. Public works manager Paul Barnett says Stacy’s cleaning out of the pothole actually may make the repairs last longer, but it created a greater safety hazard until the hole was patched.
One hopes that Stacy gets off with just a stern warning to leave street repairs to the professionals. The pubic clearly should not be encouraged to make their own street repairs. But Stacy’s intentions clearly were not criminal.
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