I read Mike Vanhooser’s letter in the Feb. 15 issue about chasing copper thieves with his Jeep. That was hilarious!
I’ve done something similar, and having been there I can tell you it truly is a great time. Nice to see that there are a few of us “real men” out here still, willing to chase down a dirtbag who would do your station harm.
One night years ago when responding to the KSTN(AM) site, I spotted a dirtbag messing around inside. I chased him around the property and eventually to his vehicle. He took off, so I jumped in my truck and followed while on the phone with the PD dispatcher. The dispatcher kept yelling at me to stop chasing him, let him go, not to put myself in danger, etc. I kept screaming back at her to shut up a second and take my report of our current location!
In this day and age, a pizza can get to the transmitter site faster than the cops. These days we hear over and over, “Just call the cops, and leave the area for your safety”. Yea, sure, if you’re a big weenie. A real engineer sticks around and makes sure his/her site is safe. Admittedly, it’s always fun to see a dirtbag get a knee in the back and eating dirt when some cop jumps on him and the dog is ripping his ankles off.
Station owners and management prohibit engineers from getting involved, or even defending themselves in any way, possibly because the P/C lawyers weenie-ized them without them realizing it, just like everyone else.
Mass kudos to Mr. Vanhooser, and if he’s ever out this way, I’d like to invite him to lunch and to spend a few hours at the gun range.
Paul Shinn
Stockton, Calif.
