Once again, the lines of good versus evil are drawn: youthful vandals targeting vehicles, dwellings and holiday decorations versus the stoic Ione Police Department watching over the township. And once again, the vandals have won (Dec. 2, "Candy Cane vandals target Santa"). Let's face facts, people. Ione has a new police chief and more police officers on the payroll than at any time in recent history, and still it's not safe to display Christmas decorations. Wait a minute, didn't this same thing happen last year to the Ione Business and Community Association's downtown holiday display? Why yes, it did, and to quote that Dec. 5, 2007 Ledger Dispatch article, "The sabotage is not new in Ione, according to residents, who talk routinely about a siege of petty vandalism in the town."

Bottom line: If the Ione PD can't effectively protect its citizens and their property, then it's time to look for alternatives. Other than parking enforcement, which all residents must concede our police department does with a particular vengeance, what services do Ione police officers perform that couldn't be accomplished equally as well and far more affordable to the city than by the Amador County Sheriff's Office contracted to Ione?

There are, in fact, over 125 cities in California that contract with their county sheriffs in lieu of paying for a city police department, much larger and far more affluent cities like Sonoma, West Hollywood, Laguna Hills and Malibu. If county sheriff's officers are the preferred means of law enforcement for all these cities, then why not for us? And the fact is Ione already contracts with the sheriff's office for its police dispatch services. It seems as if it would certainly be a small step to expand that deal to include police services as well. Let's get it on the agenda and "git er done."

Oh, by the way, if you have any information about the vandalism on Candy Cane Lane, you're asked to call the Ione Police Department at 274-2456.