Dear editor, The Advertiser,

We as a community are in a crisis and most do not even realize it. The economy is in such a state that our essential services are being under-funded. If we all continue not speaking up to our local and state government, it is a strong possibility that our essential services will fail.

What I mean by our essential services is our police department, fire department, etc.

My husband and I made a call to communications Saturday, Sept. 13 to report a drunk driver who had left the road twice, drove several miles down the wrong side of the road, hit the I-65 overpass, tried to pull into a gas station, missed the driveway then backed right back out onto Lay Dam Road in front of another vehicle who almost hit them.

Twenty minutes after the initial call, we called back to see how much longer it would be before police got there, and to our surprise we find out our police department is on restriction. The police could not leave the PD unless this drive had assaulted someone or committed a felony.

Thirty or more minutes passed and an officer who apparently was going on shift or getting off happened to stop into the store, and we called him over there and, of course, he did his job and handled the situation from there. As we drove down Lay Dam Road back toward town, we passed a county car with its lights on headed in the direction of the gas station and we assumed he was answering the third call we had made.

I have friends that have children and grandchildren that drive on Lay Dam Road/Highway 145 regularly, and I think getting a drunk driver off the street before they kill one of them is extremely important.

-Amy Taylor, Clanton