Greeley police have longer arm than you think

Question -- I was wondering if we need so many new police officers. What are they doing setting up speed traps west of Greeley? They were almost to the Iron Mountain Auto Complex. I don't know if that is Greeley's city limits, but it seems that the good residents of Greeley would be better served if they left the highways to the Weld County Sheriff's Office and Colorado State Patrol. Why are they that far from the city?

Answer -- Sgt. Joe Tymkowych, spokesman for the Greeley Police Department, said Greeley's city limits go all the way to Weld 17 at the Iron Mountain Autoplex.

Greeley has a responsibility for traffic enforcement on U.S. 34, Tymkowych said. Officers do also patrol the area regularly, he added.

In addition to the Greeley Police Department having jurisdiction on the road, the Colorado State Patrol and the Weld Sheriff's department do as well, Tymkowych said.

Question -- There was a pro-life petition circulated recently at a Catholic Church. What kind of rules do petition gatherers have to follow?

<strong>HAVE A QUESTION?</strong> Call Andrew Villegas at (970) 392.4423 or e-mail him at avillegas@greeleytribune.com.

Answer -- Betsy Holder. Greeley city clerk, said depending on the type of petition, there are different rules.

If the petition is just an informal one to have a united voice on some issue to present to the city council for example, there are little restrictions.

For petitions that want to start a ballot initiative, petition gatherers must be a witness to all signatures. For petitions such as with a liquor license, the signatures must be gathered in the neighborhood around the proposed store or restaurant, Holder said.

For most petitions, there are restrictions about gathering on private property if the property owner doesn't want gatherers there. Many stores have policies about petition gathering, Holder said.

On city property, for instance, residents gathering petitions can be on the perimeter of buildings on places such as sidewalks, but not on city property itself.

Question -- I heard the Lincoln Park Library will soon be changed into Greeley city offices and that the library is going to be taken out. Is there any truth to that?

Answer -- Greeley City Manager Roy Otto said that he hadn't heard of any such proposal for the library. Otto said that before he was city manager the city renewed the library's lease on the building and put $500,000 into renovations in the building.

Blow a whistle to discourage scammers

Nancy Genoways, a Greeley resident, has gotten harassing phone calls for the last two weeks from a man who tells her he needs to send her a new Medicare number. He said he needs her current Medicare number, and consequently, her Social Security number, to give her the new Medicare number.

Genoways called the Greeley police, who told her there wasn't much they could do because the scammers were figuring out a way to make the call appear like it is coming from Greeley, when it is probably coming from Nicaragua.

Genoways said police told her the FBI is looking into the scamming.

For now, Genoways wants others to know that her phone company has recommended dialing *57 after each harassing phone call to report the person (*57 traces the phone call, and may have a cost from the phone company associated with it). Greeley police have also recommended that Genoways buy a whistle and that if she's ever contacted again by the people trying to get her personal information, she should blow a whistle into the phone.