To the Editor:

This letter is in response to the Letter to the Editor published Friday, June 4, 2010, by Chris Cocoran. In his letter, Mr. Cocoran makes several false and libelous statements, and since he refused to correct his actions, we must address these wrongs.

First, we have never stopped anyone who was not trespassing on our property; we have never stopped any child. Further, we do not police the roads, as alleged, but we have and will continue to call upon the Sheriff’s Department to perform their sworn duty when the actions of other violate our rights. We are 68 and 69, respectively.

Just some of the behavior we have been asked to put up with:

•Eight adults on four-wheelers racing by our house and across our property, with one of them kicking our vehicle on our land.

•Four-wheelers cutting donuts in the road, throwing rocks and gravel against our cars and house.

•People making threats to our safety and liberty.

•Obscene gestures and language directed at us while on our property.

•A deputy forcing his way into our home and threatening to arrest us, but unable to say what laws were broken.

•Another deputy advising us against exercising our legal rights, while bending over backwards to protect those who are breaking the law by their actions.

•People trespassing across our properties, damaging vegetation and rutting the land.

•Four-wheelers, most driven by adults, ripping and running up and down the private road through our subdivision at all hours of the day and night, waking us up and scaring our grandchildren.

We aren’t asking for special treatment, and we aren’t a threat to the children or adults in the area. We are, however, asking that our rights and our property be respected. This is no more than the very people violating our rights would demand on their own property.

This was not a feud that we started, and it is one that we hoped could be put to rest without a public statement or litigation. However, the perpetrators are not willing to respect our safety or our property, and the Sheriff’s Department has shown no inclination to uphold their sworn obligations.

Again, we assure you that we pose no threat to children, or anyone else for that matter, despite the allegations of Mr. Corcoran’s letter. However, if certain individuals insist on flaunting the law, violating our rights and harassing us, we will take all legal steps to protect ourselves. Whether that be a suit for trespass, libel, slander or harassment against the individuals, or a suit for violating our civil rights brought against a government entity, we will be treated fairly and equally. We just want what any other citizen of Panola County would expect and deserve: to be safe in our beings and on our property, to enjoy the quiet enjoyment of our land, and to not have others take our property for their use without permission.

Sincerely,
Alice and Billy John Clolinger