Chief Coggins
and the Silverhill Police Officers
Special Guests

     "People talk about Silverhill as 'one of the prettiest places...'" reported Chief Alvin Coggins to the August meeting of Men's 710. "There used to be crops for money, but now we are growing houses in Baldwin County." Chief Coggins was talking about the impact of growth in and around Silverhill, a town situated right on Highway 104, the major unobstructed way from Highway 59 in Robertsdale to Highway 98 in Fairhope. Growth means traffic. Traffic has increased three-fold in just the past couple years and there is bumper to bumper traffic on 104 during the school year. Definitely a complication of growth!

     Silverhill Police Chief Alvin Coggins discussed the impact of growth on public safety needs in the Silverhill police jurisdiction at the August meeting of Zion's "Men's 710."

     There are other growth complications affecting Silverhill. Crime moves in when communities grow. Drugs become a problem. Just within the Silverhill police jurisdiction in the past several years there have been two meth labs, so drug problems already affect us. Addiction affects family and community and are related to domestic violence which affects the community and its infrastructure. Schools should be a safe place, but home violence ends up manifesting itself outside the home and in places like school. Other growth issues stretch the community infrastructure, the most notable in today's headlines relates to immigration issues. "Silverhill is not going to remain the place that it is today. We may have trouble recognizing Silverhill in just three or four years because of the growth we are experiencing," Coggins stated. "Crime may be moving in, but we have a community that is able to watch out for neighbors and keep an eye on one another." People are able to report what is out of place and share the information with law enforcement.

     Zion Lutheran Church's "Men's 710" hosted the Silverhill Police on August 8, 2006. Beginning with Chief Coggins and going counterclockwise around the table, are Silverhill Police Chief Alvin Coggins, Rob Laugher, Tracy Johnson, Tommy Moss, Ron Bankston, Lavon Greathouse, and Stephen Killian.

     The visible commodity for visitors traveling through Silverhill is the "traffic cop." Indeed, Silverhill used to have a reputation as a "speed trap." "Used to be" should maybe be in caps. From a practical standpoint, "the town of Silverhill receives $16 from a $126 ticket, the balance going to the state. It happens. People mess up when it comes to speeding," Coggins noted. "We provide some 'grace.' It is certainly not the $16 making us write a ticket." As a matter of fact, about 60% of tickets issued in the Silverhill police jurisdiction are "warnings." Yes, the department has certified equipment and could be nit-picking pretty easily, but issuing tickets is tempered by common sense, particularly when it comes to danger to the public welfare.