When Arthur Carlson lost his job he never assumed he would be living in a tent somewhere in the woods of Wilmington, homeless. Perhaps too proud to take a handout from the many helpful agencies in town, he took to fending for himself in a campsite adjoining Wilmington’s exclusive Country Club and Golf Course.

Reacting to a call to remove Carlson and the others camping there, Sheriff Sid Causey called the media to alert them of his response to the complaint. Because Carlson was on County property the campsite fell under Causey's jurisdiction and he wasn’t going to permit these vagrants from camping there even though the property was not posted against overnight trespassers.

The problem of homelessness is all too familiar with the residents of just about any community south of the freezing northern part of the Country. And yes many of these people have lengthy criminal histories, mental illness, substance abuse issues and sorted pasts. But also many of them are just down on their luck and need a break. Perhaps Arthur Carlson is just one of those down on his luck souls in need of a break.

But does this particular problem pose direct intervention by our Sheriff? You would think that a man so busy trying to find and hire staff for our overcrowded jail, or the man in charge of the plague of illegal video poker speakeasies would have little time to walk through the woods to roust a vagrant.

When neighboring County Sheriffs have recently posed for the media on acres of marijuana plants, seizing over $700,000 worth of cocaine and $60,000 in cash in a small rural farming town, at Congressmen’s sides to discuss the problems of illegal immigrants and standing beside Federal Prosecutors after a major gang is arrested for trafficking in cocaine you would think that the Sheriff of New Hanover County would have picked a bigger issue than someone pitching a tent in the woods on the front nine of the country club. That is unless he is raising funds for a re-election bid.

Like so many politicians who are indebt to the wealthy campaign contributors and react to whims of supposed community needs, Causey has time and time again shown that he is little more than a lackey to some of the area's big spenders, even protecting some of them from news reports of their indiscretions of domestic violence and other misdemeanor offenses. Rather than using his time to effectively combat a surge of drug crime and the resulting crimes associated with illegal drugs, Causey instead bullies his way into a campsite of derelicts and not only that, but has the mistaken belief that this ill-advised PR effort will prove that he is on the job.

Didn’t he assist his church in obtaining the old Law Enforcement Center to turn it into a homeless shelter? You would think his compassion for the homeless would have shamed him into going into the woods and would instead have sent one of his deputies to do the dirty work. The Star News article reported that he offered the man some money, as if he was extending some sort of compassion, but that is what he is legally obligated to do. According to law when removing a vagrant from unposted public property you are to offer shelter or aid to the individual you are to evict and not threaten them with arrest.

Years ago the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was when then Sheriff Joe McQueen ordered Lt. Marc Benson to remove a couple of homeless vagrants from the bushes of the courthouse. Marc asked what he was to do if the vagrants refused to vacate and he was told to arrest them. Marc refused, the land was not posted, it was public property and there was no reason to arrest anyone sleeping in the bushes back then, so he protested the order. Marc’s retirement from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office soon followed.

So why come out with the media for a walk in the woods when there is a fire burning taxpayers money by the truckload out at the jail on Blue Clay Road and a terror threat in the quiet homes of the parents of this community that fear that the illegal drug trade may have ensnared their susceptible children. There are sex offenders that have failed to verify their addresses, video poker places involved in shootouts as they rob those addicted to gambling, warrants needed to be served, businesses with illegal hiring practices and elderly homeowners scared to go to sleep at night in fear of waking to a burglar ransacking their home.

On one side of the fence you have Arthur Carlson, down on his luck and struggling to survive, whatever the reasons. On the other side of the fence you have golf tournaments with illegal calcuttas, day and night poker games and staff serving alcohol to underage kids with tragic results. Both sides are breaking the law, one side has the attention of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the County.

We at the Blue Line fail to see the justice and we are not the only ones.