Living in a Field of Dreams isn't always Heaven

It's not something that happens in Iowa, after all, this is supposed to be pretty close to Heaven according to my favorite actor Kevin Costner's film, Field of Dreams. But occasionally something so unimaginable happens that makes us sit back and ponder life. First we had the news that a little boy was found that had been missing for far too long. Then we had the loss of Mollie Tibbett who was found in a field. Now Brooklyn, where Molly lived, is a mere hour southwest of Vinton. When something like this happens, it begs the question many women who jog are asking, "Is it safe?" After all, this kind of thing isn't supposed to happen here. It should have never happened, we know that. Unfortunately, this tragedy should have been prevented. Elisabeth Warren said of the tragedy,��I�m so sorry for the family here and I know this is hard,� Warren responded, �not only for the family but for the people in her community, the people throughout Iowa.�But one of the things we have to remember is we need an immigration system that is effective,� she continued, �that focuses on where real problems are.� I might have missed something here, but it seems like murdered young ladies MIGHT be a "real problem." (and no I'm not saying all immigrants are murderers.) A few weeks ago people were sharing the statistics of all the missing people. In just a 10 day span in July, 48 people went missing in Iowa. Supposedly that is also "in line with historical numbers." Maybe it's because I'm not a politician, but the guy that murdered Mollie Tibbett shouldn't have been here in the first place. Now I'm not "anti immigrant" I'm really not. I am however anti-anyone here that is breaking the law. We worked with a guy that was breaking his neck to become a legal citizen, and is doing everything the right way. His complaint was that all of the people flooding the system coming in illegally, were delaying the process that he was paying to do correctly. Concerning Mollie's killer, this statement from the Department of Transportation, was also put out clearing up some misconceptions concerning the paperwork this...murderer had or didn't have. "There is a lot of information circulating in the media on the lawful status of Mollie Tibbett�s accused killer, and multiple news articles have reported that he presented a state-issued ID card. Although it may be accurate that he presented a state-issued ID card to his employer, it was NOT one issued by the state of Iowa. Here is information that may be useful in case you are asked about this.

Iowa law, consistent with the federal REAL ID Act, prohibits us from issuing any type of driver�s license or identification card to a person who is an undocumented immigrant. We are authorized to issue a license or ID to people who are considered temporary foreign nationals, but a temporary foreign national is a person who is lawfully authorized to be present in the U.S., as determined by the USCIS (US Customs & Immigration Service), and presents documents issued by USCIS that are valid and can be verified electronically through the SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) program operated by the US-DHS (United States Department of Homeland Security). An undocumented immigrant has no such lawful status and no corresponding documentation and is not eligible for an Iowa license or ID. We reviewed our records and have confirmed that we did not issue any license or credential to Cristhian Bahena Rivera, either under that name or any alternate name or identity, and have no license history for him.Our review included using our facial recognition system to compare against all photos on record to assure he did not obtain a license or ID under a different or false name. We are referring all requests for additional information about the source of the suspect�s credentials to DCI, but I believe they are holding that information confidential at this time. We do contribute to the E-verify program, through a program called RIDE (Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify). Under that program, an employer who is presented a driver�s license or ID issued by the state of Iowa may enter the credential information into the E-Verify system, and we will return an answer indicating whether the information provided is valid or invalid. However, our participation in the verification process would not have been triggered or implicated in this case because the suspect did not possess or present an Iowa-issued credential."

Now all of that is to say, the guy shouldn't have been here, misrepresented who he was, and was still here. How he got here, we don't know. That doesn't really matter. The latest bandwagon coming to town are the calls to abolish ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement). These are some of the people that ICE is after. The guy that stalks joggers. I'm not saying that all immigrants are bad guys, they aren't. As a matter of fact the gentleman that I mentioned earlier, I'd put him against any citizen in our country. He was a kind and hardworking man. He is who should be in our country. President Trump is getting a bad rap when it comes to this issue. He's simply doing what he took an oath to do, protect out country. It doesn't matter how many ICE agents we have around, there's still going to be the bad guys that get into our country and stay when they shouldn't be here. Ladies, if nothing else, this story reminds you that any time you are out alone, you are at risk. I know, I know, no one wants to live life looking over their shoulder. But if you are, chances are someone was looking out for you.

Use common sense. If your instincts are telling you that something just doesn't quite feel right, listen to them! Something probably ISN'T right!
Stay in well lit areas. I know it probably goes without saying, but you don't need reflectors to keep you safe, (that's always good) but you need light.
Stay near well populated areas, so that if something goes wrong, someone will hear or see you.
Jog in pairs or larger groups. Maybe this is the time to kick off a group of Vinton joggers!
If there's someone stalking you, don't make the mistake that Molly did by telling the stalker that you are calling the police, just do it.
If you carry a phone with you, activate the "Find my phone" app so that people who care about you can see where you are and if in fact that things are going as planned.
Most importantly, watch out for each other. If you see a jogger in the area, beware that they are there and scan the area around them. Do you notice anyone that might be following them? Another set of eyes is never a bad thing.

We don't need to have any more missing people in our area. As the mother of a jogger, you're all getting the same advice I'd give her. Be careful out there. We love you and we want to see your sweaty faces when you get home at the end of a run.

Opinion : Living in a Field of Dreams isn't always Heaven

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