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Downtown rooftops not safe
To the editor:
On Dec. 12, around 4:30 p.m., we started hearing noises in our store that we could not recognize. Curiosity got the best of Kim, and she went out the back door to see what was going on. She couldn't find where the noise was coming from. I told her that it was probably something pertaining to construction work being done for the overpass on Ash Street.
At 5 p.m., we were in the process of closing the store, and as I was locking the back door, I heard Kim asking someone what they were doing up there. I opened the door to see what was going on. To my surprise, I saw three young men ON THE ROOF of my building. I asked them what was going on. I was told they were "free running" and having their senior pictures taken. We exchanged several words, with no satisfaction on my part. I immediately called the police.
The owner of the photography studio appeared from a vehicle in the parking lot and said to me, "We apologize. I thought the two students had talked to you and had permission to be on your roof."
They had used their ladder to get up on the lower section of my roof, and then pulled it up to be used on the next level of the roof. I said to them, "What would you think if one, or both, fell through the roof and was injured?" One of the students said that they did not see a NO TRESPASSING SIGN posted anywhere, and they thought we would not care for them being up there. I did not realize I needed a NO TRESPASSING SIGN nailed on my roof two and three stories up!
I asked the owner of the studio what would happen if I got a ladder and climbed up on the roof of their business and went running around? Did not receive a comment from anyone to that question. I was told by one of they students that they do it all the time on buildings all over town, and they had just been on the First Methodist Church roof, and were given permission to do so. Are their parents aware of these locations and approve of it?
They said they were "free running." Do they not realize how old these buildings are, and with electrical wiring, air conditioners and other equipment, that it is a very dangerous place to be walking, much less running? Owners are constantly paying to have the old flat roofs repaired because of leaks. Makes me wonder if this running is the cause of my having my roof repaired on the three buildings more lately.
The police officer logged a complaint and acknowledged that a compromise was reached between the two parties for any damage that may have occurred. This new idea of getting unusual locations for senior pictures is costly, but must of all, can be very dangerous. Who will be sued for medical expenses if an accident happens on these old, flat roofs? Owners of local businesses need to think ... who's on my roof, or who has been on my roof?