Good job by police to clean up local park

By Staff
Mention the east side of the "pump pond," also known as Sloss Lake Park, to any longtime Russellville resident, and you'll probably get some interesting observations about activities that go on there, if not some outright laughter.
The area on the east side of the lake, located on Alabama 24, is mostly secluded from view of passersby, and cars are seen often parked there in the late night and early morning hours.
What are the people in all those cars doing? Well, we won't hazard a specific guess in a family newspaper, but it's a safe bet they're not playing Monopoly.
The park is known for unsavory activities, let's just face it.
But this week, the Russellville Police took action to change that.
In an undercover (we'll leave the obvious puns alone) operation, the police arrested four people for illegal activity at the park, and police chief Chris Hargett said the arrests need to be a signal to others that such behavior won't be tolerated.
Hargett said his department plans to patrol the area more often and keep the park safe for all citizens to use and enjoy.
It's a family park, and it should be safe for families to enjoy. The city has done a lot of good work cleaning and landscaping the area, and we applaud their work and the work of Hargett and his officers to keep the area crime-free.
It's a beautiful park and very scenic lake, and parents should not worry about taking their children there and subjecting them to things they should not be seeing.
These arrests are another example of the good job Hargett is doing as police chief. Here's hoping the arrests this week do send a message and that fewer arrests will have to be made at the park in the future.