Oran: One town divided

Oran, Mo. -- Judi Henson doesn't like what has happened to her lifelong hometown of Oran since Police Chief Marc Tragesser started work last summer. The problem for Henson isn't necessarily the chief, but the controversy that has ripped the town apart over the way Tragesser does his job.

"It's the whole situation," said Henson. "There's continuous conflict; it has turned brother against brother and family against family."

Henson doesn't know if the new chief's enforcement style, the constant rumors, the conflict between neighbors or just a general economic downturn is responsible, but she does know her business is suffering from Oran's current ills.

Henson and her husband Jim have owned the Oran Kwik Stop since August 2002. Since the final months of last year, Henson said, her store has experienced a 15 to 20 percent decrease in sales.

Some local business owners say the situation is so bad that they've approached the city council, seeking a solution. While not all business owners are in agreement, Henson said, one explanation seems to be more prominent than any other -- Tragesser's law enforcement approach is the cause.

When the new chief took over in late July for Howard Stevens, who held the post for more than 30 years, tensions immediately developed. Locals started to decry Tragesser's enforcement style -- his department has issued more than 120 citations from late July through mid-January -- and his attitude. In contrast, Stevens wrote only a handful of tickets in the few years before he retired.

Scott City, a town of roughly 5,000 people, issues about 70 citations per month, with 140 written this year since Jan. 1.

Instead of working with locals, Tragesser acted like an adversary, said those who oppose him. Rumors started to fly -- the police writing seatbelt tickets to excess, writing tickets for running stop signs, being disrespectful to people they pulled over. Some said the chief never made an effort to introduce himself to residents and business owners before he started making traffic stops. He denies that claim.

Soon the town was torn between the chief's supporters and detractors.

These days Oran has become a community wary of the outside attention the headlines about the battle have brought. Many residents, business owners and even council members won't comment on the situation to the media.

But Henson won't hesitate to speak out. Her reason -- she wants the wounds that have opened in her town to heal.

Henson said the business decline started around the time Tragesser came in office, but she isn't ready to make the conclusion that the new chief is responsible for the situation.

"That's yet to be determined," said Henson. Currently the Oran Business Betterment Association, which Henson belongs to along with 27 other local business owners, is researching the economic situations in other small towns. Their hope is they can find a reason for the local decline Oran businesses are reporting.

Henson said not all of the association members hold Tragesser responsible. Those who do are vocal about the situation, though.

In a letter to the council, association president Michael McVay represented the majority opinion of the group, directly blaming Tragesser for the town's economic problems.

To back up their arguments the group used sales tax figures, which show some decline after Tragesser came to town. However, the decline was in line with previous years.

For some business owners the evidence is more direct. They say they've heard straight from the customers why they aren't coming to Oran -- they're afraid to get a ticket.

"A lot of people in this area from out of town have told me they aren't coming to my place because of the police," said one business owner who wished to remain anonymous. "They come to town and spend eight dollars, and when they leave they get a 50 dollar ticket."

The business owner said where he used to see 15 to 20 customers a day, some days he now sits around without having a single customer.

"I don't know how long any of us can go on," he said.

One of the businesses most outspoken against the chief is Otter's, a bar and grill. Owners there declined to comment.

Some business owners support the chief, though. Mary, who wished her last name be omitted, runs a video store with her family. She said before Tragesser, her store was broken into several times at night. But since the chief started night patrols and checked on businesses after hours, she said that no longer happens.

Tragesser, Mayor Tom Urhahn and several members of the city council think people are really afraid to come to Oran because of rumors they've heard, not because of anything Tragesser has actually done.

In a log of citations furnished by the police department, 29 of the more than 120 citations issued through mid-January were for speeding. In those citations the smallest difference logged between driver speed and speed limit was 7 miles per hour. One citation was for 9 miles per hour over, two were for 10 miles per hour over, the rest were for 12 or more miles per hour over. Ten of the citations were for DWI.

Tragesser doesn't see a few speeding tickets a month as a problem, and he stresses that his department doesn't give tickets out constantly for small speeding transgressions and running stop signs, as rumors say.

"Before I walked in the door the rumors hit," said Tragesser. "From that very month it's been a challenge."

Tragesser said rumors he was writing tickets for seatbelt violations began before he officially started patrolling. Seatbelt tickets were being written, he said, but by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, not him.

But finally Tragesser said he's starting to see a possible end to the infighting. At a city council meeting earlier this week several residents of Oran who call themselves the "silent majority" attended and expressed their support for Tragesser. At the same meeting, all eight members of the city council said the chief was doing a good job.

Now Tragesser is trying to reach out to the community, administering surveys and asking residents how they feel about his performance. The chief said so far out of more than 50 surveys, the vast majority say there's no problem with the chief.

The chief is concerned with the drop in sales reported by business owners, but doesn't think he's the one to blame. "Without the businesses, you don't have a town," Tragesser said.

Henson said no matter what the association's research finds regarding economic slumps in other small towns, she just wants the community to get back to normal.

"We want everything to be positive -- the association was started with that goal," she said. "There's a variety of issues we're concerned with."

Starting the association was a natural way to address the business slump, not to attack the chief, she said.

"Our community has had a black eye," Henson said. "Oran is really a good community and a supportive community.

"Everybody is entitled to their own opinion -- you have to respect that opinion and be able to continue your friendships."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182