When I was a young lad several years ago and in the early movie days, there was a group called the Keystone Kops. They were policeman out to do their best but somehow never quite accomplished their task without some stupid bungling.

They were honest, well intentioned and harmless, but bunglers. They could never quite accomplish what they started out to do without making it worse, but in a very comical way.

I thought they were gone, no longer covering their beat. Alas, however, they were brought back to do some super-sleuthing in the Gardiner area. With them, they had a mouthpiece to improve their classic bungling.

Numerous cops and others set up a sting in Gardiner to rescue a set of golf clubs just reported as stolen several hours before. Classic Keystone Kop work, on the job almost before it happened.

As many as seven or more Kops were to catch that scoundrel who stole those clubs. And one of the Kops pulled a gun just to show a poor innocent Veterans Affairs employee he meant business.

True to form and to go with a recent newspaper article, nobody of an official nature had any problem with the gun being displayed. Most ordinary citizens thought it was stupid under the circumstances.

Now the mouthpiece, who was there to make sure the bungling Kops obeyed the law, answered in the classic form of “Hogan’s Heroes” Sgt. Shultz: “I know nothing,” when asked what he knew.

In spite of the overreaction of the police, no real harm was done, just bungling.

What is to be commended is the work of the newspaper doing the kind of reporting that a good local paper should do. Keep it up.

Tom Brazier

Waterville