Like "Star Wars," this saga continues .....
The first part is bad news ... Reno got hit last weekend by a thief who systematically stripped the wire from several athletic fields and parking loots.
The second part isn't so much 'good news,' as a tragedy.
Last spring, a young man stole an ATM machine. Following the trail left as he dragged the machine away with his truck, police entered a garage. Not only did they find the thief; they found several huge rolls of wire, each marked as coming from a different contractor. They also arrested a young man who was ONE MONTH away from completing the local apprenticeship program.
Now Junior is out from his very brief prison stay - am I the only one who thinks this is a scandal in itself - and Junior had the gall to approach the local trade association, and ask to complete / graduate from the program. He actually noted that he had NOT been accused of taking anything from his employer! Still, he had his hours in, so he can obtain a city Journeyman card.
Card in hand, he is now approaching local EC's, claiming to have completed the program. He has so far not found any takers. Reno is a small town.
(I wonder what he was doing last weekend?)
Junior seems completely unable to recognize that he did anything wrong - or that folks just might hold his actions against him. Just the sort that, I'm sure, everyone wants on their jobsite. At any rate, he seems completely unable to accept that, well, he's going to have to limit himself to unloading trucks for a while. Or digging ditches. There are just too many folks wanting a chance, folks who haven't spoiled their first chance.
It's also quite possible that Junior will try to open shop as a trunk-slammer (unlicensed contractor). Will he carry his ethics over into contracting? Probably.
An idle thought: As regular readers know, I just received my contractors license. It will be interesting to track Junior's success, and mine, over the next few years. Does the unlicensed guy really have an advantage, not having all those overhead expenses? Time will tell.
