Nestled in Macon County is a secluded farm about 15 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Interstate 85. The farm offers a sense of peace and tranquility for the Gannon family, who lives there.
But things weren't always so peaceful, owner Ed Gannon explained, a fact largely due to the area's casinos. Given the recent interest in gambling legislation at the State Capitol, Gannon hopes lawmakers who want to expand casinos in Alabama take time to hear his story.
Gannon's farm lies near VictoryLand Casino. "VictoryLand is operating to some degree now, but nothing like it used to be," Gannon said. That's because a court banned the casino from having electronic bingo machines. Before that action, however, his property, his family, and his livelihood were directly and negatively impacted.
"[W]hen [VictoryLand] was in full swing, it was packed," Gannon explained. "And the property theft, not only Macon County, but the surrounding counties, was just off the chart."
Why was that?
"It was a lot to do with people stealing to sell stuff to go to the casinos, and all the prostitution and the drug trade that goes around the atmosphere of the casino," Gannon claimed. "But we were not living full-time at our farm at that time, so it made it even harder to try to protect it."
Gannon said he experienced eight to 10 break-ins over the course of several years. The situation was so dire that the Gannon family considered selling their property.
"I literally went out west to look at land to buy and sell this place and buy land somewhere else just because I didn't think I was ever going to be able to have anything," he said. "They took just anything that they thought they could get some dollars for."
What type of items were the thieves interested in?
"You know, saddles," Gannon continued. "We used to ride a lot of horses, and you know, they stole saddles and any kind of electronics, and they stole an antique typewriter one time that we actually found out in the woods where they just ditched it, but it didn't matter. They would just steal whatever they thought they could get a few dollars for."
"I mean, they would ransack," he added. "They would pull out all the drawers and just dump them."
All this had a traumatic effect on Gannon's family. His eight-year-old son was scared to be on the land that once brought so much joy to his young heart. Every time Gannon and his family came to the farm and saw that another break-in had occurred, he had to take his son to his grandma's house while Gannon returned and tried to piece things back together.
"My son loved the farm," he said. "All he wanted to do was come to the farm. You know, he loved to bring his buddies. But we came out here one time—he was probably eight or nine—and we'd been broken into, and he looked at me with big tears in his eyes, and he said, 'Do we have to stay at the farm? Can we go home?'"
"And that's what really upset me," Gannon continued. "It's like my own son is scared to stay at his own farm."
Gannon called the Macon County Sheriff's Office to help deal with the problem, but deputies were unable to make arrests. It wasn't until the Alabama Bureau of Investigation stepped in that the break-ins were dealt with, Gannon explained.
"We called the sheriff's office and sometimes they didn't come out at all," Gannon said. "They would just say they were making note of it. Then the other times, they would come out, but at that time, we never got any results from the sheriff's office coming out."
"Then the Alabama Bureau of Investigation finally deployed a rural task force for rural crimes and they ended up catching a bunch of people that were breaking in," he said.
"They ended up watching them break in and let them," Gannon said. "They didn't arrest them, but then they followed them until they saw stuff cross the state line, which made it a felony, and then got some results after that."
But Gannon's family members were not the only victims. Other people in the community spoke with Gannon about things that were stolen from their properties.
Interestingly, there was a noticeable difference when VictoryLand Casino was closed during Gov. Bob Riley's administration. The theft and other crimes immediately stopped, Gannon said, but when the casino reopened, the criminals were right back in action.
"When the casino was running wide open, you could go out there to Shorter and you could tell there was a different atmosphere with the people walking the streets and different things like that," he explained.
The property crimes also threatened Gannon's cattle-raising operations. And although he no longer has cows, he said he has enjoyed living on the property and tending to his recreational farm during the last 30 years. He wants to protect his current quality of life, hunting and fishing, without worrying about his safety.
Gannon understands that the community needs jobs and money that the casino could bring, but he doesn't feel that same money has been used for the greater good. As such, he urges lawmakers to do their research and find out if expanding gambling is really worth it.
"It doesn't have a positive net effect," Gannon said, referring to gambling and the casinos that foster it.
"You know, it brings in just the kind of element that you don't want. I understand that there can be honest people that just like to gamble, and they, you know—I can go to the movie and spend 50 bucks, or they go to the casino and spend 50 bucks. But it creates drug problems and prostitute problems."
"You know, all they want is dollars for whatever their projects are, but they don't consider the net negative effect that it has on the community," he continued, referring to the legislators in Montgomery. "Everything I've ever heard from a politician—that's not their concern. Their concern is tax dollars. You know, they just want more revenue from it."
That's likely why Gannon also has a message for his neighbors: get out and vote.
"Everybody I know that lives out here or anywhere close to here already knows, despises it just like I do because they've suffered the consequences of all the property theft and what it does to the community," Gannon said. "But I would say, 'Yeah, get out and vote. Get out and make calls and write letters to say that you're opposing this, and if the politicians aren't going to vote against it, and they're going to vote against people who promote it, you're not going to get out [and] vote."
"That's what matters to a politician is whether they get elected or not," he concluded.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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