Kids are going to be kids and are going to play where they think it might be interesting.  We used to play in the canals, crawl all over new construction of homes and dig holes!  Why?  because we were kids!!!!  Yes, we were told to not do that, but again, being kids we did it anyway! 

I find it very interesting that the city can find the man power and the time to have some yahoo drive around neighborhoods and cite people who they feel have messy yards but they cannot patrol their own property that could be deadly to kids???

No we were not cited for a messy yard but our neighbor was because he let HIS bushes grow up in front of his front windows! The bushes even had flowers!

 I'll just refer the question back to my post earlier about boys being hunters and warriors.

I got cited too witters,what a joke. But of course I complied ...I am sure the city would have a hissy fit,but this seems like a job for some handy citizens,a little wire,some wood and doesn't everybody have a million chains and locks lying about? Mail those keys to city water resources manager Florn Core.

So, they will not consider fixing those huge holes?  I am one of those who have complained about the sump behind my home.  The city lets trees grow there, has people dumping mattresses there, lets the weeds get 6 ft. high, and has the fire department driving around in circles trying to get in when the neighborhood kids set it on fire, TWICE!!!!   When we do have a substaintial amount of rain runoff, the standing water can get a foot deep or deeper and is a breeding ground for mosquitos.  I have no problem with their solution to runoff but they need to maintain them and not depend on us to report problems.

Sage, the yahoo city guy (in his car) wrote us up for the "junk car" in our driveway and they want it covered.  That "junk car" is a 1967 Ford Mustang worth $4000.00!!!  We just had a new paint job and Mr. Pitters put the pony logos and new bumper on it!  Now, how would this guy even know whether or not we DRIVE this car without getting his arse out of his car and looking under the hood!!! Of course Mr. Pitters is working on the new engine he plans on putting in this car but the city yahoo ass-u-me-d it was "junk".  Really ticked me off so I went to the city web site found this yahoo and sent him one hot email!! Not that he will give a rats arse but I feel better!!! Pleanty around the cornor from us really do have junk cars in their yards and driveways I sure hope they got written up!!!

 When I grew up here in Bakersfield the canals were not fenced. It was our parents responsibility to see that we stayed safe. The house I grew up in backed up to a canal and when my mom caught one of us near it that big leather belt came out and she tore us up good. None of us drowned.   When we got caught digging in the vacant lot across the street we got the belt again. None of us died in cave-ins.Of course if you did that now some bleeding heart, breast beating LW liberal POS would be demanding you be prosecuted and  it would still be your fault if your kids drowned cause you didn't reason with them. People it's your responsibility to keep track of your children not the cities or the nanny state. Get off your fat butt and pay attention.

I'm sure the city will get sued in this incident as they do in most. 

 You Go Charlie, could not have said it better......

 In the 50's my brother and friends had a head start on water skiing locally by tying a piece of corrugated tin to the back of their old jalopy and towing each other down the canals (via the banks of course.)  The kids were still doing that on the H Street canal when I was in high school.  Of course there were no houses out there then let alone fences.

Kids will find places to play and dragons to slay..it's their nature.

I was one of those kids that lived on Terrace Way just off "H" street where the canal was!!!!! yyaaaaaaaaaaa  hooooooooooo 

 Speaking of suing, I wonder what the cost is for the HUGE response by all law enforcement agencies, countywide and statewide, who responded to the original report of the kidnapping? What about all the other calls for service that didn't get handled in a timely manner? But the parents of the little boy who lied won't be billed or sued. Our tax dollars at work.

 The City will not be inspecting the other 339 sumps they own.  Doing so could be a sign that they have some responsibility for keeping people out.  That would not look very good in court.  Parents - KNOW WHERE YOUR KIDS PLAY!

This is ridiculous!  The boys were only nine years old and they were very good friends!  One is dead and the other is wishing it were him!  Nine year olds lie when they get into trouble or are scared.  The community needs to let our families grieve.  Where's the love in this city when you need it?  Sue the city?  Sue a child?  Sue...sue...sue...that's the first thing people come to?  How about...are we (the families) ok...what can I do to help? I would also like to say...some people have died in cave-ins...right here in Bakersfield....get the facts straight...this is NOT the first time this has happend!!  Maybe you and your friends were saved but there actually have been many deaths in and around these canals and sumps!  I have lived in Bakersfield for 34 years...and I can recall at least 5 incidents off the top of my head!  Several in good ol' oildale and many in the canal...not to mention the hundreds in the Kern River. Please, if you don't have something nice to say...just keep it to yourself...my son could read this one day and God forbid, kill himself...bad comments hurt.  He needs counceling and therapy for lying and for the death of his close friend already..please, don't add to that. 

I, too, played next to the canal on H street as well as the one on Hughes Lane.  Yes, my parents would have paddled my a**, had they known.  These boys were playing right along with many others that day.  Most boys play in the dirt and to them, dirt is dirt, no matter what mom and dad say.  When you're nine and you think, "Zane's mom is going to be soooo mad he died here when we were not supposed to be here...so let a bad man take the blame, not Zane."  Well, it makes no sense to adults but that is the logic he had....deal with it.  I know he will for the rest of his life. 

YOU KNOW WHAT I AGREE WITH THE LAST MESSAGE. LEAVE THIS BABY ALONE HE BEEN THRU ENOUGH MY CUZN LOST HIS BROTHER IN A CANAL IN OILDALE MY HUSBANDS AUNT DROWNED IN A SUMP IN LAMONT. UM AND YEA I HAVE LIVED HERE IN BAKERSFIELD FOR 32 YEARS . YES WE LIVED DOWN FROM A CANAL AND YES LUCKY FOR US WERE ARE ALIVE YOU THAT ARE TALKING ALL YOUR CRAP I HOPE YOU KNOW KARMA WILL FOLLOW. IF ZANES FAMILY WAS AT THE OTHER BOYS HOUSE TODAY AND ZANES MOTHER N FATHER ARE STILL SAYING THEY LOVE AND WILL BE THERE FOR THE BOY WHY CANT YOU DO THE SAME EITHER SUPPORT HIM AND HELP HIM GET THRU THIS OR LEAVE HIM ALONE. AS FOR THE BOYS FAMILY THEY ARE HAVING TO GET THERE SON THRU A LOSING HIS BEST FRIEND B GETTING HIM TO DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF EMOTIONS. N C TO HELP HIM DEVELOP MENTALLY AFTER GOING THRU THIS TRAGEDY. LEAVE THEM ALONE. PEOPLE REALLY SHOULD NOT BE JUDGEING ANYONE OF THESE PEOPLE

No we were not cited for a messy yard but our neighbor was because he let HIS bushes grow up in front of his front windows! The bushes even had flowers!

Citing him for bushes in front of his windows was a bit much, but how many people let their trees grow out and down over the sidewalk to where pedestrians have to walk out into oncoming traffic to go around it?

jennifer536, FYI, I received the e-mail you sent me in the middle of the night. What do you mean "how dare you?" First of all, what I posted above and what you said to me are not even close in context. Re-read my post. And why do you think the city should put bob wire around the sumps, extra padlocks, and warning signs? So they can relieve parents of the responsibility of watching and raising their children? This was an accident. People die in accidents everyday.

And two more points...

A 9 year old is not a "baby".

There is a little box in the tabs above where you type comments here. It's says "ABC" and has a blue check mark. You might want to check it out....

 The police are not to blame for this tragedy according to neighbors one of them called in to BPD to report kids in the sump however, she could not put her point across....she did not speak English and no one was in the office that spoke Spanish. It was the Spanish speaking caller who was to blame for not being fluent in English so the TV news reports.

 Are you saying not one person in the BPD spoke spanish when this lady called? I really can't believe that. 

EDIT changed english to spanish

 Michele1075, trueblueguru, (Panfilio Fuentes), is making that up. He is a senile, racist, old Mexican. Don't pay him any attention, unless you just like talking to crazy people.

 My guess is that the report was false since it came from KGET news instead of the Californian, they are the only accurate media in town as you well know.

The other rumor in town is that a BPD fell asleep at the wheel and struck a a vehicle which than struck a motorist, probably just another story made up by that old "Mexican".

 THX OB, yeah I figured something was up being he always likes to comment on the arrest logs.

 Incidentally, in all fairness, the police spokesman on the story neither confirmed nor denied the call, he simply said he knew nothing about a call coming in, which is blue talk for don't bother me.

 First of all, trublueguru said the CALLER couldnt speak english, not the BPD. Seriously, can u ppl read?

secondly, my heart goes out to the TWO families that are involved in this.  I almost lost my son on sunday and i see what your going through, and my heart goes out two the moms of both of those boys. we may never know the REAL reason the boy made up the story, but we do know that poor BABY will have to live with it forever. (even when he is 60, he'll still be a BABY to his mama) Can u try for just a minute to put yourselves in their shoes? come on ppl. my son almost died from playing on a jungle gym. i was RIGHT THERE. you can not prevent EVERY disaster that comes along. How many of us let our kids play out front? if you dont, seriously, YOU are the bad parent. Why dont you people try reaching out to that mom that has lost THREE of her children?? Give her a freaking break. Until you know what its like, you have no right to judge her. i can guaran damn tee you that she checked on them. you cant watch over them constantly. even when theyre only 9. how will they ever learn to be independent men if mommy is standing over their shoulder every minute? to the TWO moms: if u need Anything, EVEN THO IM A STRANGER, please let me know. dont be afraid to reach out. if you dont sue the city, maybe we can do something to change the laws. sometimes taking action feels a hell of a lot better than winning some cash in a court room. lets make a change in Zane's honor. This is a good time for every parent in bakersfield to take their children around your neighborhoods and point out the areas to stay away from...and then do u know what u do?? P~R~A~Y~ HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN TRUELY KEEP YOUR BABIES SAFE.

 lil rabbit77, that is a good idea. Let some politician pass a new law that says all cities must erect an 18' brick fence around all sumps, and post 24/7 guards. And if the parents are home watching Dr. Phil and can't be bothered watching their children, and something bad happens to them, you can sue the city for gross negligence. They can call it Rabbit's Law. Works for me.

 too funny...everyone loves a  smart ass. why do we have the sumps? for storm drainage? i think a childs life is more important than a little xtra water in the street. I guess its too much to ask ppl like you to become involved in making change. Instead you would rather sit there and judge people whom you have never even met.  How do u know they werent out and about for 15 minutes or so? how do u KNOW she didnt check on those children? how do u KNOW that little boy is afraid of his parents and didnt just MAKE A MISTAKE??? at least i suggest making a change. I dont just gripe because my fat arse cant get off of the computer chair. Im not saying that people shouldnt watch their kids closely. Im just saying how do u know she DIDNT? I also didnt say she should sue which is everyone in bakersfields answer to anything, i said TAKE ACTION. do u know what action means? i dont mean the type u get while checking out your porn sites either =)

 lil rabbit, I happen to know a few inside facts that haven't been released to the media. Go ask Zane's mom what really happened...

And that is an absolute ignorant statement regarding the purpose of sumps. But typical. 

 Lit, I meant to say in my above post spanish, I can read quite well.  So yes my question was serious and I'm going to edit that post.

Lit I can honestly tell you OldBlu has done quite a bit more for this community than you could ever hope to do. Why are you sitting behind your keyboard right now instead of "taking some action".. ? Typical hypocrit. I think this is simply a tragic accident that most likely couldnt have been avoided. There is no fence high enough that curious boys cant climb.  

 awww how cute....oldmanblu has an admirer. how do u know what i have and have not done for this community? u have no idea who i am. i could come on here and act like i know things. I dont see how suddenly im the bad guy. All im saying is leave the families alone. I feel bad for you people that u have no lives outside of these blogs. Your getting entertainment from watching their misery and posting  your "opinions". and not that its any of your business, but i have done things to "take some action". have u dont anything today to make bakersfield a better place? can u HONESTLY say yes? well i can, so get off my back, groupie. I also never said anything about a fence. i just said to try and find another solution. there ya go...pick apart that post. i have a life to go live.

 LitRabbit I don't think I like you. I clearly recall you posting a few opinions. Or are you above all of the rest of us?

 The real shame here is that a tragedy occurred and bloggers are turning it into a war of words.  C'mon folks, have a little decency.

 Nancy you are correct and I apologize.