Had a court date today in Kingsport for traffic court for parking 15 inches over the white line in a handicapped parking space. I have a handicap placard and was at HVHMC on Feb. 4. I parked on the top side of the old parking garage close to where all the construction is going on and parked over the line. Now, these were "temporary" handicapped spaces and were only marked by a sign that is posted on the wall. Now, I was not the only person parked over the line as just about every car there was parked over the line causing a "domino" effect. However, I was the only one who got a ticket that day because I checked.

Anyhow, the city of Kingsport held court today for hadicapped parking violations at 4 this afternoon. When I arrived, there were no less than 20 people, all of us obviously with a very visible disability at court. All were ticketed on various days at the hospital. Now I admit I was over the line and as such, according to the judge, was guilty as sin along with everyone else. We were all ticketed by the same "volunteer" police officer, I guess you could call him the parking po-po. Most of the others were ticketed for parking in what the judge calls the "white stripe" area. I wasn't. Not one of us were from tennessee, but all from virginia, and several from the Big Stone Gap area.

The fine for this is 51 bucks plus court costs and everyone got the fine reduced to 11 dollars exept me. Mine was marked down as a warning as my space was not a regular handicapped space but a temporary one.

My point is that doesn't it seem odd that the parking police seemed to target only the hospital and then only the cars tagged in Virginia?

A word of warning also was issued to me by the judge, "DO NOT PARK YOUR VEHICLE OVER THE LINE OF ANY PARKING SPACE OR YOU WILL RECEIVE A TICKET.