That was where I left off.

Thanks to a team of reporters at The News, I can plug in some numbers. To my surprise, they show a police force that has been, to my mind, remarkably restrained, issuing seven warnings for every ticket.

The police say they made 55 arrests, made 329 traffic stops and issued 40 citations for speeding and other offenses between Feb. 1 and April 27.

I had a nice chat with a state conservation officer last Friday. He, in turn, had just had a nice chat with a man who was out there with his grandson, his first visit to the island since the 1960s, his interest piqued by state involvement.

The officer had been based out of Bad Axe, was glad for his new posting, told me about how cool it was the day in February when he came across four bald eagles in the woods, two parents and two yearlings, probably just stopping over for food and drink on their way north.

Once fishing season gets going, he’ll probably be having a lot more chats with visitors, but probably not so nice. If you gave me a multiple-choice one-question test about fishing on Belle Isle, with the question being how many fisherman have fishing licenses, and the two choices are: A., approaching zero percent; and B., approaching 100 percent, I’m taking A.

Once things heat up, the traffic gets busy, the roads get filled, the beer starts flowing, the fishing lines get cast, I think tickets will be getting written faster than anyone now imagines.

City Council President Brenda Jones told The News that she was offended that Mayor Mike Duggan and City Clerk Janice Winfrey had each been pulled over for speeding on the island.

“The city clerk and the mayor are getting pulled over on the island? Are you kidding me?” she was quoted as saying. “It’s truly not acceptable."

Note to Brenda: Didn’t we learn the lesson in the Kilpatrick administration about mayors thinking themselves immune to the laws that govern the rest of us?

Do I want the state running the island? Absolutely.

Do I welcome the presence of the state police and the conservation officers? Absolutely.

Do I hope there is some restraint about enforcing the letter of every law, that warnings continue to outnumber tickets, and that those warnings include fishermen, many of whom probably have no idea they’re supposed to have licenses to fish from shore? Yep.

Time for lunch. Time for a run on the island.