Shorelines

 Why haven't Trustees Johnson (pres), Eckman, Hanewall, Hickey, and Phinney responded to Snow Problems in Village ?

Perhaps it is because of what they know that the most of us in the Village don't.

Quite simply Shorewood no longer has the equipment to deal with large snowfalls and the mountains of snow and ice they leave between the street and the sidewalks. 

When the snow accumulates to the point where there is nowhere left to push it --- we cannot remove it to clear the business districts and the crosswalks, as the DPW use to do. 

 Over the past decade or so, the Village Board has spent millions on Streetscaping, Ad Campaigns touting our Walkability, and High Profile but useless events, such as the bike race. 

But they have neglected such mundane issues, as ensuring that the Village has the equipment, budget and resources that a community in Wisconsin needs, when Mother Nature decides to remind us that we still keep records of yearly snow accumulation.

Unfortunately, the Board's lack of attention to the mundane maintenance issues goes beyond the Village's preparedness for Snow. 

Take a tour of the Police Station (of a voluntary nature !) for a discouraging view of an outdated facility, that is barely being held together with the equivalent of baling wire and stop-gap measures.

Shorewood's Board of Trustees needs to pay as much attention to the steak as the sizzle --- especially when we pay taxes more in line with a dinner at Mo's than a lunch at McDonalds !

 As always please feel free to leave your Comments below --- and if your one of the Trustees who have yet to Respond to my inquiries, please share your thoughts with us.

For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

After all the problems Shorewood has had with piles of snow and ice througout the Business District, the delay in clearing Crosswalks, and the Free Show Removal for St Roberts, I sent the following questions to all the Trustees:

 Do you think that St Roberts should be charged for that service.  Do you think that service should be expanded to other private lots.

This past December was a good reminder that we really do live in an area that gets snow !  Yes, here in Wisconsin, Mother Nature has been known to make life miserable by dropping a whole lot of wet sloppy snow, and then freezing it all into frozen slush.

 On December 20th I wrote a posting to this blog noting that the merchants on Capitol Drive were still hampered by the mounds of snow and ice piled up at the curb.  Shorewood had cleared the mounds along North Oakland Avenue, but hadn't gotten to Capitol Drive.  In previous postings, I had noted that crosswalks in the business district remained treacherous and needed clearing.

 On December 22nd, Tim Fotjik noted in his blog that it appeared that the Village was clearing snow for St Roberts from their lot. 

http://blogs.shorewoodnow.com/neighboring/archive/2007/12/22/if-you-were-looking-for-a-village-dump-truck-on-friday.aspx

Following up with Tim, he never heard from anyone as to why, or who paid for it. 

 Doing an Open Records request, I found out that YES, Shorewood did clean the lot at St Roberts at No Charge !

In fairness to those who are sometimes put on the spot to make a controversial decision, there was a safety element involved in the decision to clear St Roberts lot.  I think though, that Village Officials should bill St Roberts for at least the labor costs and nominal equipment costs involved.  And that if this is to be a policy, it should be extended on an impartial basis to other private property owners.

The Village Board also needs to recognize that snow and ice removal in the Business District is a priority, not only for the business owners to be able to engage in commerce, but also for the safety and welfare of the pedestrians.  Shorewood cannot be a "Walkable" community only in Good Weather !

We have seen in the past year that this current Village Board (which will also be the next Village Board due to no new candidates) has had no qualms about spending large sums of money on questionable projects.

Millions of dollars are going to a Streetscaping that is only about 10 years old.  And the Village Board Members voted to spend about Half a Million Dollar$ for plastic grass on the High School Field !

It is time that this Board gives the proper resources to the DPW to make Shorewood safe for its pedestrians in winter --- and for businesses to be accessible to their customers.

 WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ?  --- YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME

For some thoughts on issues other than Shorewood, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

Stupid Parent Tricks is a segment that David Letterman will  never have on his show.  The Stupid Pets Trick segment probably keeps his staff more than busy enough --- they couldn't possibly handle the volume that they would surely be inundated with, if they resorted to the low hanging fruit of Stupid Parents.

Of what seems to be endless controversy in the media, and the topic of discussion around the water coolers and latte machines is how our kids now are supposedly doing much worse in school than their predecessors  - how they are becoming obese couch potatoes - how they are oversexed and violent - how they dis-respect their  teachers and other authority figures --  on and on, ad nauseum ..........

Part of the controversy is whether these perceptions about our kids are true --- some of which I believe are, while others I believe not --- with the other part of the controversy being What is (are) the cause(s)?

In the Spirit of David Letterman's Top Ten Reasons segment, I am going to do a Top Ten on Stupid Parent Tricks.  I will spread this out over the next several months of postings.

As part of this Thread of Postings, I will try to address how we are raising our kids today, in comparison to other generations, places and times; I will try to separate some of the facts from fiction, as to what our kids are really doing and capable of, and how we help or hinder them; and I will postulate on how we are shaping the future for our kids through our actions now.

It of course would be impossible to tackle this kind of project without commenting on schools, teachers, the legal system, and a host of other Institutions and Players, who have an impact on Kids' lives. 

I am taking the attitude however, that whatever action those other Players take, it all comes back to the Parent(s).  The Buck stops with the Parent(s) - if they want to see changes in the institutions that affect their Kids lives --- they can do so through the Political Process, and more importantly and effectively, through the Social Consensus to which those Institutions and Players look to for guidance (fingers in the air - seeing which way the wind is blowing).

DISCLAIMER:  AUTHORITY AND VALIDITY OF MY OPINIONS

• 1) They are MY opinions (other than the comments readers may submit), and I do not claim to have any special credentials for their validity.
• 2) I am a parent --- and I would need a lot more numbers than Ten for the Stupid Parent Tricks I have performed.
• 3) There are probably a whole lot of folks out there who will have better opinions and advice than I have --- and I invite them to toss their hat in the ring and give their opinions in the Comments Section. (I do not censor comments to my blog unless patently offensive or spam)

The number one rule that I will follow in this exercise is that it is going to be flexible --- I will start with the Top Ten Countdown of Stupid Parent Tricks --- but reserve the right to add as many numbers as is necessary.

NOW ..............

The NUMBER TEN STUPID PARENT TRICK:

 Hannah Montana

Check out todays' Metro Section in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel www.JSonline.com/Milwaukee , page one HANNAH OVER YOUR WALLET.

First of all, I don't think the kind of concert that Hannah Montana - a fictional Disney Pre-Pubescent Femme Fatale - is the kind of fare that 9 year old girls should be dying to see, and their parents encouraging them to do so.

And I certainly as a Parent would not pay some scalper $700 - $900 - $1000 for tickets for such trash!

What is the lesson here Parents that you are trying to teach their child ?  If it was Disney on Ice --- there is something to be said about the athleticism of the skaters, and possible inspiration for young girls to engage in athletics.

With Hannah, is the point to teach 9 and 10 year old girls how to Vamp and look Sexy ?

What is the value of money being taught them ?  When they have graduated from college (which less than half of them will do) and they are in some job that barely lets them meet normal living costs - what kind of financial (realistic) role model was set for them ?

For a Parent who does spend that kind of money a whim of their 9 year old --- maybe they can make a lesson out of it and take a  drive through the parts of Milwaukee where people are not as fortunate - with an unemployment rate over 50% -- and if you are really lucky, you can show them a family being evicted because they didn't have $700 for their rent - a least that can give them some perspective on the Real World.

What do YOU think?  Please give your thoughts in Comments below.

For some thoughts on the current presidential race, visit my other blog at

http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

Recently we have seen Democracy in Action around the Globe ....... 

Close election in Venezuela, Chavez's bid for "Dictator Powers" fail -- Democracy Does Work .

Benazir Bhutto assasinated in Pakistan -- Democracy is a matter of Life and Death.

No Elections in Shorewood for Village Board or School Board -- Apathy Abounds !!

 A NOTE TO MY READERS -- both of you :-)

As Shorelines focuses on issues pertaining to Shorewood --- I have started another blog to look at issues on other levels.  If interested you can see that blog at:    http://nonconventionalwisdomperspectives.blogspot.com/

See my latest post there on:  Tears Make Hillary Human -- They Made Muskie Weak