[ back ]
Voters smarter than naysayers
(by Dave Lange - December 02, 2009)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Voters smarter than naysayers
Dear County Line: I'd say that the intelligent voters of Chester and Russell showed you how dumb your favorable reporting on West Geauga School Board member Michael Kilroy -- and especially your opinion column attempting to enhance his credibility -- really were.
Despite Mr. Kilroy's scurrilous advertising against the recent school levy, the voters approved it by a wide margin, proving, even in these difficult economic times, that they support local education and that they understand the need for funding. Not only that, they re-elected William Beers and Sally Gillmore to the school board, proving that they trust sensible leadership over irresponsible nonsense.
Furthermore, even with passage of the renewal levy, West Geauga, like most other school districts, still faces deficits in the future and the need for more local funding because of increasing state mandates and decreasing state financial assistance. Your paper should be talking more to the four school board members who support our children and less to the one who doesn't.
-- Levi Newall, Chester
Dear Levi: Since Mr. Kilroy was legitimately elected to the school board two years ago by the intelligent voters of Chester and Russell, I believe that does give him a certain amount of credibility. However, you do have a point that, as just one person on a five-member board, he represents only 20 percent of its voice.
Also, since Mr. Beers and Mrs. Gillmore were unopposed in the recent election, it could mean that Mr. Kilroy is a lonely voice in the crowd.
Dear County Line: Since our fearless city leaders created a cul-de-sac to remove through traffic from Brainard Road several years ago and since my good neighbors on Windy Hill Drive are lobbying for a similar exclusion on their street, I'd like to make my case for Lander Road.
I'm getting mighty tired of drivers using this road to get from busy thoroughfares like Chagrin Boulevard, South Woodland Road and Shaker Boulevard to Fairmount Boulevard and even Ursuline College. I think children should be able to play in the road without worrying about vehicular traffic.
-- Pete Estrian, Pepper Pike
Dear Pete: Since most people live on streets, it does seem somewhat exclusionist that only some of us get to live on cul-de-sacs. Everybody should have the right to privatize their streets, as long as they assume responsibility for maintaining them, plowing the snow, disposing of their garbage and having their children walk to school-bus stops.
But if the taxpayers pick up the tab, they should have the right to drive on through.
Dear County Line: I would like to thank my councilman, John T. Scott, for seeking a solution to the problem with the employees and patrons of a nearby restaurant that serves liquor parking on residential streets. Portage, Edith and Geauga streets, off of Aurora Road, are quite narrow, a lot of children live there, and parking poses a safety problem. The city should post signs prohibiting parking by people from the restaurant, and it should tow away the violators.
-- Maddy Parker, Solon
Dear Maddy: There may be a legal problem with applying a parking ban only to certain people. But the city could prohibit parking on those streets altogether, or it might restrict it during the certain hours when the restaurant is busiest. However, the best answer would be enforcement of a parking code that requires businesses to have big enough parking lots to accommodate their workers and customers.
[ back ]
