A memo to drivers: You don’t own road

1 comment June 13th, 2008

Sun Times editorial this morning.

Chicago has had quite a few bicycle-vehicle accidents lately. I haven’t heard of any fatalities in Rockford. I hope it stays that way.

I don’t believe it and you probably don’t either

1 comment June 12th, 2008

The Energy Department yesterday said it expects gas prices to top off at$4.15 a gallon in August.  I paid $4.17 a gallon the other day so  I expect to pay a lot more by then if not sooner.

Oil prices keep going up so I think we’ll see $5 gas pretty soon. It hurts, but I drive slower, combine trips and ride my bike more often.

Watch out for deer

Add comment June 11th, 2008

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would take us to northern Wisconsin and we’d drive around looking for deer. Rarely did we see any.

Today, I drive around hoping to avoid deer. Rarely do I NOT see any. If you drive north, you’ll see quite a few dead carcasses along the side of the road.

Which brings me to the wire story below.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin highway officials are warning motorists about deer on the roadways in the coming weeks.

“While October and November are commonly the time when there are a lot of vehicle-deer crashes, people are probably surprised to learn that June is a bad month, as well,” State Patrol safety chief Dennis Hughes said. “In fact, in four of the last five years, June was the worst or second worst month for motorists’ injuries related to deer crashes.”

During this time of year, deer frequently dart onto roadways. Officials say at times, they are looking for a place to give birth or yearlings are wandering independently after separating from their mothers.

“The best way to avoid a deer crash is to drive cautiously and stay within the speed limit,” Hughes said. “You also should be buckled up in case a crash can’t be avoided.”

Deer are the third most commonly struck object in Wisconsin traffic crashes, behind collisions with another vehicle or a fixed object, authorities said.

“Motorcyclists must be especially careful because collisions with deer can be fatal to motorcycle drivers and passengers,” Hughes said. “Motorcycles were involved in 10 of the 14 fatal deer versus motor vehicle crashes in 2007.”

Law enforcement agencies reported a total of 17,977 deer vs. vehicle crashes last year.

In Shawano and Green Lake counties, more than half of all reported crashes in 2007 involved deer.

Dane County had the most motor vehicle vs. deer crashes reported in 2007 with 1,025. Shawano followed with 714 and Waukesha had 665.

Authorities say if motorists see a deer by the side of the road, they should slow down and blow their horn with one long blast to frighten the deer away. They also warn to look for more than one in a given area, since they seldom run alone.

Drivers slowing down?

Add comment June 10th, 2008

I saw the story below on the wire and wondered if any one thought Illinois drivers also were slowing down. I think they are. I was on I-90 Sunday on my way to Elgin for a wake and I thought traffic was moving slower than normal. Not a lot slower, but maybe 5 mph. So instead of the 75-80, folks were going 70-75, although I did notice a few folks who stayed in the 60s.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A State Patrol official says Wisconsin motorists appear to be slowing down.

Transportation safety director Dan Lonsdorf says the rising cost of gasoline is one of the biggest factors is the reduced speeds.

State troopers and sheriff’s deputies also are reporting that they are seeing fewer vehicles on the state’s freeways, and traffic fatalities have dropped 29 percent this year.

The state Department of Transportation found that motorists on four-lane state highways and freeways have reduced their average speed by a little more than 1 mph over the last year.

Lonsdorf says the big chunk of fatality reduction is that people are slowing down and traveling less.

Keep it civil folks

6 comments June 9th, 2008

Today I received an e-mail from a person who recently had a letter to the editor published. The writer had received an anonymous letter threatening him.

It’s not the first time that I’ve heard of a letter writer being threatened. There was a writer who received a couple of nasty phone calls and another who received a series of ugly e-mails.

It’s OK to disagree with a person’s opinion, but you should do so in a polite, respectful manner. When writers are accosted either verbally or via the mail, it discourages them from writing again. That limits public discourse and is a disservice to all of us.

Keep your shirt on

Add comment June 6th, 2008

That’s what the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is telling high school sports fans. The association voted May 2 to recommend banning fans with bare or painted chests from indoor games.  Athletic directors need to approve the measure next and then the association’s Board of Control has to give its OK.  Bar-chested fans already are banned from state tournament games.
Justification for the ban, which may be the first in the country,  is that high schoolers can’t take their shirts off in class so why should they be allowed to do so at indoor games. Also, some people find it offensive.

It would still be OK to go topless at outdoor events.

Never thought this was a big issue. Guess I was wrong.

It’s pretty common for men to take their shirts off in sub-zero weather at football games to show their support for their team.  I guess they think it proves their manliness.

Here’s what I’d like to see. During some game where it’s 100 degrees, I’d like to see the TV cameras zoom in on a group that’s wearing heavy parkas and stocking caps. Wonder who would last longer: the subzero shirtless crowd or the sweaty parka wearers.

It’s Judy’s last day

3 comments June 5th, 2008

When Judy Emerson came to work this morning, I told her that she’s running out of time to change her mind and reconsider her decision to accept a buyout and leave the Register Star.

I’m afraid she won’t change her mind so this is Judy’s last day here. We still hope she’ll do some freelance work for Rockford Woman and perhaps write a column, but she’s exploring other options and hasn’t decided what role if any she’ll have with us.

She’s received many calls, e-mails and letters this week from well-wishers. If you would like to pass on any thoughts, feel free to do it here.

How are we doing?

Add comment June 3rd, 2008

The Register Star’s Community Viewpoints Board is set to meet again later this month.
The last time the board met, members weighed in on the newspaper’s Editorial Agenda. They thought it should include these goals: change mind-sets; educate our citizens; improve race relations; encourage good growth; strive for social justice; and prevent crime.
Start the discussion. What kind of progress do you think has been made on these goals in 2008? Has the movement been forward or backward? Cite examples and rate the progress on each goal from 1 (nothing’s happening) to 5 (great leaps forward).

Should truants be put in dorms?

Add comment June 3rd, 2008

Les Reid, who was a Belvidere School Board vice president from 1995 to 2003, called me a while back with an idea on how to help truants.

He said he was touched by a news story in which a child said she had nothing to come home to at the end of the school day.

He wondered what could happen if kids like that could be housed in dormitories and have the appropriate support structure. His idea would be to have the kids in the dorms during the school week and then go home on weekends.

The dorm life could ensure the kids got fed properly, that there was someone there to help with homework, and that there were adults and students around to offer encouragement.

The plan would be costly at first, but the eventual benefit to the kids and to society would outweigh that.

The idea sounds similar to orphanage homes, but with more freedom to come and go.
What do you think?

Truancy will take at least a generation to fix

1 comment June 2nd, 2008

Rockford public schools’ chronic truancy rates have been double the state average for quite a while. You have to admire Mayor Larry Morrissey’s tenacity in attacking the issue, but it will take more than truancy courts and better access to information to fix this problem.

Most truants come from homes where the parents don’t value education. Those parents also grew up in households that didn’t value education. Until truant kids are convinced that education is the way out and up, change will be incremental.

You need to get to the root cause of truancy, which is much more difficult than ticketing and fining kids who miss school. Give them a reason to be there and give them a reason to stay. That might take a generation or two to take hold.

It’s better to be proactive, but you need the reactive steps also.

Get the kids back in school and who knows, maybe they’ll learn something.