High grass….Really

For the folks in Lorain the city has erected a page on its internet access to deal with those folks who can't or won't cut their grass. However, the city has its own problems on the eastside of the city at the corner of Eastlawn and Maple streets. Maple Park had been recently renovated with a new back stop and one city resident had been trying valiantly to keep it nice by planting flowers and trimming the area. However, they could not keep up and the park has now fallen back to an eyesore. Some of the neighbors have had to use their own trimmers to make the playing area useable. Vandals have broken the bleachers and the grass and or weeds have taken over the diamond. Moreover, the area behind the park owned by Key one Enterprise (according to the Lorain county auditor's real estate page) is a wooded area which has several fires and an area for dumping and general deterioration. The pictures tell the story.

 

Donorcycles

    Spring has limped its way into the Midwest and the nice weather will bring out the motorcyclists. Unfortunately, for some this will be the last year for you in fact some of you will be dead before this blog is posted. I want to take this opportunity to ask those of you who ride and especially those who ride without a helmet to sign a donor card and donate your organs to someone in need.

I am not here to argue the pros and cons of not wearing a helmet there are none if you don't wear a helmet you are just being selfish and dare I say stupid. I know because I used to ride a motorcycle and did for many years right up to the day I became a flight nurse for metro life flight. One of my very first scene runs was to motorcycle accident where a man and his girlfriend struck a guardrail and were thrown from the bike. The man was killed instantly when his head impacted the steel support post he was lucky in a sense he died without too much pain. However, his girlfriend rode the guardrail for several yards before ending up in a ditch and still alive but unconscious she lived three more days and her family did donate her organs. Now, by far the most spectacular of all was the man who swerved to miss a dog he was riding a crotch rocket at well over the speed limit on a narrow road in rural Medina county, he was wearing a helmet and when we loaded him into the aircraft I showed him the helmet which had a hole in the front where his forehead would be, the hole was all the way through to the padding. Imagine if he had not worn a helmet and his forehead was sliding down the pavement. Additionally, the three guys who all ran over each other. The first guy dumped it and the second ran over him and the third guy ran over the first two….all wearing helmets and the only injury was a broken leg on the first guy who fell.

However, for most of you who ride and read this you are saying it will never happen to me. Really? I have a friend who has ridden for over 20 years and he states "it's not if you will lay it down it's when everybody wrecks sooner or later" Moreover, many times you do not have to lay it down you get mashed by the other vehicles that you share the road with!

My take home point is this. If you ride then sign a donor card, having an accident on a bike is almost always fatal and someone needs your organs and they will take very good care of them. Do something that will make your death a little less senseless.

Easy Money

I am the last person to tell anyone how to do their job except Governor Kasick. Anyway, if the city of Lorain would like to make a few bucks and maybe teach some drivers how to slow down. Stake out any school zone in the city and especially the Clearview area. Anytime the school zone is at twenty miles per hour you will find at least half the cars over the limit and at least one or two way over. Now, I know how easy it is to get a little fast on the highways and It seems that a lot of folks are speeding on the interstate however, a school zone is a no slack zone, there is absolutely no reason and or excuse to speed through a school zone.

Now, the state highway patrol has on more than one occasion used the area as a target rich environment and is giving out high speed driving awards to those in the fast lane and it would seem that maybe the locals could follow suit and fill out some awards of their own.

Six hundred twenty two dollars

Federal, state, sales, property, and gas taxes and now the city wants it's due to the tune of six hundred and change. Now, the problem is that I have no heartburn with paying my fair share of taxes except that I have a pothole or concrete cancer in front of my home. The size seems to continue grow over the last five years because that's when it was just a little tiny chip. Now, as you can see from the picture it has grown and covers almost one side of the road. So, if the city doesn't mind I would like that one percent they have decided they need to get by to go to my pothole. After all, it is in front of my house so why not fix it with my six hundred and twenty two bucks!

Park update

Many times a problem or a set of problems comes down to education and or knowing all the facts. Thursday I met with Paul Hruby and Brian Holmes from the Lorain county metro parks. Garbage in the Days dam area is an ongoing problem and apparently has many folks trying to keep it under control for some time with no end in sight. Garbage collection and removal to include taking it to the dump takes time from the rangers and the employees cutting grass and keeping the paths clear.

Friends of the metro parks which is an all volunteer group and or groups has taken more than several attempts to clean up the garbage. However, it seems that folks who live near the park need to understand that being a good neighbor means watching what they leave in their backyard that might end up down in the park. Moreover, several residents have unfortunately found themselves in court because of their failure to be a good neighbor. The park system has a more difficult job due to the fact that the biggest and what I feel is the best park in the system sits between the two largest cities in the county which leaves it at the mercy of the residents that surround it. The picture is of the amount of garbage collected and awaiting removal. Should you want to help and your help would be appreciated follow the link to the friends of the metro parks. Additionally, there is an engine block that needs to be removed and it's not going to be an easy job and maybe one of you has the where with all to get that thing out the park.

http://metroparks.cc/volunteer-opportunities.php

Parks II

I have not heard from the powers that be at the Lorain County Parks Department However that does not mean I am giving up the quest. I suspect someone will talk to me at some point and I will keep you posted. I will post the remaining images of the garbage that has piled up over time.

County parks trash dump

Hidden by the summers foliage at least one county park has become a trash dump for surrounding residents. Days dam probably the jewel of Lorain Counties Metro park system is being used as a dump. Finding tires, shopping carts, toys, and the just plain trash. Conversely, should we be spending money on new swimming facilities when our parks could use a cleanup. Moreover, this trash has obviously come from the neighborhoods surrounding the park. The cleanup will cost the park system money can anyone be held responsible for this mess?

We are going to find out the answers and I will keep you posted on the progress of this investigation.