Sound Off: Snow shoveling

I give the city both kudos and a call-out on mistakes. The city plowed our cul-de-sac (the plow had plenty of room for full maneuverability) but put the multiple metric tons of road snow in front of our driveway (I couldn't get my car out and my husband barely got the 4x4 out) and completely buried our mailbox - and here's the kicker - right next to a 15-foot stretch of curb with NOTHING there. Cars don't park in the street here so there were plenty of places to dump that 6 feet of snow that were not our driveway and mailbox. There's no way a person with a bad back (my husband) could've moved that mountain, nor should he have to. If the mailman's job wasn't hard enough, he'd have to scale that snow and dig for our mailbox IF he decided not to refuse delivery. This wasn't a 3-foot pile. It was a 6-foot tall, 8-foot wide pile. Not removable by a human being.

What good is clearing the roads if you trap people in?

I don't think looking at where you can put metric tons of snow is all that difficult.

That being said, I called the city and they came back and moved the mountain. It's the least that a city that charges residents for not shoveling their sidewalks could do when they lock someone in because of lack of thinking.

February 28, 2013 at 6:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Knology customers report outages in west Lawrence

We don't get UVerse in the sticks of East Lawrence (by the cemetery) and I'm assuming we never will, so we don't have a choice of internet providers. I know nothing about Wicked and wasn't impressed with their website.

January 24, 2013 at 10:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Lawrence teenager receives three years of probation for his part in summer burglaries

Don't forget the highest ex-con concentration in the city just a couple of blocks away. Good choice.

January 5, 2013 at 2:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Lawrence teenager receives three years of probation for his part in summer burglaries

"New shelter"? Are you referring to the one in East Lawrence where they don't maintain the lawn (tree branches lay in the yard weeks after a storm despite having hands on deck) and put out 5 barrels of trash a week? Oh, and don't forget about the 20 cars/day along the street so you can't even navigate around the corner. And the "no guns" sign in the window. Such a lesson in responsibility. It's no different than the places they left. The cops are there constantly.

January 5, 2013 at 1:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

4-year-old Ottawa boy injured in shooting

Notice our 7.5 hour difference in post time, by the way.

January 5, 2013 at 12:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

4-year-old Ottawa boy injured in shooting

Stats like this mean nothing to your household. I'm sure a lot of these households with guns in them that are 8x more likely to lose children also have health insurance, live in low crime neighborhoods, and use proper seat belts...or do we now know that? Is it causation or correlation?

January 4, 2013 at 11:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

4-year-old Ottawa boy injured in shooting

No, they're fun for target practice, too. I've never shot anyone and I own 9. Only 1 is not in the safe, but our house is inhabited by two veterans and zero children or visitors.

January 4, 2013 at 11:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

4-year-old Ottawa boy injured in shooting

When I commented, the article did not include that information. The LJW has an awesome habit of updating the same article multiple times during the day, especially in articles where "unnamed" persons show up. Hence my first guess of a teen sibling or a babysitter or "other visitor". But I never mentioned father. So it turns out I was right, and you're asking me if I read the article. Nice.

January 4, 2013 at 11:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Sound Off: Facilities Services

I'd still like to know what this deputy director does that qualifies him for a $120,000 salary. KU's budget problems are the cause for roach-infested buildings with constant power and HVAC outages, but still, $120,000 is a pretty nice salary for Lawrence, KS. Especially after the outside audit that had everyone up in a roar.

January 4, 2013 at 3:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

4-year-old Ottawa boy injured in shooting

If it wasn't a case of improper storage, then it's a case of improper handling. The story is implying the child was shot in the home, and there's no reason a firearm should have been going off in the home (barring an intruder). If the gun were being cleaned, there's no reason it would've been loaded. So *someone* (maybe a teen sibling, babysitter, or other visitor?) was handling a loaded weapon stupidly enough for it to go off and most (most) gun owners know how to operate their own gun enough to not accidentally discharge it indoors. Which brings us back to a likely improper storage incident that gave an unauthorized person access to the gun.

If it was the gun owner who discharged it, it's still improper storage - the gun should still be in the store.

January 4, 2013 at 3:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )