Mayor Rolls Out the Welcome Wagon

[XLFD]

Those who have followed the local blog scene in the West Michigan Lakeshore Area with the now-defunct Ludington Talks and Lakeshore Soup (along with a certain watchblog that serves as the regions current voice of the people) are familiar with a photo expose' I have did twice each of the last two years which exposes the City of Ludington's inability to clip a few branches around regulatory signs.  Vegetation Control for Safety, the USDOT's publication for showing a protocol for keeping our roadways safe by controlling the trees, bushes, and other plants that are found along our streets, explains why such actions are necessary.  Both for safety and for liability. 

I finished my first review this year, and found about 40 'Stop' and 'Yield' signs being obscured by vegetation to a degree that made them unsafe by the USDOT's guidelines.  To do this, I have to ride my bicycle to intersections, and usually do a figure eight to see whether the signs are obscured unless they are obviously not.  It will often get me strange looks when I do this, snap pictures, and write down the intersection in my notebook.

This year, I also decided to do another theme, on people parking their cars across the sidewalk.  I have noticed that even though Ludington does not follow its own laws on sidewalk construction-- leading to many properties without sidewalks-- the sidewalks that exist are quite often blocked by cars/boats/RVs.  One may think this would be a great money-making opportunity for the local gendarmes, but I have yet heard of anyone getting the $30 ticket for this offense.  And yet that practice is running rampant, very often creating safety problems and deterring sidewalk use by pedestrians and young bicyclists.

 

Anyhow, earlier today at about 1 PM, I was in the poor (ethically) section of town, up in the area bounded by Sherman to the east, Monona to the west, Tinkham to the south, and Bryant to the north.  While cruising down Seminole Street on my bicycle, to get to the Kenowa intersection, Mayor Henderson was out in front of his house; a point I noted with my peripheral vision as I rode past.  I had also noticed a car across the street from him was parked on the sidewalk, and that his neighbor at 912 Seminole (a Mr. John Shay) had the sidewalk partially blocked by a car, even though he had an otherwise clear driveway.

I rode ahead to the intersection, checked that one and the ones further down Kenowa for vegetation blockage, and then came back to the intersection to make notes and take a picture of the sidewalk blockages    Seminole Sidewalk Block    Shay's Sleigh Blocks the Way  I had noticed.  When I headed south on Kenowa, a car drove up the street and Mayor Henderson (with his wife) shouted out to me "Tom, what's the matter-- you lost?"  He seemed upset. 

We were both rolling slowly opposite ways, and I said "No" matter-of-factly.  He then made some statement I did not catch all of, but I believe he gruffly berated me for riding by his house.  We both continued our ways, but it was kind of intimidating to me. 

Now, I had only rode by his house once, and I was on the street minding my own business the whole time I was in that area.  I never even was on anyone's sidewalk or any other right-of-way, nor was I even campaigning.  Yet he had either went around the whole block in his car, or had hopped in his car to follow me and wound up coming opposite from me after a short time to harass me with his question and statement. 

Mayor, I wish you could please start ignoring me riding my bicycle lawfully on the street, just like you continue to ignore all the safety issues concerning lifeguards, road signs, sidewalks, et. al., ethical issues concerning the employment of your daughters by the City, your rate of pay being 16 times what its legally should be, your close friend Nick Tykoski getting that sweet sign contract from his fiance at the DDA, et. al.  Or just have your neighbor send me another Letter of Trespass, and advertise that fact in our City Hall-allied newspaper, LOL.

[Eye On Ludington]

Please do not answer questions for Christopher R Keough.  It is rude and disingenuous of you.

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

If you want to use a direct question in a public forum to say someone is answering another persons post it is you who has the wrong concept of a public forum. You can ask these questions quite privately if it were not intended to further a public discussion.

[XLFD]

Seconded, plus I didn't even answer the question you posed (at least the one with a question mark appending it), just showed the fallacy in your thinking about what a city councilor should be. 

But to continue my rudeness and to expand the question, if you believe this small group of seven people (the City Council) encompass the range of the hopes and dreams of our community, you would be sadly mistaken.  The larger group of over 8000 citizens have much bigger hopes and dreams, and a wider range of sound ideas for the use of their hard-earned money. 

They are what runs our community, not the ones who get paid 72 times what they are legally supposed to, in direct violation of their oaths of office.  Or should I say 'stealing 72 times what they are legally supposed to'.  I wouldn't entrust this current crop of crooks with my pocket change, let alone my hopes and dreams.

Furthermore, your use of 'disingenuous', Eye, is not what you intended, I'd bet.

[Eye On Ludington]

XLFD

 

With all due respect, I did not express an opinion about what a city counsilor should be.  So how can you show me any fallacy regarding that?

I also did not provide an opinion about any citizen's hope and dreams.  Christopher R. Keough brought up the issue of hopes and dreams and I asked Christopher what hopes and dreams he thought we should live by. It struck me as curious why you would a question for Christopher and not answer the questions for you?

 

If you evade easy questions here then why should anybody believe you will be different on City Counsil?

[XLFD]

With all due respect, what questions have I evaded?  You have accused me of doing that three times, but you fail to even say what questions you speak of any of those times.  Number them if you wish so I can address them one by one, and not miss any this time, LOL.

[Eye On Ludington]

XLFD

 

Please stop pretending to be unaware (disingenuous).  All you need to do is go back and read all my replies in this thread and look at all the sentences that end with a question mark (?).  Then look for your own answers to those questions.  I would hope that are able to figure out on your own which questions you have answered and which questions you have not answered.

[XLFD]

Please consult a dictionary to find the meaning of that word, Eye.  If I spoon-feed any more information to you, you will have to pay me for tutoring you.  Anyhow, until you can enumerate what stuff you say I have evaded, I will suspend you as you have taken liberties at unnecessary name-calling with Aquaman and then me.  If you want to come back again in another guise, that's up to you.

[masonco]

Is Eye one of the Ludington city hall staff in here to obtain personal information and try to learn who else to pick on? I've been reading their messages and wonder...

 

I think Eye wants you to post your name, rank, birthdate, social security number, and your credit cards numbers here so someone else can grab your identity.

 

I thought you did answer his/her question regarding where you live, but you did not give the exact GPS reading of your toilet and when you flush it.

[XLFD]

We don't really know who Eye is, but we have speculated that they may be the son or daughter of a City Official/employee-- more than likely idling away some time at the City Marina's computers with the other privileged kids of City officials. 

I looked at his questions and figured I either directly answered them or did so by inference.  As for my address, I have posted a couple of documents relating to my plight which actually have my address.  Of course, like most other 'trolls' who come here, they attack individuals (not public entities that may be involved in corrupt actions) in anonymity.

[XLFD]

We all should know by now that I am the real bad guy as portrayed by our appointed leader of this city, who has drafted a Letter of Trespass that precludes me from entering the City Hall and Police Department-- ostensibly because some unnamed person at City Hall feels threatened and/or intimidated by me. 

The expressed reason:  For doing too many FOIA requests and for riding a bicycle past a stop sign three years ago, a stop sign placed illegally and not having a mandatory traffic control order backing it up.  But let's turn the tables.

What if the Mayor and his wife rode west on their bicycles past my Dowland residence while I was in my front yard.   What if I got in my vehicle and drove around the block, north on George Street, West on Melendy Street, and then South on James Street, and seen them coming back north on James Street after going around the carferry loop minding their own business.  What if I arrogantly said in my vehicle shouting across the street "John, Penny-- you guys lost?"  What if I then told him not to ride in front of my house. 

What was the intent to get in the vehicle in the first place?  What was the intent to harass the bicyclists the way it was done?  These are questions I think we should ask the Mayor about, questions he should answer. 

For just riding past the Mayor's house minding my own business on the street in bicycle shorts and a cheesy T-shirt on my way to document the insufficiencies of the Ludington DPW and Police Department with a pen, memo book, and camera, I have gotten the following business card propped in a side door at my address:

I will presume this was delivered yesterday, I just found it before my morning ride.  How ridiculous-- a baby is missing and the time for rescue may be running out and its the Fourth of July weekend, and the Mayor decides to utilize his and Shay's private police force (the LPD) into looking into this.  For the record, since Friday, I have rode past over 70% of the city's residences (some repeatedly) in doing my research about stop signs and sidewalk parking.  You may think I'm nuts for actually documenting these unsafe conditions our City Hall allows to exist, but the problems won't be fixed by ignoring them.

[Eye On Ludington]

I think it borders on stallking for you to be in that neighbor hood taking pictures of Shay's property and then report it here along with accusations against the mayor instead of reporting it to the proper law enforcement authorities.

[XLFD]

The City has pictures of all Ludington properties on its website, including the mayor's and City Manager's house  John Shay's House Courtesy of the City Assessor. 

Perhaps, Carol Ann Foote is a stalker, LOL.  I dare say, John Henderson's actions yesterday was a bit more closer to stalking, as has been the City leadership's whole response to my delving into the public records.  The problem has been related to my attorney and may be eventually passed on to the AG of Michigan who already have enough to deal with, I'd fathom.