Keep your dogs leashed
“Why don’t you call the police?”
That was the strident response of the man when I told him it was illegal for him to be walking his dogs without leashes. I had seen his dogs coming for quite a while, since they were well out in front of him and the woman he was walking with.
I had stopped with my dog across the street as we were rounding the corner at Scottswood onto Bloomingbank, waiting for them to pass. My dog is a rescue that is fearful of other dogs, and I didn’t want to interact with the unleashed dogs. We had already had one such encounter with another loose dog earlier on our walk.
The dogs saw us first since they were so far out in front. The man gave his dogs several verbal commands which they did not obey as they came towards us across the street. The woman was able to grab the third dog by the collar and put a leash on it.
I dislocated my knee trying to keep our dogs apart and fell to the ground in pain.
My dog had slipped out of her collar and run into the street. Fortunately, she was not injured by the other dogs or a car, and I was able to lure her back to me and put her collar back on.
Instead of trick-or-treating with my children on Halloween, I spent four hours in the emergency room at Loyola. It took three doctors and an anesthesiologist to return my knee cap to the front of my leg.
My knee is now the size of a cantaloupe and I will be on crutches for the next six weeks. I don’t know how I will be able to get my children to school each morning and get myself to work on time. I cannot drive. After that, there will be rehab and possibly surgery. All of this could have been avoided if an irresponsible dog owner and simply obeyed the law and kept his dogs on leashes.
Please keep your dogs on leashes! It is the law in Riverside. Not everyone loves your dog as much as you do, and anyone should be able to walk the sidewalks of our beautiful community without having to deal with loose dogs that may or may not be friendly.
Cathy Haley
Riverside
Demand probe into library firing
How many of you know what is happening at our public library? Library Director Kimberly Litland has made a series of bad decisions, starting with the recommendation of the purchase of a house in the Hollywood section of Brookfield (approved by the board) and culminating in the firing of one of our library’s most valuable employees – Cindy Moriarty (supported by the board). To date the library board has been unresponsive regarding the firing.
For those of you who know Ms. Moriarty, I do not need to tell you she was a vital part of the library. And for those of you that don’t, Cindy Moriarty was director of Children’s Services for the last few years and an employee of the library for over a decade.
Ms. Moriarty even received special thanks from the board at their August meeting for her summer programs. She made the library a place that our children wanted to visit. She instilled a love of reading through the many programs she provided and through the book recommendations she made. She started a chess program for young players and a bilingual story time.
But her contributions were much more than a series of programs. She greeted the children, from toddlers to teens, by name. She made them feel welcome, as if this was their library. She had that “Mary Poppins” quality that is hard to describe.
Ms. Moriarty’s reward for all of her hard work and dedication to the children of our community and our library was a capricious firing at the hands of Kimberly Litland.
It is hard for those who know Ms. Moriarty to imagine the perceived offense that justified the actions of Kimberly Litland that day. There are many questions that those in the community want answered. Why was Ms. Moriarty fired? Does our library have a policy for terminating employees? Was that policy followed? If Ms. Litland did not follow that policy, are there any repercussions for her?
As citizens of the community, we should demand an investigation into the firing of Cindy Moriarty from the Brookfield Public Library. The callous disregard for the needs of the children of our community will not be forgotten.
For the library board members to do nothing and simply hope that the community forgets is unacceptable.
Jerome Barrido
Brookfield
Landmark should be ‘vessel of public good’
I am an avid reader and subscriber to the Landmark and enjoy reading the publication. Who doesn’t love flipping to the back page to see how far property values have dropped? Depending on one’s definition of journalism and what one expects, or does not expect from journalism, I believe this paper provides a great service to inform the public.
That being said, I believe this publication makes no effort to disguise its bias against the current village board and the current school board (elementary or secondary).
Based on past editorials and opinions in this paper, I believe this paper should suggest ideas to make Riverside a better place to live instead of being overly critical on what happened at various board or council meetings.
I am asking this paper to take a more activist role in promoting the Riverside community instead of criticizing every move Michael Gorman or Dr. Lamberson takes. This paper is much better than that. Focus more on making Riverside a better place to live versus the local politics.
Instead of criticizing decisions why not make your paper a vessel of public good? Ask readers to submit any and all ideas on how to make Riverside a better place to live. Hold a contest. Publish and judge all ideas. Maybe the school board, village board or any organization takes these suggestions and acts on them.
Growing up in my family we had a rule. If you are going to criticize you better have a solution. Don’t complain unless you have an idea. I offer the following suggestions on how to make Riverside a better place. I ask that your paper solicit ideas from members of the Riverside community to make this place a better place to live.
Move ice skating away from Big Ball Park to the center of town. The area between the library and the train station is an ideal place to set up an ice rink. Skate rental and hot chocolate can be sold accordingly … and allows local merchants to profit from the placement of a central ice rink.
A Day in the Life of Riverside. Have kids, parents, and employees of Riverside take various pictures of an average day in Riverside on a specific day. Submit photos and publish them.
Swan pond. When the rain season hits, nothing is more surreal than seeing the water at Swan Pond rise up and see various objects float. During the dry season this is an underutilized asset. Hold Sunday night concerts at Swan Pond or have a movie night at Swan Pond.
Riverside Writing Journal. Once a year have citizens submit various writing samples on life in Riverside. Best samples make it into an actual yearly publication on life in Riverside.
Halloween parade. The Saturday before Halloween host a parade. All kids report to the water tower at 11 a.m. to march down center of town in full Halloween regalia. After the parade parents and kids trick or treat local merchants for a day of fun and excitement.
Luminaries Night. Have Boy and Girl Scouts sell luminaries to residents. On a designated night – Christmas Eve, Day after Thanksgiving, etc. – residents light up the town so all can see the beauty of our town a glow with luminaries.
Gladiator night. Since I have lived here in Riverside, I have come to the conclusion that an inordinate number of lawyers live in this town. These titans of the legal code do battle in the court of law why not extend this concept further? If they battle in the arena of the judicial system why not have these litigators battle in the boxing ring or in a tub of mud or Jell-O? Any kind of gelatinous material would suffice. All proceeds to benefit charity.
I ask that you paper solicit ideas from residents to make Riverside a better place to live.
An exercise of this nature can only help this town.
Michael O’Brien
Riverside
