Its been snowing – a lot.
It has made it difficult to keep streets open and safe despite the best efforts of city of Wooster crews, who have made a valiant effort to keep roads open.
The snow has made it difficult to keep sidewalks clear -- if, and only if, people try. Unfortunately, far too many people havent made the effort.
In other words, Mother Nature has made it difficult for people to get around, my family included. It has made people cranky and even angry. But here is what I dont get – the public flogging of Wooster City Schools.
Now, full disclosure – as one of the many jobs I hold, I am also a teacher at Boys Village School – which makes Superintendent Michael Tefs my boss, so make of this what you will.
Tefs, assistant super Rik Goodright and other Central Office staff were bundled up and dragged through drifted sidewalks for a newspaper article complete, as Arlo Guthrie opined in his Thanksgiving Day classic Alices Restaurant, with 27 8-by-10 color glossy pictures.
OK, so there werent 27 photos included with the story, but the seeing-eye dog and the concept of blind American justice were missing as well.
It wasnt that the article was bad, but it was misleading because this is the real message I got from it – the Wooster City Schools are now responsible for clearing your walk.
Not you. Great news, huh?
Otherwise, why were the schools singled out? Its mission is to educate our children. Nothing is said about shoveling your walk and taking over your personal responsibility to safely maintain your property, but maybe I missed something in the fine print.
Im left to assume the schools are now responsible for that because the mayor of Wooster, Bob Breneman, whom I count as a friend, was nowhere to be found in that photo op. Nor were any members of city council, even though years and years ago, another duly elected council put a law on the books about the homeowners responsibility to clean their sidewalks. Nor were there any police officers pictured, who have the right to ticket and send to court those people who refuse to clean their walks (and Wooster could still make a killing on that a week after the storms). And, of course, the judges were busy working so they missed their chance to get in the picture.
See? All the people who could do something about this – other than those people refusing to do their civic duty and ignoring their personal responsibility to clean their walks – werent there.
I should be thankful, I suppose. All of this brouhaha allowed me to enjoy Tuesday off. The automated call from Central Office came early in the morning that school was called off because of three more fluffy inches of snow Monday evening. But, my wife made that call Sunday – before the snow had even begun -- that school would be canceled.
After that article, it was an easy call. How could Superintendent Tefs not and invite more public anger into a situation over which he has no control?
I get it. It was tough getting around and, in the minds of many people, it was the school system that potentially put young children in the streets walking to school and endangering their lives.
But, if they were in the streets, it was because their neighbors and businesses wouldnt clear their walks. Yet, people chose to blame Tefs.
That anger is misdirected.
However, as we headed back to school Tuesday – oops, Wednesday morning now -- thats where the children could potentially be found. The sidewalks still are not clear and remain snow-covered disasters. I would bet a boatload of TARP dollars they werent cleared Thursday, either, but the truth is they wont be safe until Mother Nature does the job herself or the city decides to hand out some tickets to engage ones personal responsibility into gear, whichever comes first.
I will offer this: Just because thats the way it is, that is not the way it should be. If you want to be angry, all you have to do is look next door.
