Proposed budget off base

To the Journal editor:

Perhaps our president should take a look at the 2020 budget he is proposing before his lieutenants go off blindly supporting it.

This latest debacle on Special Olympics funding elimination is a glaring example of an administration with no discernable regarding the needs of developmentally disabled children in our nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control one in six children aged 3 through 17 in our nation are developmentally disabled. Many of these children live in our homes, our U.P. communities and they deserve better.

Mick Muvaney, U.S. budget director (and acting chief of staff at the White House) has offered a 2020 budget rife with draconian cuts to social programs and dilettante Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, spent three hours with the Senate Appropriations Committee defending the elimination of the Special Olympics to stunned Senators. What’s wrong with this picture? These are our kids!

A day or so later, the president finally woke up, felt the building political heat, and stated that funding for the Special Olympics would not be eliminated. Another example of closing the door to the sty after the piggies got loose. What a circus we have in Washington.

BILL HART

Curtis

Island is community treasure

To the Journal editor:

This is in response to Margaret Brumm’s comments on the proposal to limit vehicle traffic at Presque Isle Park. It is possible I will be dismissed since I have only lived in Marquette for 27 years and did not grow up here. Nonetheless, it is the beauty of Lake Superior and the northwoods, represented so perfectly by the city gem that is Presque Isle Park, that drew me here and caused me to stay. Perhaps that counts for something.

I heard much about Presque Isle my first summer in the Upper Peninsula, in Big Bay, and a friend eventually drove me around. We never left the vehicle and I was underwhelmed. Sure, it was a pretty drive but it wasn’t until I moved here and had a chance to explore Presque Isle that I came to know its beauty and charm. I encourage anyone who is able, resident or visitor, to get out of the car; linger and explore so as to truly appreciate the park.

I appreciate and agree with Ms. Brumm’s concern that the island remain accessible to individuals unable to walk or bike. However, her dismissal of concerns when pedestrians, cars and cyclists share the same narrow roadway is surprising.

She proposes the “problems” (her quotations) be addressed by ticketing and towing illegally parked cars (agreed) and ticketing pedestrians for loitering. Really?

Have pedestrians ever blocked the road? What I have observed is stopped vehicles blocking the road while watching deer. But Ms. Brumm thinks we should ticket pedestrians for walking in the park. Maybe it is OK if they speed walk, and don’t “loiter” but someone who walks slowly may also want to enjoy the island by foot. Should they be ticketed and asked to leave?

All of that (and erosion) aside, Presque Isle is not the same as it was when Ms. Brumm grew up or when I first moved here. Traffic has grown to the point that I avoid walking or biking around the island when the road is open to traffic.

Pedestrian and cycling traffic has also increased. Thus, having time daily that drivers can use the road and time daily when cyclists and pedestrians can enjoy it without huffing fumes is a compromise that helps all.

Perhaps staggering the daily closure times on Monday through Friday vs. the weekends would address the needs of different users.

NANCY USCHOLD

Marquette

Drivers lauded for obeying rules

To the Journal editor:

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many motorists in the Marquette community who obey the laws that protect our many students of the Marquette school system. This includes those that travel by bus or by foot daily to their school.

These rules apply to corners where children cross and the numerous stops that buses make to pick up and drop off our students.

But there are a few that disregard the rules of safety that concerns me.

The primary rules are, when a crossing guard has his stop sign up, that means all cars have to stop and not enter the intersection until the crossing guard removes the stop sign.

As of late, there have been numerous occasions where this has been disobeyed and places a danger to the students.

There have also been numerous occasions where motorists have disobeyed the 20-foot rule when red lights are flashing on the school buses. This has also been noted by Officer Nate Dawson of the Marquette Police Department and the school liaison.

The goal of all bus drivers and crossing guards is the safety of the students going to and from school. Please keep their safety in mind when traveling through the school zones.

Thank you.

JERRY IRBY

Marquette

Reader loves Superior History

To the Journal editor:

We want to compliment The Mining Journal and the Marquette Regional History Center for their weekly installments of Superior History.

The articles are always fascinating bits of local lore that bring to life the wonderful past we share. They give us a sense of the lives of the people that inhabit this region and have for many centuries.

We can’t wait for next week’s installment.

PEGGY, BOB JENSEN

Marquette