Autumnal Equinox Burnt Toast and Coffee Time
September 23, 2009
The equinox was about 12 hours ago, but close enough for government work as we used to say when I worked for the government. The weather must not be that good because the cat doesn’t even seem eager to go outside. It looks like a typical September day in Wisconsin. The first three weeks were not typical because the sun shown almost all the time. Here’s to atypical Septembers.
- Oh no, my dentist is retiring. “Dr. Bill” Koenig is calling it a career as of September 30th. Who will tell me what was in Sports Illustrated or what was happening in the exciting world of senior curling or the joys of raising pigeons will I try to breath with a rubber dam in my mouth? See somebody every 6 months for 30 years and then they just up and leave on you. It is a fickle universe.
- He was the last medical professional in the old 217 Wisconsin Avenue building, Waukesha’s tallest building when it went up, I think. I’m trying to think of another 4-story building in the city. Is it still the tallest in terms of stories? Is Waukesha Memorial four stories or three? Anyway, it is a building which is cosmetically not well kept up and is too small for the modern medical professional. It, like the parking ramp across the street has outlived its functional life.
- The Common Council will take up the homeless shelter at St. Mathias and it will probably pass because Mayor Larry hand-picked the members of the downtown committee who studied it, excluding anyone who has something to lose.
- Thank you to those who volunteer at the shelters but the point is that if you opened a homeless shelter in downtown Oconomowoc, you’d fill that up, too. But you won’t because you don’t want the homeless in downtown Oconomowoc. Instead, you assuage your conscience by serving the homeless in downtown Waukesha, who are only here because there are homeless shelters here.
- In a year in which Social Security recipients will not receive a cost of living increase, it seems ridiculous to me that the Common Council has to take up the issue of pay raises for the mayor. The issue is plainly obvious: the current pay of $70,000.00 per year is more than adequate for the position, regardless of the person who holds the office and will still be more than adequate 4 years from now. There have been no additional duties added to the position which warrant a 16% increase in pay over 10 years, much less three. Nobody puts a gun to your head and makes you run for mayor.
- Churches don’t do much to prepare for swine flu. I guess I’ll get a flu shot if the doctor offers it, but I’m not going to bring it up. I’m thinking of quitting doctors, too.
- A nice piece on another Waukesha guitar legend whom you may not have heard of before, Floyd Jester.
- John Schoenknecht says that Jesse James may have stayed a night near Waukesha.
- Mark Belling on the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office.
- Sound Off has opinions on homeless shelters and Mayor Larry’s shoes and a reference to yet another “Wizard of Waukesha”.
- Here’s a nice article about this other wizard, by the way.
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For argument’s sake, let’s imagine that the Salvation Army and the Hebron House shelters both closed their doors, leaving the City of Waukesha without a shelter.
Then imagine that shelters opened up in Oconomowoc, Sussex, and Muskego.
Realistically, do you think that the homeless population would just leave Waukesha?
If you are homeless, you are probably either a) looking for a job, or b) dealing with health, drug or mental health issues that need to be resolved before you can look for a job. Therefore, you would need to have access to the County job center in Pewaukee (accessible by bus from Waukesha), or the county human services department (located in Waukesha) or the mental health clinic (located in Waukesha) or AODA counseling (also located in Waukesha, although there are services in other communities, too).
Some homeless people do have cars and could drive back and forth between shelters outside of Waukesha and the services they need in the City. But most do not have their own transportation and would have to rely on the already-taxed Salvation Army and Hebron House services, or volunteer drivers for the human services department. I would bet that most homeless people would end up staying in Waukesha despite the lack of shelters, and would just sleep in city parks or in alleyways.
That’s why this argument of “let’s just send them off to other communities in the County” really bugs me. It ignores the reality of the situation.
Also, you should really get your hands on a copy of the shelter study that Mayor Larry’s much-critiziced committee conducted. I live within a block of St. Mattias and I went to a meeting there in early September where they distributed the study. It was a very thorough study of alternative shelter locations. It seemed to me that the committee did not think that they would have to have the shelter at St. Mattias again, but it just happened to be the only qualified location.
I only wish that the study had included details on each of the alternative locations that were considered. It only lists the names of the churches, government buildings, and addresses of buildings that the committee considered–it doesn’t explain how they were deficient.
It does no good to point all this out to Huckleberry. I already did last year. He is stuck on being a curmudgeon.
Montana is nicer to it’s homeless, although as their article points out homeless people are probably under-counted, because of shame. Yes, people who can’t earn enough are looked down on, like it is THEIR FAULT. It isn’t most of the time. Homeless does NOT = drunk or druggie.
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/the_rapid_spread_of_rural_homelessness/13148/
Too bad people who spend much time and energy to complain, can’t expend their energy on doing something useful.
You’re not going to change my mind. The more shelter space you offer, the more homeless that will come. If that’s your vision for downtown, have at it. Let’s throw out all zoning laws and allow people to set up rooming houses anywhere they wish. Not zoned to accommodate 100 people overnight, who cares? It’s an emergency. No showers for 50 people? It’s OK. They’re used to being smelly. Besides, they’re only at the shelter at night. During the day? Well I don’t know what they do. Who cares? They’re not in my neighborhood because I live in Oconomowoc/Mukwonago/Brookfield/Dousman/Delafield/Hartland/Pewaukee and there can’t be any homeless here because we don’t have any shelters. Bleeding heart liberal logic.
Maybe some of them work or go to school during the day? Maybe they spend their time looking for work? Too bad you have never had it bad in your life.
A curmudgeon you say?
Too bad that people who have so much time being critical of others don’t expand their energy on getting a job or doing something useful.
“Thank you to those who volunteer at the shelters but the point is that if you opened a homeless shelter in downtown Oconomowoc, you’d fill that up, too. But you won’t because you don’t want the homeless in downtown Oconomowoc. Instead, you assuage your conscience by serving the homeless in downtown Waukesha, who are only here because there are homeless shelters here.”
You nailed it. But I’ll add that transitioning from “homeless” to “ex-homeless” is also very easy in Waukesha, thanks to places like the Wisconsin House. The liberal NIMBYs can breathe easy.
Tory, my brother will readily admit he is a curmudgeon. And if the rest of the comment was aimed at me, you don’t even know anything about me.