It’s worth a nickel

Seriously, people? I understand that the amount of snow dropping on our friends in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S. states might qualify as a “snowpocalypse” for them. Sure.

But in Poughkeepsie, we’ve got about 4 inches on the ground. Schools were all closed (some of them closed yesterday, before a single flake hit the ground!) and people were in a full-on panic. It’s like the Hudson Valley was shut down for nothing.

I’m no fan of the snow. My idea of perfect weather is like 75º Fahrenheit (I love you Celsius folks too: just about 24º) and 20% humidity, tops. Sun. A couple of clouds so that you appreciate the blueness of the sky. But seriously, it’s time to toughen up… a total of 4 inches does not a “snowpocalypse” make.

In case you didn’t realize, I have an opinion on just about everything. And I’m very rarely shy about sharing it.

This isn’t a new thing.

From the Morris County Daily Record, Friday, February 17, 1995:

Wharton is lax about snow-shoveling code

To the Editor:

As a student at Morris Hills Regional High School in Rockaway and a resident of Wharton, I must take the bus to school each day. This, obviously, dictates that I walk from my house to my bust stop each morning and return home from my bus stop to my house each afternoon.

While this usually is not a problem, recently was an exception. On Feb. 6, there was a great deal of snow on the ground … and on the sidewalks.

Perhaps many readers are unaware that in Wharton there is a borough ordinance that requires snow be removed within 24 hours after it has stopped falling.

For those of us who do know this law exists, we certainly know the Wharton Police Department is very lax in enforcing this ordinance.

I have written to the police department in the past about this problem, and I received neither an answer nor action.

Through their negligence, the police clearly express their lack of concern for both the high school students who travel to their bus stops each day and the younger students, many of whom walk from home to the borough’s public schools.

I suggest anyone concerned by this delinquency on the part of our borough’s police department call the police station and request this ordinance be enforced. It is crucial to provide safety not only for an entire walking community of students but for the rest of the population as well.

CHRIS WYBLE, Wharton

In case you’re wondering, I never got any response from anyone on it.

You win some, you lose some.