The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By: Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
Guests at the Village of Stronghurst board meeting June 5th brought their grievances to the board regarding things going on in the village park.
Scott Postle told the board he is tired of hearing the foul language that goes on most every evening, in the park. He went on to say he has seen people leave the park with their young children because they do not want them exposed to this kind of language.
He said if you confront them they just tell you to (blank) off, and he won’t do it anymore because he may lose his temper and then he would be in trouble. Scott expressed how the park is a very nice facility and the town should be very proud of it, but maybe it should be shut down if people who want to use it, can’t, due to what is happening.
The other issue Postle brought to the board is that the sign, stating the times for the spray park and the hours the park is open, is wrong. He said if people see him in his yard they come and ask why the spray park is not in operation because the sign says it should be.
Ronnie Gittings stated he had asked, in the beginning, that no times be put on the spray park sign as they change and that he also gets calls all the time at home. Mayor Brendan Schaley said he would reach out to Pogues, who provided the sign, regarding changing it.
David Knutstrom said he agreed with what Scott had said and would like to add to it, stating just a few hours prior to the board meeting he had gone to the park and kicked kids out. Knutstrom stated a 15 year old was always threatening every kid that came to the park, with bodily harm, besides the offensive language. He said while he was working on the pickle ball court, one boy had come to him and said he had been punched in the gut. Another time this 15 year old was observed throwing rocks, really hard, at some girls who were only about two feet away.
David says it is such a joy to hear the kids playing and laughing, not screaming and cursing, "but there is a devil running in the park and something needs to be done to stop him!"
Knutstrom said he had been telling people there was a complaint form on Facebook they could fill out, however, this was never on Facebook.
In regards to this issue, Attorney Mariah Wallace, said they are working on the matter. Anyone observing misbehavior in the park should fill out a complaint form stating what they witnessed, what occurred, names, (if possible) but the more information the better.
The end result could be some sort of legal proceedings, whether it is a juvenile delinquency charge, harassment, etc. When asked if individuals could be ban from the park, she replied, “We can’t ban individuals from the park, due to constitutional rights, but we can limit access to the park and address those children’s behavior.” This would need to be done by amending the ordinance to the effect of what legal procedures would be followed to address the problem.
Following a lengthy discussion on this matter, Mayor Brendan Schaley said Police Chief Arbry Vancil should be in on this (he was not present at the time due to an emergency call) and asked the police committee (Mike Bohnenkamp, Amanda VanArsdale, Paige Torrance) to meet and discuss how to proceed with this issue.
Randy Jarvis informed the board the house south of him, Rexetta Spiker, had not been mowed. Also he was inquiring if an ash tree, that was mostly dead, could be cut down. The problem is the tree is mostly on the Spiker property, a little on the city, and a little on Jarvis’ property, so it would need to be approved by the property owner. Attorney Wallace will send a letter to Spiker, addressing these issues.
Ronnie Gittings reported the old water tower is to be taken down June 19th. They will try to save the siren which in on it. They were to put the pump and pipes back in the deep well on Tuesday, (6th).
Police report included: 89.5 hours worked; 482 squad car miles; 1 verbal traffic warning; 1 assist; 6 service calls; 3 verbal warnings grass to be mowed-village ordinance; and 10 business courtesy check
Present were: Mayor Brendan Schaley; Trustees, Mike Bohnenkamp, Janice Smith, Paige Torrance, Amanda Van Arsdale, Mike Swisher, Nathan Harden; Employees, Brittany Smith, Ronnie Gittings, Arbry Vancil, Attorney Mariah Wallace; Guests, Randy Jarvis, David Knutstrom, Scott Postle, and Shirley Linder