The Westie's Report

With so many of the regulars off experiencing their summer bliss, there’s only a few of us left in the Village. Picking up bits and pieces of information has been a challenge, at least those things worth reporting. However, there are a few things that have recently come to light.

Today is the day that the Village is to institute new Overnight Street Parking Regulations. Guess what; even though the change has been known for several months, the Shorewood Police Department, who is responsible for drafting and implementing of the new rules, hasn’t enforced them yet. People are asking how they can go about getting permission to take advantage of the new on street parking. As it is was until today, on street overnight parking was strictly prohibited, as one who can attest to receiving a parking violation on a few occasions; of course we have always been able to park on the street overnight if we have notified SPD and gained permission, but that is the exception, not the rule. New rules should be published along with the process of taking advantage of the new regulations. Maybe SPD hasn’t been able to get it done because there aren’t the necessary resources available at the American Legion or on the golf course.

One of our coffee drinking companions recently stated that the SPD put out the word to officers to refrain from commenting or making statements to any known bloggers. It seems that the recent incident with the Track Coach didn’t sit well with the SPD image. Speaking of image, we were wondering who was running the department, the Chief or the Village Manager. It was our understanding that the two positions were equal and that the Chief reported directly to the Village Board as does the Village Manager. It’s the Westees’ opinion that Dave should grow a set and stand up to Chris Swartz, just our opinion.

There’s been rumors going around that if you want a cop, is call or just pay a visit to Shorewood's BP gas station. We were wondering too and decided to investigate. Turns out, it isn’t SPD, but MPD District 5 officers meeting with Probation and Patrol Agents who are going out to pick up probation and parole violators. Shorewood BP is a convenient spot for them to link up. When you see the black and white squads sitting out front, along with the unmarked State Vans, it’s not Shorewood’s finest, but Milwaukee's. We also checked out the frequency, with which the patrol officers frequented other purveyors of other fine coffee and pastries, it seems that they are making the rounds to all of the local shops. One thing the department can’t be criticized for is that they do put the patrol officers on the street making their presence known.

While we’re on the subject of Shorewood BP, it was reported that an unknown officer stepped into the breach on a recent Sunday morning. The way the story goes is that the person who was to open the convenience store didn’t show up. The Sunday papers were sitting out front and so were the pastries. From the report, the Sunday morning patrol officer upon seeing the papers and money sitting on top of the stack residents had left for their newspaper, gathered up the papers, pastries and money and took custody. Then the officer called the store manager informing him of the situation. By the patrol officer’s going the extra mile, the store didn’t lose money and a potential problem was averted. The very fact that people were leaving money for their papers says a great deal about us Shorewood residents.

One final comment concerning driving while black in Shorewood; the Westees have members who are black and they give favorable reports concerning the Village’s finest. They can’t attest to what the conditions are once they cross the Village’s northern border, but african-americans are well accepted in our community. Something I’ve personally noticed over my limited tenure is that our community has become more diverse. This can’t be interpreted as anything other than a positive.

Next time you see one of finest doing their duty; give them a wave and a smile.