Showing posts with label City of Burlington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City of Burlington. Show all posts

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Stupid teenagers walked on icy Mississippi River (Video); KBUR protected individual's names

Earlier in March, three teenagers walked onto the icy Mississippi River.  They were not charged for attempting the stunt because its not considered illegal to do.
http://www.kbur.com/2014/03/10/kids-film-themselves-walking-on-mississippi-river-in-burlington/

KBUR didn't reveal the names in their article.  They also didn't link the video of them walking on the river.  In fact, they even had the image of the three of them removed.  Luckily for me, it wasn't too hard to recover it.

This is the photo KBUR had used for their article.  On the left is Conner Brockett, the middle is Preston Broeker, and the right is Luke Haviland.














The article was featured on their Facebook account however that post was deleted.




















This is due to the person who was commenting was the camera man.  He revealed the other two individuals who were involved with the stunt.  Fortunately for me, I was able to screen grab some of the comments from him.













There you have it, folks.  He and his two friends are using their max brain power to walk on potentially unstable ice in short sleeve shirts and shorts.  Here's the video of them walking on the ice.

If you are not able to see the video, you may have to disable any ad and privacy blockers to view it.


Here are some photos and posts made by the individual who recorded and walked out on the river.  The first photo shows them on the other side of the bridge.  Its unclear whether they walked the entire distance from the other side on ice or on stable cement ground.

























UPDATE: MAY 5, 2014 2:00 AM

Here are some Vines two of the three individuals posted.  Videos provided. 








Wednesday, February 27, 2013

City council budget logic

I find it funny that even though the other programs were reduced from their funding or planned to be eliminated, the numerous of other programs are still creating more debt.  Will these other programs make the cut?  I highly doubt it.

Rec Plex hasn't been as much of a popular place as when it was first opened.  With the costs of keeping it up with low turnout rates, it continues to drive up the debt.

As for the Flint Hills Golf Course, it may be similar to the Rec Plex's issue only they are limited to warmer seasons and only one specific activity: golf.  Not only that, their prices for seasonal and individual plays are outrageous.


























As for the Vision Iowa Improvement, that ties together for projects such as The Burlington Public Library, Burlington Bees Community Field, Burlington Memorial Auditorium, Flint River Trail (big joke), Des Moines County Heritage Center, and Big Hollow Nature Center.  While most of these are good to bring tourism, its costing taxpayers plenty of money that isn't generating enough revenue.  While there were talks about cutting a small bit of funding for the library and reducing the number of employees working at the auditorium, there is still a great deal of debt that wouldn't be addressed like it should have been addressed decades ago.

Don't get me started with the 3% franchise fee.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Surveys shown that Burlington High School is unsafe; proof that security cameras aren't helping

According to the 2011 and 2012 Burlington Index Report, the Burlington High School's safe school index is at a low.  You can find the reports here.  http://www.burlington.k12.ia.us/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=42&Itemid=58

2011



2012



Despite having cameras all around the school and the doors of classrooms and entrances are locked down since 2006, the safety index is still at a low rate.  

Its questionable whether there is any enforceable actions done to reduce the violence.  Its also questionable about whether these statistics are accurate or not.  For example, the 2012 version of the states that student's physical and emotional safety are high.  

Another thing to consider is that there is a statement within the documents that says that these are surveys.  In 2012, only 71% of students filled out a survey while in 2011 data shows no statistic of how many had participated.  The problem with surveys is that not all the students are always accurate and truthful.  Some rush the survey while some others lie in some of the answers.  

What makes this interesting of a statistic is the fact that despite the surveys being inaccurate in the most part, the safety index of the school is still low.  

I'm curious about the documents from before 2010.  Unfortunately, the BCSD's website has no statistics showing the safety from previous years.    

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Burlington Community School District website censors contact senators list; creates an incomplete list

I was randomly browsing the BCSD's website and I noticed that on their website that there are only three senators listed as contacts.

Link to the webpage.  http://www.burlington.k12.ia.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=297&Itemid=252





There is no excuse as to why the others were left out.  If they were listed based on how close they are in town, that wouldn't be a case either.  Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley are no where on the website, as well as the others in the other districts.

I know that one of the senators Dennis Cohoon had use to work at the Burlington High School.

Personal politics perhaps?

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Shooting happening at 1600 block of South 12th Street.

Another shooting was reported earlier this morning.





































Suspect is a black male wearing blue jeans with a black hoodie.  He is 6 feet tall.  News will be updated soon.

UPDATE: 3:30 PM

Suspect was shot and has tried fleeing into a house.

UPDATE #2: 10/29/2012 : 10:00 AM

The shooter was caught yesterday.

http://www.kwqc.com/story/19938165/burlington-police-make-arrest-after-shooting

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Stupid Saturday: 10/27/2012

Thought I missed the day to post for Saturday?  Well, here is today's entry.


The story:

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Girlfriend-beating-10-26-12

My take on it:

That woman who attacked all those people must be pretty damn strong and well coordinated when it came to attacking and being intoxicated at the same time.

I'm confused why the hell there were two underage children out at this area at around 3:30 in the morning.  Not only it was passed their curfew, they weren't allowed to be at Sam's Speakeasy.  Sam's Speakeasy is basically a combination of a bar and a strip club.   Minors are prohibited from entering.  For some reason, the 14-year-old daughter and the boy were in the area and that Murphy tried pushing the daughter into the closet, which had to be in the strip club.

Either the children were there because their mother was there or they were doing some sexual-related acts.  I think its most likely the first choice.

Why in the hell did she pursue to attack the officer?  Was she trying to make herself look intelligent?



The story:
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Attack-102312

My take on it:

Talk about one hell of a dysfunctional family.  I'm curious as to what had started the conflict in the first place. 

Why the hell did a man attack his own sister by punching him in the face, especially in the middle of the night?
Why did it escalate of having Sawaan hitting Robert repeatedly with the bat, then attacking his vehicle?

Overall, they are all in the wrong, maybe including Leanna as well.  Leanna could have done something that wasn't listed in the story.  Then again, it had to be something serious enough so that she would have been charged for it.  Since it wasn't listed in the paper about her being charged, it may be more likely that she didn't do anything wrong and that she was attacked by her violent brother.


Monday, October 22, 2012

The Hawk Eye didn't submit article about shooting in today's newspaper

I checked into today's newspaper to see if the shooting was published in the newspaper.  There wasn't anything published.

The website still hasn't updated to the incident.  This is a snapshot taken at 5:57 PM today.






















The Eastern Iowa Fireground complained about the lack of updates presented on their website.  They weren't sure whether it was presented into the newspaper or not.  The answer is that it was never published.












Recent shooter had checkered past

37-year-old Jermaine Carr of Burlington was captured by police after attempting to shoot two people and having a standstill in his home.  This is the man who was captured.













Carr had a criminal past.  He was charged as a sex offender in Cook County for two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

It was unclear whether he had other charges made against him in the past.

He is currently held in Des Moines County Jail and will be put on trial later this morning.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Apollo school vandalist makes stupid comment; hilarity ensures

I was going through the account that uploaded the videos of the three teenagers that broke into the Apollo school when I came across a comment from the user.












There were so many problems with the comment made by the uploader of these videos.  

It was still governmental property because the building isn't owned by anyone and that is now technically owned by the city.  

The things they were doing in the area was indeed a combination of paranormal investigating and vandalism.  I don't believe that these individuals were solely 'exploring' the entire area.  Instead, they broke in, vandalized the building, and talked about paranormal-related stuff.

I liked how he didn't deny the fact that they got themselves lost.  In the videos, each of them had difficulty finding their way out.

Half of the comment that he made didn't make any sense.  Maybe those stupid stunts he had done could have impacted his intelligence more.  

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Stupid Saturday: 10/20/2012

Its been awhile since I last submitted something for this particular section.  Let's begin.


I would like to first take part on something that hasn't been reported anywhere.  I have observed some interesting details about this particular incident while waiting in the emergency room.  Keep in mind that the entry listed above was about the closest thing that I could find about a report made nearby a restaurant   The time could have been earlier and that he could have been listed as a Mental Subject listing.  Not all the details were given out on location.  Some pieces were missing.

Story:

I brought someone into the emergency room to have looked at.  As I waited, I overheard a phone call given to the desk that an officer is on route to the hospital with a patient.  The officer tells the staff over the phone that the man had a head injury and that he was handcuffed.  It was suspected that he could have fallen and hit his head against the curve.

About 10-15 minutes later, the man mentioned that he was cuffed against the inclined rolling bed.  He was accompanied by an officer, two nurses, and an doctor.  There was a suspicion that the man has a head/neck injury and he was bleeding all over.  The man was suspected to be intoxicated.  He pleaded that he didn't want to go back to jail.  The officer made it clear to him that he was under arrest.

The man's name was Mike.  He was about 6' 1'' to 6' 2''.  He had short blondish hair.  He had no shirt on and wore jeans and black tennis shoes.  He had black tattoos across his shoulders on his back.  He lives in the general area.

Mike tried escaping but failed because both his hands were cuffed on either end of the bed.  He occasionally screamed and cursed.

For a while, he refused to talk to a doctor nor cooperating with them in being taken care of.  He sat up mostly from his bed instead of resting.

Although Mike had taken his Tetanus shot just a couple of months ago, they have given it to him anyways. The nurse gave him one and told the man that it would be good for 10 years.  He resisted.  He became aggressive when the nurses were trying to give the man his shots. A nurse or the officer suggested tying him down because his legs weren't secured and he had been resisting.  The nurses weren't able to hold his legs down. One of the nurses mentioned that they had to slam him down on the bed. After the shot was delivered, Mike experienced pain from the shot.

Later on, there were some suggestions about having blood tests done on the man.  When they went in to test him, he refused to relax while it was happening.  They held him down and eventually had some blood drawn. Mike accused one of the nurses of hurting him while the blood was being drawn.

After the blood was taken out for testing, Mike said to the officer "Unlock me, dude."  He then said "Let me go, dude and I'll be cooperative."  The officer refused.  The man replied, "That's wrong, dude."

The officer made a suggestion about a "psyc transfer".  The officer then goes further into detail that he may or may not be wrong for him in needing one.  The ETA of when he was suppose to leave was 2 hours.  There was a mentioning about psychotic medication, but its unclear whether he takes them or needs them.

Mike later talked about wanting brown hair, then darker hair.  Eventually, he began to calm down.  The nurses may have satiated the man in order for him to calm down.  He then became more talkative.  He then says, "Two more left and we are done.  I can feel it, dude."  It wasn't clear whether it was the medicine he was talking about or something else.  The man cursed a lot, mostly the 'f'' word.

Later on, Mike was wheeled away to have a CAT scan done on his head and neck.  He came back within 10-20 minutes later.

Mike asked the officer to take off his gloves.  The officer wore blue plastic medical gloves.  He asked the officer over and over again to uncuff his one hand.  The officer refused.

The officer placed his phone and his ID back into his jacket.  It was then bagged up.

The officer later asked whether Mike wanted a band aid for his head or not.  Mike refused.  The officer then asked whether Terry Johnson was his emergency contact.  Mike refused to have the man contacted.

Mike asked, "Am I a convict?  You treat me like a convict."  The officer didn't respond back.

The officer talked to one of the nurses and wasn't sure whether someone else was involved or not.  According to Mike's story, there was a man involved.  The man was described as being white, stood between 4' 4'' and 5' 4''.  The incident supposedly happened nearby a restaurant, which could have been by Arbys.

The results came back.  His neck and head was fine and free from other injuries.  There was a suspicion that Mike may had a seizure outside the hospital.  They discussed about him being suicidal and something on the lines of cattle medication.  He eventually warmed up with some of the nurses and soon they began to talk and joke with one another.

The officer was called into the hallway to talk to someone on the phone.  After he was finished, he got off the phone.  He told the nurses that there was a lot of blood at the scene.

Mike later said, "You can't do this to me."  He then makes a statement saying, "I'm ready to die.  Not today."

The doctor entered the room and told Mike that he had some stitching done to his head and that he can follow up with his doctor in 7 days to have them removed.  The stitching could have been done shortly before or after the x-ray was completed.  The nurses then cleaned the blood off of Mike's face.

Mike asked the officer, "Am I going to prison?"  The officer replied that he was going to jail.  Mike then asked what his bail would be.  The officer said $300.  After the entire conversation was over and Mike was finished, all of them left the area.

Later on, the desk area reported that the man was still listed as being transferred to the psych ward.  One of the women then told the woman that was typing the information out that they had forgotten to have the entry removed and that the woman should have it removed.  The woman on the computer then asked about why it was listed as forensics and whether he should be listed as being cuffed or not.  The others replied that it was forensics because of the incident and that he shouldn't be listed as being cuffed.  The staff talked about the man being very weird.

My take on it:

I found it very strange that the officer was giving orders to hospital staff about submitting Mike into a psychiatric ward.  The officer isn't a trained psychologist that would be able to diagnose Mike properly.  The details about what happened at the scene were vague and incomplete.  The man had admitted out loud about wanting to die, which is a possibility that he was suicidal.  Because of the lack of information that was being collected by Mike's mental status, it was most likely dropped.

Since Mike has shown some resistance, there shouldn't be any acknowledgement in giving him much sympathy.   If he was drunk, had a cut on his head, bleeding everywhere, cuffed to his bed, resisted having his blood drawn and shots taken; he most likely had done something that he shouldn't have.  He could have either be involved in a fight with someone or even with himself.  It wasn't clear whether his story was true or was a lie.  It could have been a lie since he was intoxicated.

The nurses seemed a bit disorganized in cancelling the psych transfer for Mike, given the fact that they cancelled it about 20-40 minutes after he had left the hospital completely.  

Overall the entire situation was weird and bizarre.  


Story:


My take on it:

The children were removed from their house from a DHS.  The question comes down to:  how long did this worker know about the report and how was he/she involved with the children and the parent's case?  Was this reported a long time ago or a short time ago?  Who referenced this worker to have the child speak with this worker?  It was very unclear of how much time had passed before the girl spoke to someone, forwarded to a DHS worker, and action was taken.

Most DHS workers in this town tend to be very picky, irresponsible, and lazy.  When a report is made for a home full of children (like a run-down place), its most likely that it would never be investigated.  If it was investigated, most of the time the children would stay in the area.  Hell, this is the same department that recommended children in being babysat with an abusive babysitter named Betty some years ago.  That however is another story.  

I'm wondering why the hell the prosecutors had dropped some of the charges on the woman.  If she had all of these things pressed onto her, why the hell is she being let go for some of these serious charges?  Its safe to say that Judge Brown doesn't think things through in prosecuting people appropriately instead of half-assing it.

Although the woman is getting 14 years in prison, I believe that she deserves to be charged with the rest of the charges that were dropped.  That way, she would stay in there longer and would be out of society's way.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Stupid Sunday

I decided to have Stupid Sundays too given the fact that there are plenty of stupid individuals in the local area.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Stupid Saturday

I decided to have a Stupid Saturday posting for this blog.  Every Saturday, I will post about local people that have done something stupid that is listed in a newspaper article.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Chopped wood being dumped at the manor; sign waivers to collect wood

This post isn't about Burlington and the city's disruptive policies, but I felt the need to post this to clear things up from the recent blog post by Burlington Derailed.  I would rather tell the truth rather than stretching it.  Its not to say that the blog website does this all the time, its just this particular article that I read seemed a bit far-fetched.

Sometime back, there was a discussion on the Burlington Derailed website about trees being cut down at the manor and being left there.  A reply to the discussion suggested that someone may have sold the rights to someone to do so.  http://burlingtonderailed.com/index.php?itemid=9041

That wasn't the case when I visited the manor for the first time since before the houses were demolished.  Here are some photos of the area of interest.



















The sign that was placed nearby the logs talks about that the person(s) involved in cutting down and leaving the logs at the location works with Burlington Parks Department Forestry Division.  Since the location isn't own by a specific person, its instead owned by the city's government, which still owns the empty Manor property.

After calling the phone number and talking with a representative of the phone line, I found that the post coming from the Burlington Derailed website seemed to be stretching the truth.  The logs that were chopped down was from other locations from around the city instead of in the general area.  The logs that came from trees were caught down as part of maintenance work.  Wood is then brought into the area and is left down.

A person can request to sign a waiver in order to pick up the word and use it for any means.  Its not clear whether there is a cost with signing the waiver or its free to pick up the wood.

From driving around in the area, there didn't appear to be any stumps or holes left behind from chopping down the trees.  It was clear as well that the wood wasn't removed from its drop-off location.

There is no single person involved in chopping the wood nor is there one that has the rights to chopped down the wood around the area.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Neighborhood Watch

Recently, an article was published by The Hawk Eye about neighborhood watches and how they are becoming more ineffective in the area.  The article's title seems to insist that the neighborhood watch is defeated.

While there are many reasons why neighborhood watches are failing, there are still other factors in play as to why the neighborhood watches aren't holding up.


Many neighbors are often unreliable or too busy:

Living in an town with severe inflation for more than 40 years has created many individuals to either leave the city or stay behind and work their butts off to make ends meat. This can go with the factor of which people are constantly moving away, thereby leaving houses open to someone new.  

When someone new comes along, it would be difficult to earn their trust and become reliable or not to help support the cause.  Since crime in this town has been rising and new individuals are moving in from another state, its difficult to know whether the neighbor has a clean-slate record or just got out of jail for beating someone up.  


Too much crime is happening all at once; police aren't reliable enough to handle the situation properly:

Another factor that I see as to why neighborhood watches are failing is because criminal activities have been constantly increasing.  There is a scarcity of individuals being caught who have committed illegal acts. 

This is often due to the lack of funding, training and apathy from the Burlington Police Department and its affecting the way they are catching criminals.   

For example, officers usually unwillingly pursue someone to the extreme of arresting an individual, like looking into surveillance tapes or releasing the tapes to the public to help identify the criminals.  This also includes high speed chases.  

Without proper cooperation with law enforcement, neighborhood watches would be as useless as tits on a bull.  

Officer Grimsaw is incorrect when it comes to limited resources.  They have plenty of officers.  IF they are willing to do neighborhood watches, they can cover a small portion of an area for a period of time followed by the next new area.  The problem is many of the officers aren't willing to do that and that they want to instead do as little work as possible.  That way they would be paid just as much as if they were to do the extra work.  I don't see in buying three new squad cars would mean they are lacking resources. 


Solution: 
The only realistic solution in dealing with criminals breaking into ones home, mugging ones self or any other activity is by owning a firearm with proper licensing.

Another solution is moving out of Burlington and West Burlington completely.  

There have been plenty of reports of thefts and muggings going on in the city that are getting away with stealing one's things.  Criminals do this day and night without any fear of officers patrolling the streets regularly,  like Osborn Street, GreenWay, or even South Hill.

Police are out manned and ill-trained to find a good chunk of criminals involved in the city to put behind bars. 

Friday, June 15, 2012

Burlington Steamboat Days doesn't allow cameras; isn't technically correct

I attended the Burlington Steamboat days for the first time in several years.  What I have never done before was to take pictures of the event.  I brought my camera with me and went down to the main gate.

When I was entering through the gate, I was stopped by a very large man who helped staff the event.  He asked me if I was from The Hawk Eye newspaper.  I told him no.  When I gave him the answer, I was told not to take any photos on the grounds because cameras aren't allowed.  He let me go into the area with my entire DSLR in hand.

About 20 minutes later, I noticed one of their staff members taking photos of a band stage right next to the gate entrance.  He was wielding a DSLR with a long-lens attachment.  It angered me of how even though cameras weren't allowed on the property, but staff members from BSD and The Hawk Eye were allowed special treatment to take such photographs and video.

I then began looking online to see what information I can pull up.  To my surprise, there is much irony set forth for the events and that this 'oral' and 'written rule' was both manipulated and accepted into a new false ruling.


Cameras are allowed on the grounds:


I contacted The Hawk Eye and asked about the policy BSD had with not allowing photographs and videos to be taken.

To my surprise, the phone operator of the The Hawk Eye told me that for years she was taking photos inside of the area.  She also said that they knew that she had a camera and that she was allowed to take photos.  She explained to me that she has been doing this for years.

Shortly before I made the phone call, I came across to this particular piece on the website.  The Hawk Eye was encouraging the public to submit photos from the Steamboat Days event, as well as other events.  http://www.thehawkeye.com/ss/bsd/#viewer


Ironically, in the special section of The Hawk Eye newspaper, there was an indicated note suggesting that no recording or photography equipment is allowed at Steamboat Days.
















I then contacted the Burlington Steamboat Days hot line and was put in touch with a young woman who works for the establishment.  She told me that cameras are allowed on the grounds, except for cameras with interchangeable lenses.  I proceeded to ask her why these types of cameras aren't allowed on the grounds.  She replied that she doesn't know why, but is willing to contact the supervisor and get back to me with the answer.

UPDATE: I called back the next day and was put in touch with another person.  Supposedly, there is some kind of a "contract agreement" that some concert performs sign for in order to prevent such cameras from being used.  When asked which ones, she then says something different, which was that all of them signed it.

Proof of contact will be uploaded once the supervisor or a staff member gets back to me on the answer.


BSD attempts to stretch their power over property space:


Now that it is clear that the BSD does allow most cameras into the facility, I can now talk about the overgeneralized stress one photographer had with the BSD security and staff.

Photos and information by Iowapix.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/iowapix/

A photographer was taking pictures of a concert last year that was being held inside the event area.  He was outside of the area, taking photos from within a gap space.  A security staff from the faculty was harassing the individual, telling him that he isn't allowed to take photographs.  The problem was that the area the photographer was taking these photos were on a public road and sidewalk route.  The security staff was told by someone to call the police if he wish to pursue this complaint further.

The photographer was then contacted from the Iowa ACLU and was told that:
It is unlikely that a concert promoter can enforce any private right in a public place. In the absence of a law enforcement action or arrest which did not happen , there is not much more that can be done. 


He then received a letter from the City Manager before he retired.


  























However, the restrictions the manager was giving was not authorized to restrict access to the public of sidewalks and curbs.  Photos are allowed at these specific areas. When the letter was sent out, the photographer had his lawyer involved, as well as the National Press Photographers Association.

Two nights ago, he received a similar harassment from one of the staff members, but this time asking if he had credentials.  He replied that he is standing on a public sidewalk and don't need credentials or permissions.

Information in regards to property space being leased with the City of Burlington can be obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Update with water fountain

I have a few key updates from my previous post in regards to the water fountain located next to the Memorial Auditorium.

There is more than one warning sign:


What I noticed after returning to the fountain was that there are actually two signs in front of the fountain instead of one.  This means that it would be unlikely to miss both of the signs.  Although I may have missed viewing one of those signs, I was still able to come in contact with the other.





























Larger image of what the sign says:


One of the things that I had forgotten to place in my previous post about the fountain is an image that is in better quality to read.  This way, instead of having to zoom into the image to view the wording on either sign, I zoomed into the specific area for anyone to read clearly.















Electrical wiring, lights, and Chlorine:


When I went to visit the fountain again the other day, I noticed that it was turned off due to the weather being cool.

Entering in the area, I toke some pictures of the inside and outside of the fountain to show what the sign is trying to explain to people about what kinds of hazards the fountain possesses.















Looking down into the fountain, it looks safe to jump in.  However, there are a few things that is being shown in the image that helps to explain why it isn't safe to be in or on the fountain.















First is these things.  I'm not entirely sure what they are, but it could be related in draining the fountain.  When the fountain is on, the water levels are much higher than what is shown in the overview image.  I don't know if it is manually or automatically able to open or close with either electronics components or by human action.  Either way, it still posses a danger to an individual playing inside the fountain, being either an electrical or a tripping hazard.

Also, the water located in the pool is covered in Chlorine, which is specifically used to purify the water from any contaminants.  It isn't clear how much is put into the system, but if the signs say that the Chlorine that is in the water is part of a hazard for the fountain, it would only mean that there is larger-than-normal doses being put into the water.
















This particular thing is located all around the inner ring of the fountain.  This helps provide more water to move into different directions at the same time.  The hazard of this item can be from falling into it while inside the water area.  As for the outer edge nearby, it can be extremely dangerous since the white material surrounding it is slippery and someone could be impaled or have any similar injury as a result of falling.

Speaking of slipping, if a person were to slip from that particular edge, they would either fall forward into the water, or fall backwards in a 2-3 foot drop on the cement or grass.  This can lead into different scenarios of injuries or even death as a result of poor judgement.
















This particular thing is display lights.  They are located within the fountain, nearby the main spout of water in the middle of the fountain.  A wire is shown attached to the device.  This shows as proof that there are wires located in the bottom of the fountain.  It isn't clear how secure they are to the fountain, but they are placed there.
















Here is another image showing the main spout, as well as the many wires leading to specific ports.  This shows how dangerous the fountain is with all the electric wiring flowing through it.  If someone were to somehow severed any of the wires, it would electrify the hell out of anything that is in or around the water source.
















Located just outside the water area are more lights.  They are located within the outer ring of the fountain.  This shows that the entire fountain, both inside and out, contains electrical circuits, plumbing, and wiring necessary to make more of a hazard and less of a public pool.

The idea of playing in or on the fountain is idiotic.  The people who does this kind of thing want to find a way to cool off for the summer, swim at a water park.  If they can't afford to go to such a place, buy a plastic pool and, followed by filling it up using a water hose.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Memorial Auditorium's large white fountain has been occupied by random people for years!

Every summer, I would walk downtown to check out the riverfront view.  Every summer, the fountains nearby the Memorial Auditorium are turned on as part of a display.

And every summer, there have been people playing in and around the entire area.

















The photo above was taken earlier today as it was a common thing that was being done to that fountain.  Children, hell even adults play in it.  Even though there is a clear visible sign with capitalized letters, including using the colors red and black; people still jump in and play around.


What is the fountain's real purpose?


According to a June 1998 Minutes document from the City of Burlington, a fountain was being discussed in being placed somewhere in Burlington.  It would be considered to help promote tourism, but was also considered an attraction.  Council Member Wright considered it more of an addition to the Memorial Auditorium rather than an attraction.


However, according to the Grow Burlington website, the fountains that are located in front of the building is a favorite cooling off spot during the summer.


So the fountain's main purpose is to either draw tourism or be an addition to the auditorium.  The separate fountains located on the ground in front of the building have a general purpose of keeping individuals cooled off during the summer. 


However, even though the smaller ones that are lying flat on the ground and are used more for cooling tourists off during the summer, it doesn't mean that people can jump in or around the large white fountain nearby.


Why do people do this?

Having a few water parks in town, it would be understandable to go to places like Fun City and play in a larger pool full of slides, toys, etc.  However, there is a cost to attending such places and they're usually not cheap.  


Where is a public area full of water that is running every summer and doesn't cost any money to entertain one's self?  The white fountain down by the river is the only place.  Some individuals may be doing this because they want to play in the water where is clean, plentiful, and free.


That doesn't rule out other individuals who do it because it’s really hot outside.  Today was one of those days where the temperature reached near the 90's.  



Is there anyone enforcing the rules that were placed originally by the sign?

The most likely answer to this question is: NO.  If it was enforced by any law enforcement, people who regularly or occasionally jump in and play would never come back.  There wouldn't be anyone in it if it was enforced effectively.  
   
It would probably not be enforced for two reasons:  many officers in this town can't enforce anything effectively due to the cities lack of funding and the poor training the officers receive; and there isn't a barrier preventing people from jumping in it.



What would happen if someone were to get electrocuted or hurt from playing in the fountain?

If someone were to get hurt or killed as a result for playing in the water fountain, it would be easily viewed by anyone who is at the river.  


Law Enforcement would most likely be involved with fixing the issue of the offenders, perhaps even the city.  


If a lawsuit were to open up as a result from playing inside the fountain, the chances of winning the case would be zero to none.  The big reason is the fact that the person(s) involved in swimming, jumping, etc. either ignored or couldn't read the sign that was put into the ground.  Another reason would be that it was originally designed to be an attraction, or by what Council Member Wright considered it an "addition", not some mini play park that is left unsupervised 24/7.


I've seen many children jumping and waving their arms around the edge, even the inner part of the fountain.  Clearly it is a safety hazard for anyone being in the fountain before someone slips and breaks their neck or gets electrocuted.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

City of Burlington agreeing to build a worthless 20-mile bike trail

I read some articles about the ribbon cutting and the current progress of the new bike trail that is currently being constructed.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Flint-River-precede-050312
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/Flint-River-050512
http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/bike-fleche-051312

The Hawk Eye provided an image in the paper for everyone to see.  The problem though is the fact that the resolution of the image is so crappy that its hard to tell where this trail is going to be ending up exactly, except for certain areas like Big Hallow and Starr's Cave Nature Center.

After looking at it, I decided to construct a full resolution of the map to show the details that are being left out. 






















There are a few problems that I see that is wrong with having this built.



Building it through private property and out-of-town:

For one, some areas of the track are going to be built on private property, meaning that the city has no authorization to touch such property since the owners bought it long before they decided to purchase pieces of their land to build a ridiculous bike trail.

What I don't understand is that The City of Burlington is building a bike trail that will stretch outside of the town's limits as well.  What will give them the authorization to do that? 


Flooding:

Another problem is the flooding from nearby bodies of water. Its not just the main part of the Mississippi that would flood out some of the trail occasionally, its also comes from the stream of water that intersects with Flint Creek that would also help flood the area out.  That huge amount of area surrounding these bodies of water can and will flood out much of the bike trail.

Here's an image of the impact the 2008 flood had on the town.  The image can be clicked on to see the full detail of the aerial map.


Even though the image doesn't show area's like around Mill Dam Road, the rest of Flint Creek, Starr's Cave Nature Center, those areas were also affected greatly.  When I was around the area of Mill Dam Road, just away from Case Company, there are already some flooding coming from the river stream coming from nearby.  This event happened a few days before the floods reached further to Case.

Years later, I tried researching for recent flood maps in the general area.  All I found was a book that had flood maps of the town......from the 1980s.  There was not a single piece of updated map material that was found in the library.  There was no maps of the 1993 and 2008 floods; not even the smaller floods were reported in between those times, as well as afterwards.


Not too many people would be willing to ride their bike 20 miles back and forth:


This is also another problem that will arise after it is finished being built.  How many athletic individuals in this town would be willing and able to pedal 20 miles onto the trail and 20 miles back?

What the newspaper articles didn't provide is whether the entire trip is going to be flat ground or hilly areas.  Much of the city has plenty of hills and some areas that I looked into, like the beginning of the trail, does have some hills to them.

The big question is how many hills would be found on the bike trail that is being constructed and how steep are they?