Curmudgeon's Corner

Village Buzz - June 14th

Posted by Al Campbell on June 14, 2010

Germantown, Village Buzz, Village Board, Quality of Life, Police

What a Shame…

What a shame it is that the trial of Mark Libecki for the murder of Theresa Wesolowski will be delayed until November 8^th.  This case involves the murder that went without an arrest for some 10 years.  The authorities thought they had the right “person of interest” identified but there simply was insufficient evidence upon which to base an arrest and charging until the vehicle driven by the suspect was located and evidence was obtained that made the arrest possible.

This delay is due, apparently, to the attorney, Gary Schmaus, having been afflicted with Bells Palsy and being unable to prepare as he desired for the trial that was to have started today.  The family of the victim has been on this case almost literally every week since its occurrence and for them to have to wait yet another five months seems terrible.

Could there not have been another solution?

There may be yet another ‘complication’ given the retirement of two judges and the impending appointments of people to fill those roles.  The “buzz” is that our current DA is in the running for one of those spots…and that would be well-deserved if it occurred.  We can only hope that such an appointment wouldn’t delay this case even further.

96 Gallon vs. 64 Gallon...

The Village Board’s recent decision to move ahead with biweekly recyclable pick-ups brings with it a new container for residents’ use to make the automated pick-up workable.  At first blush, I couldn’t picture a 96 gallon container but a trip to Lowe’s helped to put that into perspective.  That is a very large container; it would dwarf many a child of six or under. 

As I thought about where that was going to fit in my garage, I learned that an option of a 64 gallon container will also be available.  That is more the size that we’ll need with our two-member household and is a wise move.  This issue was one that Menomonee Falls worked through several years ago when it took a similar route to hold down garbage pick-up costs.  Large families will be able to use the big size and the rest of us will have one that takes up less space.

New Village Board…

It may simply be coincidence but the new Village Board under President Wolter seems less aligned than did the former Board.  There are more split decisions taken than was typical for the last Board where there often was only one dissenter.

Maybe this can be attributed to the issues although there seem to be much the same actions confronting this Board as confronted the old Board.  Maybe it is the effect of new leadership.  We’ll see how this term plays out, but for the moment, it feels as though there may be fewer lopsided decisions, which I’ll take to mean more thoughtful decisions.

I have always felt, whether rightly or wrongly, that votes with huge majorities were suspect of suffering from “group think”.  When those votes always involved the same people, my feelings were simply validated in my mind.  I like to see spirited debate and disagreement. It makes me think, at least, that we’re potentially getting better decisions since the discussions have been more wide-ranging and have explored all sides of the particular issue.  It makes me feel as though the decision hadn’t been a foregone conclusion suggesting that it had been preordained.