Ped Crossing Sign - Going, going, gone

A reader wrote this morning to ask about the pedestrian crossing sign on Throop at Cass. You know the one? The nifty little post in the center of Throop Street that reminds drivers that it is a State law to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in the crosswalk? She wrote that the sign recently disappeared.

Public Works informed The Woodstock Advocate that the sign’s absence is due to snow plowing. They didn’t say whether the sign was removed so that the street could be plowed or if it just got plowed with the snow.

Word is that, when weather permits, Public Works will be replacing the sign.

In the meantime, watch your step as you cross Throop Street. Without that warning to drivers, pedestrians are once again at increased risk at that location.

We have recommended other locations for similar warning signs. Good locations would be South & Jefferson and South & Putnam. They must be many more.

If you would like to recommend a location, email PWDept@woodstockil.gov

PayDay Loans - a Good Deal? NOT

Have you ever checked out the rates for a “payday” loan at one of the many outlets for this type of borrowing?

Before Illinois legislators acted last year to begin curbing the usurious rates charged by these outfits, annualized interest rates could reach 780%. That starts to make 28% from your credit card company look pretty good, doesn’t it?

For a good explanation of the high costs of payday loans, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payday_loan

If you ever consider a payday loan, think twice. And then think twice more.

The U.S. Department of Defense calls payday loans “predatory.” For military personnel the DOD caps the interest rate at 36%. It’s probably impossible now for military personnel to get a payday loan, because those companies have no interest in lending money at 36%.

Call and get the information – all the information; then take it to your bank and ask them how they (your bank) can help you solve your financial problems. And if you really need help, contact your local Consumer Credit Counseling Service. In McHenry County, Illinois, the phone number is (815) 338-5757.

A particularly bad situation is making a payday loan online. When you do this, the loan may escape the rules in your state; for many readers here, that would be Illinois. Our own legislators acted in 2006 to cut interest rates for borrowers. I haven’t researched this, but my recollection is that interest is capped at about 360%. OK, so they did us a favor in cutting it from 780%, but what about some real protection for consumers?

Sometimes a borrower will believe that a payday loan is cheaper than overdraft fees at the bank and, indeed, it might be. Unfortunately, some borrowers then incur both the exorbitant interest rate of payday loans AND bank over-draft fees, when the check for the payday loan doesn’t clear.

Hear That Whistle Blowin'

What does a train whistle in Woodstock at 4:20AM mean?

Normally, trains pass through Woodstock without blowing whistles. What does a whistle mean?

A train whistle is a warning. The engineer may have spotted a car crossing the tracks around a gate that was down or a pedestrian trying to beat the train. What happens when the car or pedestrian doesn't make it?

Trains don't leave their tracks and run down cars or pedestrians a block or two from the tracks.

Yes, it's true that too often gates are down far too long in Woodstock. When a Loop-bound train stops at the station, gates go down well ahead of the train, often resulting in a 3-4-5 minute delay for drivers. It's easy to begin to think that the gates are stuck and to think about driving around the gate or reversing direction and finding an alternate route.

Pedestrians cross the tracks on Church, Calhoun and Madison Streets while gates are down. And they climb the embankment across from the apartments on Lake Avenue to head for Jewel (or Aldi's or Wisted's) or McDonald's (or Wendy's or Taco Bell).

What action do Woodstock police officers take when they see these violations? Has there ever been a ticket issued in Woodstock for a railroad track violation?

It's a good idea - no, it's a Great Idea - to respect and obey rail crossing devices. Obey them yourselves and teach your young drivers and kids to obey them. Trains are very unforgiving, if you get in the way.

Smoke-Free Illinois - Day 4

On Y103.9 news at 6:00AM a McHenry County Health Department official said January is a "transition" month. I wonder whether this means that the new non-smoking rules will be gradually enforced, rather than firmly and fairly enforced from the get-go.

Do you think there is a smoker in Illinois, at least in well-populated or metropolitan areas, who hasn't heard of the new non-smoking rules? Not a chance, unless they have been out-of-state or in hibernation.

This wimpy approach bodes ill for enforcement. I'd be okay with one warning. Let's say, one written warning to the smoker and one written warning to the establishment. And make it in writing, or else the smoker will just repeat the smoking violation and claim he "didn't know."

For a government official to declare a "transition" is inexcusable. The official should have stated that new rules went into effect and smokers are expected to obey them.

It's like a new speed limit on a roadway. You post the new signs, and then you do what some places (like the City of McHenry and the Indiana Dept. of Transportation) do - you "flag" the new signs. They post square, orange flags diagnonally from the two top corners to catch a driver's attention. And then you enforce it.

Only Indiana (and Illinois and other states) do not enforce it, which means almost no one pays attention to the lowered speed limit, which endangers the driver who does reduce his speed to the posted speed limit.

Is this what will happen with Smoke-Free Illinois? Will the law be posted, not enforced and ignored? And the continued endangerment of the health of non-smokers by second-hand smoke?

Smoke-Free Illinois - Day 2

I, for one, am delighted about Smoke-Free Illinois. But, then, I gave up cigarette smoking when I was 7 years old. My mom said I'd never live to see 8, if I didn't quit!

Today is the first business day of Smoke-Free Illinois 2008. This means that it is illegal to smoke tobacco products in public places: offices, restaurants, stores, commercial buildings - all those places where smokers have been used to lighting up.

Schaumburg went smoke-free within 15' of building entrances last year. This produced many contacts between high-rise office building security staff and smokers who gathered just outside entrances. But the smokers learned to move away from entrances, after repeated nudges from security staff.

So, what will be the story in Woodstock, especially when it's 1 degree on the thermometer?

Will restaurant owners hide the ashtrays? Will they direct customers to discard their cigarettes? Not just step outside, but step away from the building entrance?

Will employers start docking employees who must have the nicotine fix every 30-60 minutes?

Will Jewel-Osco create an employee rest area at the back of the building, so that customers no longer have to run the gauntlet from the Hallmark store to the door at Jewel and hold their noses as they walk past the "smoking area"?

Will there be groups of smokers hovering exactly 15' from store entrances on the Square? Will there be enough complaints from non-smokers on the Square that Woodstock will enact a ban on smoking on sidewalks around the Square?

Will businesses place buttcans on the Square, so that smoking customers will have places to properly dispose of lighted cigarettes before entering stores and businesses? Who will clean the sidewalks of discarded cigarettes?

How many times will fires have to be put out in the trash receptacles around the Square? Will Woodstock Fire/Rescue District provide fire extinguishers to store owners near the sidewalk trash receptacles, to reduce the cost of running a fire engine downtown to snuff out burning papers? Will they bill the smoker who dumped his lighted cigarette there?

Remember... don't blame the restaurant owner who tells you that you can't smoke in his restaurant. It's the law.

Burger of the Year – 2007

It took until December 28 to find the best burger of 2007, but show up it did. The winner? Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger with house fries. The burger was plump, nicely cooked and beautifully presented on an open bun on a platter. Burger on the bottom of the bun; three slices of well-cooked (but not crisp) bacon, fresh, crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes (that’s plural) and sliced onion on the right.

And so thick that, when put together, it was really more than should have been attempted as a closed sandwich. But who eats a burger open-faced?

The place? Luther’s Rare and Well-Done in Beaufort, South Carolina. I almost missed the place because, after parking on Bay Street (what would be Main Street in any other town) and walking past holiday-decorated stores, I came to Luther’s Pharmacy. Since I was looking for “Luther’s”, I paused before passing and found that it is a restaurant, not a pharmacy. Doc Luther bought the pharmacy in 1906 and sold it to his nephew, Dr. Jules Long, in 1941. The pharmacy continued until the early 1980's. Luther's Rare and Well Done was established in 2001.

Clever marketing and a desire to keep one foot in the past may have resulted in a decision to retain the signing.

A sailing buddy, Howard, and I first sat outside on the rear deck on the still-warm evening, but the cigarette smoke blown through the open door from the smoking section of the restaurant was quite strong. I knew better than to ask in a South Carolina restaurant whether there was a non-smoking section, and I didn't bring up the new Illinois Smoke-Free law, which would have controlled tobacco smoke originating in the restaurant. We also wanted to avoid the four TV screens, each showing a different sports channel and none with the volume muted.

It didn't take us long to move to the front seating section, near the windows looking out on Bay Street. Our server, Emma, stayed with us from our first seating, and she gave wonderful, attentive, friendly service. She never hurried us, nor did she abandon us. As a matter of fact, about four servers helped us at various times. And it wasn’t because we looked like big tippers.

Is there competition in Woodstock for Luther’s? Is there a reasonably-priced, delicious burger available in Woodstock? One of those that you’d be quite happy to return soon for another?

There is a burger chain called Fuddrucker’s that provides a built-your-own atmosphere. After ordering your burger, you then take your plate to the service bar and add all the toppings.

Years ago in St. Louis there was a gourmet burger joint called The Fatted Calf. Seating was on tall stools around small wooden tables attached to a floor-to-ceiling pole.

Would a gourmet burger joint on the Woodstock Square be a drawing card for an evening crowd? Or a daytime or week-end group? A restaurant where you wouldn’t have to take out a line-of-credit before ordering dinner?

Any nominations for a logical location on the Woodstock Square?

Sailors - Friendlier than Landlubbers

When is the last time you saw people in a coffee shop strike up a conversation with strangers? Can you hear the chair legs scraping across the floor now?

I spent last week-end on a sailboat in Beaufort, S.C. A long-time friend and his golden retriever are sailing from Connecticut to Florida, and I caught up with Howard there. We had met in Colorado in about 1984-85 and have stayed in contact through many moves. Three years ago I rode my motorcycle to Connecticut and we sailed for four days to Cape Code, where he attended a family reunion with his then-lady friend, and I drove her car back to their home while they sailed the return trip.

It didn't seem to matter where sailors gather - in a coffee shop, on the dock, in the local marina office... They are all friendly and helpful, and they share information about docking and hazards when they know which way you are traveling.

I was one of the most popular people at the marina this week-end, because I had wheels. One of the challenges for sailors in port is finding transportation to grocery stores, hardware stores, marine supply stores and other places, like the post office or a repair facility. You could just see their eyes light up, after they said, "You have a car?" and I answered that I did.

One couple, Peter and Lucy, were from London. They had flown to the U.S. and purchased a sailboat in Annapolis. Another couple, Bob and Kathy, were from Maine. Howard rescued their dinghy one day after the rope broke and they had sailed on ahead without knowing it had separated from their sailboat. Another man, Archie, from Port St. Lucia, had flown to Maryland, purchased his sailboat, and was sailing solo, as was Howard, to Florida.

Friendships were easily formed and sailors stay in touch by phone and email. Howard's laptop is powered off his boat's battery and his aircard gives him internet access right from the deck of his boat. What a life!