Here are this week’s letters to the editor of the Sheboygan Press. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views.
Warning about the risks of leaving pets in parked cars
A humble reminder to all pet parents: Please do not forget to crack your car windows a little while leaving your dog or any pet in the parking lot as you go into the shopping center.
Even if the weather is in the 40s, a closed car could leave your dog suffocating or even dead.
Recently, I witnessed two such incidents. In both cases, the dogs were very restless. I waited for some time to see whether the owners would be back. Luckily, they returned on time.
Many pets have lost their lives because of such irresponsibility. Please be mindful before leaving your voiceless companion in a closed car.
However, even if you are not a pet parent, please be aware of your surroundings. If you see a restless dog locked inside a hot car, please be ready to call for help to find the owner or call 911.
Your kindness can save a life.
Zakia Rahman
Sheboygan
Concerns about rising costs under national leadership
There is a super group breaking all kinds of records in this country: “Donny and the Grifters.”
I’m sure you have heard their greatest hits:
Donny is raking in billions. Meanwhile, the rest of the country can’t afford gas, groceries, rent and health care.
Your child will understand why you couldn’t buy them a birthday card or a cake, or even an ice cream cone.
Look at the bright side — this is actually good for this country. High gas prices make you walk more. Having to skip a meal or two? Quickest way to lose weight — just don’t eat. It’s the government’s new fitness program.
I’m so glad that we have a man in the White House looking after all Americans. I shudder to think about the alternative.
Robert R. Ries
Sheboygan
TID petition reflects broader concerns about public trust
The recent Sheboygan Press headline “Sheboygan mayor rebukes TID petition efforts” (May 20) captures the city’s leadership problem.
This petition did not arise in a vacuum. Residents watched city leaders rush through a comprehensive plan to pass a sweeping zoning code. They saw longstanding environmental protections stripped from the code, even as Kohler advanced a golf course that violates those very protections. When residents questioned language shifting zoning power to the city administrator, the mayor called it “a clerical error.” Asked about the code’s substance, he reportedly said he had not read it.
Residents also watched city leaders sign NDAs amid Wisconsin’s data center crisis, as nearby communities learn what happens when such projects advance behind closed doors.
These are not minor optics problems. They are leadership failures. Leadership depends on trust, and trust breaks when officials make decisions behind closed doors, gloss over details and rebuke efforts to demand transparency.
That is the bigger picture the mayor is missing. The referendum represents a demand for stronger public oversight. It signals broken trust. By framing the petition as something to rebuke rather than understand, the mayor appears tone deaf to community frustration. When people ask for voice, an effective leader listens. A defensive leader rebukes.
Residents are asking for voice, accountability and transparency in decisions affecting their lives. They are demanding more than a vote on one financing tool; they are demanding leadership that listens, engages honestly and rebuilds public trust. Right now, that leadership is missing.
Dr. Belle Rose Ragins
Town of Wilson
Water taxi an alternative to pedestrian bridge
Like a bad virus, it’s BA-A-A-CK! Sheboygan’s controversial pedestrian bridge over the Sheboygan River is back, front and center. Judging by the Facebook comments following the city’s announcement of its June 10 public input session at the Uptown Senior Citizen Center, people are restless and upset.
I wrote the following, now refreshed, editorial last year. It received a positive response.
Sheboygan’s five-year Capital Improvements Plan included $500,000 for “planning” the pedestrian bridge; spending was to occur during 2024-2025. It also included $8 million for its “construction” in 2027. That included a $5 million federal grant from our U.S. senator. Reportedly, the $8 million is now insufficient and “leftover COVID grants” will be used to cover.
The operation and ongoing maintenance of such a structure present a litany of unexplored questions and unexamined future expenditures. Whether during the summer, when more than 25 charter boats navigate day and night from what would be upstream of the bridge, or winter/foul weather obligations, costs escalate. Safety is a crucial issue. When the Eighth Street bridge shuts down (it has and will), it’s an inconvenience. When this pedestrian bridge barrier shuts down (it can and will) it could be catastrophic!
At a tiny fraction of the cost, the city might consider providing two well-decked-out pontoon boats (water taxis) on both sides of the river. Name them “Malibu 1” and “Malibu 2,” if you like. Visitors would love the little boat rides … or tours, cost-free. Interest from the city’s millions would throw off lots more cash than needed. Retired skippers or a team of trained high schoolers could eagerly be recruited to operate them, again at little or no direct cost to the city.
Mark Leider
Sheboygan
Our letters policy
Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to news@sheboyganpress.com and Editor Brandon Reid at breid@usatodayco.com. Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan readers sound off on pets, TID trust and river plans
Reporting by Sheboygan Press / Sheboygan Press
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By Sheboygan Press | USA TODAY Network
