May 1, 2010
Fountain, turned back on, quickly attracts the kids
After a winter's hibernation, Racine reanimated the Laurel Clark Memorial Fountain, named in honor of the NASA astronaut killed in the Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. The spraying water of the splash pad was turned back on Saturday and, as expected, was shortly rediscovered by kids. Despite the morning's chill, half a dozen youngsters were spotted running through the spray around 9 a.m.
Clearly, they hadn't gotten the word that the fountain -- although built with this wonderful summertime activity in mind -- is now off-limits, thanks to a state law implemented in 2005 that the city announced Friday it will now enforce. Violations are subject to a $75 fine.
Unfortunately, either these kids couldn't read, or they didn't notice the KEEP OUT signs affixed to poles high above their heads. The city, we're told, will not be quick to fine kids, or their parents; preferring an education campaign first.
But the new regulations may not go down well. A father we spoke to this morning -- as he watched his kids run through the spray -- said disgustedly, "They should just rip it out. It's like having a big playground with a sign saying 'don't use it.' "
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It has been said about government that they work for us. So why can't we come up with reasons why kids CAN use this instead of reasons why they can't? Is government's reason for existence to merely take the easy way out each and every time something gets in the way of doing something? To say NO instead of looking at a problem and seeking a way to say YES? It might be harder but gee whiz this is really a stupid decision.
ReplyDeleteLook folks, the guy above said it right. It's like a playground with a sign that says don't play here. This is totally nuts. How many other similar water fountains around the country are deemed unsuitable for use by children?
I dare the so called leaders of Racine to fix this problem, do something about it that will give our children who want to use this a way to do so. In other words, start doing your job. It was built to allow kids to do exactly what your now stopping them from doing. And at what cost? Has anyone come up with the cost to taxpayers for building this? And what of the cost to the memory of Astronaut Clark who we are now embarrassing.
We are sick and tired of lack luster government who just spits out reasons why something good can not happen. Sure it is so much easier to say NO but this time it should never have been said.
Maybe we need to get Network Television News here and let Racine government have egg on their face. We need more of this type of activity for kids not less. How in the world did we ever exist before this? Heck, I even ate dirt when I was a kid. My gawd, I'm still here.
Enough is enough. Make the right decisions and get that sign down and do what is needed to let our kids use what it was built for.
The whole thing is nonsense. Again, can anyone tell us which of our State legislators were dumb enough to create the situation by changing the law?
ReplyDeleteThe city is trying to follow a change in the State law that had no insight into the situations their actions would create.
A possible solution would be for our Mayor to use his connections with the democrats in Madison to get an exemption for this fountain. I know this sounds to simple but exemptions are granted all the time for specific situations like this. I would guess no one tried this.
IMHO The DRC/Johnson's do not want to see Black/Hispanics downtown
ReplyDeleteIs the Mayor going to ticket the citizens personally or will he abuse the already over-worked / over-used police department to do this task?? Hopefully the health department will be ready to hand tickets out. I don't want my tax dollars tying up the police department with ridiculous issues such as this and I'm quite sure other tax payers would agree. The cops should be used to fight crime and NOT toddlers in the fountain.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that a certain snooty company nearby doesn't want CERTAIN people hanging out at the fountain, but that is my opinion which I am entitled to, like everyone else.
Anon 5:07 shut up, your an idiot! Have you been downtown at 2am at the corner of 6th and Park or 4th and Main. I'm guessing not, or you wouldn't say that.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Anon 4:24, I couldn't agree more. It really is a shame. I think you have a good idea about getting this out to the national media. I bet a feature on the Daily Show or The Colbert Report would do the trick. Come to think of it, I think I just might summit this story to them. Good call Anon 4:24.
Pete, Dustin, do I have your permission?
Hey, guess what? They even have these all over the place at Walt Disney World. Kids really scream for joy using them. Only in Racine do they say kids can't use them.
ReplyDeleteEver hear of the Grandfather clause? Shouldn't this fountain be grandfathered prior to some change in State Law? Seems reasonable to me.
Anon 6:26
ReplyDeleteDo you think Racine Post has permission to use a link with the Journal Times, JSOnline.com or any other link they use?
You have just as much permission. Go share the links with those networks. Somehow I think the great white fathers of Racine will suddenly perk up and do the right thing. I would love to be there when the Mayor is called for a comment from CNN or the ABC, NBC or CBS nightly news programs. What the heck can he say? Ummmm, we have germs on the ground so kids can't play there. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Heck, let's all call those networks. This could be fun watching what then happens.
The urnal times did a story on this last year. The plumbing in the ground is not suitable for the chlorine needed to "make safe" teh water. The chlorine would destroy the pipes and thus the fountain.
ReplyDeleteLet's see cory mason fix this. he's a Madison dimocrat. Let's see him DO something rather than complaining.
Oops, I just sent this TV6!!
Fascist, racist hippocrits are entrenched in city government and they are some of the more prominent officials. They are the ones that continually fight the desires of their constituents. As if they know what is better for us.
ReplyDeleteBlacks,Hispanics, and Korans IMHO are not wanted nor Welcome in Downtown Racine. Only rich whites need to come down and bar hop the night away!
ReplyDeleteNote other then cheap temp labor are they( Blacks/Hispanics) packed into slum housing in a food desert so they can kill each other destory themselves with drugs and vote for Democrats
Dickert does not like anyone who is not a white man. He has to hide the black children.
ReplyDeleteThis situation really needs to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteIf Dickert does start doing things to help the kids in this city... I will not be voting for him. No wonder our youth has so many problems. We've taken away all thier freedom. Better close the beaches too! No Chlorine in there either.
ReplyDeleteI just found this archive of a number of stories the Racine Post has on this subject. It provides even more insight into how infuriating this is becoming. If I read it properly the projected cost of this fountain was $700,000. And now they want to put a fence around it so they prevent kids from using it as intended? This is nuts.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link:
http://news.racinepost.com/search/label/Laurel%20Clark%20Fountain
Park the Racine Police armored car in front of the fountain to keep those kids away!
ReplyDeleteStart a fundraising campaign. Those who want the fountain for children can contribute. I'll give what I can.
ReplyDeleteOn Monday, I'm calling NASA Headquarters Public Relations in Washington, D.C. to tell them how embarrassed I am to live in a city and state that shames one of their fallen astronauts. Facts are facts. We will see what happens.
ReplyDeleteanon 424 i dont know where you got your info from but i remember when they planned this fountain it wasnt to be for fun it was for show and dedication to a fallen person..
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:36pm,
ReplyDeleteI got it from the link that Anon 9:08pm provided just a few paragraphs above. A couple of quotes for you to read:
----
A Journal Times article last year, "Hot Tips to Stay Cool," listed this as No. 10: "The Dr. Laurel Blair Salton Clark Memorial Fountain, Sam Johnson Parkway in Downtown Racine: It's a great place to splash around, especially for kids."
--- and
the husband of astronaut Laurel Clark, who spent her high school years in Racine, said he was disappointed to hear that the fountain might be enclosed by a fence to keep kids out. Jonathan Clark is quoted in today's Journal Times saying, "To not allow it to be an interactive fountain is really unfortunate. I think (Laurel) would have felt the same way ... She was very much a water person and valued kids’ activities as a part of learning."
---
This fountain was designed from day one for this as you can now see from reading the quotes.
Further, Mr. Clark said that when he was here for the fountain's dedication in 2003, he couldn't keep their son, Iain, out of the fountain, he said. "My son just loved it," Clark said.
What a wonderful way to memorialize their son's mother, don't you think? Let us not forget and not skew the original meaning of this memorial.
Not sure if this is still active but it might be.
ReplyDelete---
from this link
http://www.uufh.org/newsdetail.html?key=98&back=1
If you wish to honor the memory of Laurel Clark:
The LAUREL CLARK MEMORIAL FUND
is being administered by the Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church of Racine, Wisconsin. The church has established the fund with permission of the Salton and Clark families. Laurel's brother Dan, and her mother, Marge Brown, will determine how to best use the funds depending on the amount raised. Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church will manage the fund. Contributions should be mailed to:
LAUREL CLARK MEMORIAL FUND
c/o The Associated Bank
1722 Douglas Ave.
Racine, WI, 53404
Please note that all checks must be made out to:
LAUREL CLARK MEMORIAL FUND.
Anyone who says that a certain company DOESNT want kids in the fountain is a lie.... Is lying themselves... First they moved the bus lines away from Monument Square and put them over off State Street. Now no child can play in the fountain (and yes it was used by alot of the minority children in the surrounding neighborhood). I have never been so digusted with a city in my life. A city I used to be proud to say where I lived now I won't say the name.
ReplyDeleteThere has to be a wave of citizen support for making this fountain a positive place for children. Anything less is unacceptable in a modern, forward-looking city!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would be mad if I donated money to this thinking it would be for children. Second, how much is it to pay a high school student to sit there during the day. They are not paying health insurance or benefits. Third, the sign does not say anything about being fined. They should have built it the correct way in the beginning to hold chemicals or use salt water.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how long the photographer waited for a white kid to run through.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that the RPD have better things to do then hang out here writing tickets.
ReplyDeleteAn idea might be to PATROL the corner of 6th and North Memorial and bust the drug dealers hanging out in the parking lot of the store.
One would hope that Q.A. the Alderman living across the street would want to lead this effort but that would mean he would have to care
There is a fraud being committed if you donated money to a fountain for the children. The city needs to correct this. Dickert needs to contact Madison like he said he could and fix it. This is Laurel Clark's fountain and the children's fountain. Let the Johnson's have their playgrounds and the children have theirs.
ReplyDeleteIf something isn't done we need to organize and have them ticket us for the world to see.
ReplyDeleteWe all know which oligarchic corporate crime family doesn't want the poor--particularly non-white kids--anywhere near its precious "Lakeside Business District" and a certain big buck babe's tax shelter-cum-museum. The Waxtrash and their Corny- Hell hacks should be ashamed of their elitist egomaniacal selves.
ReplyDeleteNeeded: a national media expose of conditions in Racine and the filthy rich cash-cadgers responsible for the obscene situation. Possibly necessary: a nationwide boycott of John-Swine products. (THAT will get the Waxtrash's prompt attention pronto!)
ReplyDeleteLet Wahlen mount one of his crime cameras there and monitor the fountain for diapered desperadoes.
ReplyDeleteIt's time that someone showed the rest of the country what the Waxies and their little flawed jewel of a city really are--nothing but trouble for anyone who wasn't born into the lily-white WASP oligarchy. Racism, snobbery and an arty disregard for the common man run rampant in Racine because a certain financially-finagling family and its fiscal flunkeys want things to be that way.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine what Jay Leno would do with this story? Stupid Headlines.
ReplyDeleteFirst picture: Kids playing in water.
Second picture: Sign saying don't play.
Third picture: Cop giving ticket.
Fourth picture: Kid crying.
Fifth picture: Shows memorial to Astronaut Clark.
Only in Racine, Wisconsin.
The world needs to know what SCJ and the tribe of treasure tyrants in charge of it have done to--NOT for--the people of Racine. The sooner the truth about this bastion of billionaire ballyhoo reaches the media, the better. When the facts about the Carnauba Court's elitism, racism, snobbery and sleazy labor practices reach the global community, the ceraceous clan's new name will be mud.
ReplyDeleteIncrease your vocabulary by reading Racine Post comments. I actually had to look up "ceraceous."
ReplyDeleteha. me too
ReplyDeleteresembling or covered with wax
But hey let's stay on topic. It's too important to stray off of it. Our values of right and wrong are at stake. If we can't have a simple play area of water for kids kept open what kind of community are we trying to create? It really is about right and wrong.
I think it's really about money. There is always money for cronies, but not for the kids.
ReplyDeleteIf I remember right didn't the mayor want to create a splash pad but it was voted out of the budget by the council?
ReplyDeleteSecondly the memorial is more known as the public toilet of racine, during the summer you have tons of unsupervised kids running around running into traffic, urinating in the fountain and leaving dirty diapers laying about, its no surprise any business downtown wouldn't want kids to play in it if its been ruined by some of racine finniest as they do everything nice around here.
When your child gets a UTI or something really fun like Giardia you'll really be whining about the fountain. Perhaps you could prime their immune systems by letting them splash around in your unflushed toilet every day. The city actually has this one right – please figure out a way to get enough private donations to update the cleaning system, and until then keep the children out of the fountain.
ReplyDeleteIt's lake water for pete's sake, it's not toxic waste. People swim in it at North Beach all the time. That's OK, but splashing in it is hazardous?
ReplyDeleteIf KRM had passed, this never would have happened.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:44 - here is an experiment to try - put ten drops of food coloring in your toilet, and the same amount in your bathtub full of water then in Lake Michigan and watch what happens. The lake is tested daily, the fountain would need to be tested hourly because it is the constant threat of bacterial recontamination that matters.
ReplyDeleteWhen the lake water is bad, the fountain water is bad. How hard is that?
ReplyDeleteHow long has the fountain been open and how many children have played in it? A few thousand maybe? How many cases of disease and infection have been reported?
Um, forget I said anything. Next they'll close North Beach because we don't chlorinate it.
ReplyDeleteummmmm.......none?
ReplyDeleteAre you saying the State and the City are trying to make a mountain over a mole hill? errrrr.... or a Niagra Falls over a small fountain?
Hell, I'm sorry I said anything too. I don't even have kids. Splash away in the fountain! Remind your kids to get a mouthful of water every once in a while! Enjoy enjoy!
ReplyDeleteWhere's our "representatives" on this? They've known about it for a year. Mason, Lehman, anybody? Still hiding?
ReplyDeleteBuild a COP house next to the fountain. That will fix the problem! (Right Wahlen?)
ReplyDeleteThank you Racine Post for posting pictures of these outlaws. What better way to celebrate "Law Day" than by publicly identifying the criminals in our community? Go get 'em, RPD.
ReplyDeleteWhy not just make a large statue of the Johnson Family and put it in the center of the fountain? You would have the water come out of their mouths and ears. It would be very symbolic in many ways!
ReplyDelete"If I remember right didn't the mayor want to create a splash pad but it was voted out of the budget by the council?"
ReplyDeleteYes in the Inner City we can't have Blacks/Hispanics Downtown! Bad for the Rich White
Dickert sold his soul to the Johnsons for 20 pieces of silver and now does whatever they ask of him.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Dickert will work fork the wax when he is voted out of office.
ReplyDeleteMayor Dickert is nothing but a fraud. He has perpetuated an aura of success since he was young, but was never able to deliver the success part only the image. We now have a fraud running our city and making high level decisions with information from a group of his unsuccessful friends. He was quick to sleep with the powerful local business families and will soon be representing only those families when it comes to decision making. Time to replace our corrupt politicians with legitimate representatives of the people.
ReplyDeleteAmen! As long as Hizzoner Mire Slick-Hair pals around with the Waxtrash and other dollar-sign denizens of the Den of Venn, he's no friend of the common man. Instead of serving the people of Racine, he fraternizes with their oppressors and promotes an exclusively elitist agenda. John the Con had better go back to pimping Mc Mansions to his crass cronies because he'll need the income once we vote him out of office.
ReplyDeleteLet's make it a policy to vote against any corporate porkers, particularly ceraceous swine.
ReplyDeleteNo boardroom boars and sows need apply for public office. Only respectable people free from ANY association with The House of Wax should receive our support.
ReplyDeleteI would say let's ask Alderman Helding for his thoughts on this, but he is probably too busy collecting eggs from the chickens in his yard to care about this.
ReplyDeleteThere have been NO cases of ANYONE getting sick as a result of the fountain reported to the City of Racine Health Dept. In addition....The City of Racine Health Dept. has to test the result and found no results of any dangerous level of bacteria, etc... If they had the fountain would have been TURNED OFF. This is a bunch of rich people wanting a sterile WHITE environment for all their guests to see. I have never had a bad opinion about JWAX but damn these days who in the hell do those people think they are....
ReplyDeleteWow no one got sick? No bad levels? Now I am truly starting to see why they want this shut down. Nice job JWAX never thought bad about you until now. Next you'll want to bulldoze everything between the lake and your building downtown and get rid of all the undiserables.
ReplyDeleteIn Racine, we can always trust the Waxtrash to be their smug, smarmy, small-minded selves. Too bad the current system won't let us shrink the Waxies' cash and clout to the diminutive dimensions of their brains and hearts.
ReplyDeleteI believe the sign says "this water is not treated for swimming", and it "may cause injury or disease". I say Play away, I am sure this is the City's way of covering their @## so when one of the kids gets hurt or sick from the contaminated water the greedy family cannot sue them.
ReplyDeleteI am sure if the Johnson's didn't want minorities in the fountain, they would have just bought the land to prevent it. Imagine Racine without Johnson's Wax....I shiver at the thought, you think crime is bad now, take out the business that employs a large percentage of people in this town. Whoever suggests this is as stupid as this law.
It is all about legal liability in this day. If the fountain was not designed correctly to function with chlorinated water, then so be it. I have no doubt those of you whinning on here would be the first to complain if the City took $100,000 out of a fund to fix this problem. Even if chlorinated, I am still not sure I would let my kids in that water, I swear some parents send their kids there to shower. Not too mention the saggy diapers, urine and other things I am sure are circulated through those pumps.
Heres an idea, make your own fountain, get a few neighbors, tie the hoses up, and then the City can't say a thing. Bottom line is this is Wisconsin, we only get about 20 days a year to use something like this anyways.
Well, I hope I have irritated just enough of you, time for bed!
"Imagine Racine without Johnson's Wax....I shiver at the thought....."
ReplyDeleteThis same old BS line again?? Really?? It's getting old. Back your statement and thoughts up with actual facts please. I've been hearing that line since 1981.....ROFLMAO!!! OOOOhhhhhh I'm so frightened if they leave town, let's all take shelter, OOOOOhhhhhh the sky is falling....Get a Life!!
Tell em' Orbs.....
If the Waxtrash WASPs don't like people of color, they should hole up in "Whitebread" and other pricey pristine vespiaries. In case the Sons of Scam don't know it, Racine is a racially and ethnically diverse community. Blacks, Hispanics, Koreans and other non-Northern Europeans aren't going to disappear just because Hellwitch and her lackey Mr. Smother-Hand don't want them in their "Lakeside Business District."
ReplyDeleteSo Dustin and Pete, can you check with parks and rec to see how man diapers did clog the drains.
ReplyDeleteThat design is used all over Chicago. They are for running in. You are a fool if you think that is some sort of watching fountain. They even had to get rid of the grass because of mud. How much did it cost the SC Johnson family to get the law changed.
ReplyDeleteI am not so worried about the water quality in the fountain as I am abut the water coming out of ours taps in Racine. Obviously there is something wrong with the water supply for there to be so many bizarre, paranoid Racinians.
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to dishonor a great American! Build something then threaten to fine people for using it.
ReplyDeleteIt's right next to a frickin sidewalk!!! What kid isn't going to want to run through it on a hot day?
If people can pick up a "disease" from the untreated water, then why is there a bench not 12 feet away from it??
Is there a sign next to the bench that warns that you might get sprayed and catch a "disease" if you sit there?
What type of pipe in use today cannot take cholrine? Did they plumb this thing with paper mache?
ReplyDeleteI heard that Mayor Dickert played in the fountain till he was made aware that he could catch a disease. Explains why he is braindead. Must have been a deadly virus that eats brain cells. Warning to the people of Racine, please stay away from the fountain or your brains will get eaten.
ReplyDeleteLots of people are upset about this. What a knucklehead plan. This just may be the straw that breaks the camels back. Anyone that gets fined needs to post here.
ReplyDeleteIt is really worth reading this report before commenting:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.racinepost.com/documents/aquaticareport.pdf
If I had as much money as the Johnson family I could get a biased report too. Better check out this copper/silver ion filter. Link below, under $1000.00.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.poolandspasupplystore.com/servlet/-strse-173/COPPER-fdsh-SILVER-ION-GENERATOR-Model/Detail
Aquatica decided it would be more cost effective to fine residents? What do they know about that? They decide $250K would be how much it would cost. There are other alternatives to the ones that they are recommending. I didn't see actual plans or a break down by price and materials. Just some worst case scenario exploded estimate. They don't even come up in a web search with a website. Our mayor is supposed to be able to talk with Madison better than most of his rival candidates. When will that happen?
ReplyDeleteDidn't Olympia Brown Church raise the money for this memorial? $150K from public, are they saying anything about what is happening?
ReplyDelete"They don't even come up in a web search with a website."
ReplyDeleteSo, they don't they don't have a website..so what? Who knew that professional credibility hinges on the existance of a website?
If you search for 'Aquatica Design LLC' you do find other references of them doing similar work for other cities.
How do establish yourself as a professional with a respectable following without a website? Tim, if this is not some fly by night company they should have a website.
ReplyDeleteI challenge that the costs they came up with are accurate. What is the break down? What materials?
We are just supposed to shake in our boots because some little known pseudo expert says one quarter of million dollars? Our council just blindly goes along with this.
They have systems of killing bacteria in water on the cheap for countries in poverty. We could duplicate one of those systems and it could run on solar.
Seems something more sinister is going on like "I am up in my fancy office and how dare those commoners frolic."
What a legacy these council members will leave. We closed off the fountain to the children of Racine. We just took the word of "Aquatica" and it was so easy.
This doesn't add up, Mayor Becker says he could relocate fountains to the community centers. Why are we talking about relocating? I thought it was health issues and regulation issues. I thought they were watching fountains. But, mayor seemed to think it could be solved by moving? The only thing solved by moving is the view from offices. Makes me want to attend every downtown event in the stuff Value Village throws out. See how the view is then
Anon 9:33 - You are so full of it. What credentials do you bring to the table which give you the ability to judge if Aquatica Design LLC is a professional company or not? Are pools and fountains something you are really knowledgable about?
ReplyDeleteA quick google search made it easy to find references to other work the have done in other communities over the past 4 years:
NEW LONDON: New London parks and Rec committee meeting minutes:
"Hoerth recommended hiring the same consultant who was awarded the splash pad contract, Bill Rollins from Aquatica Design; LLC at a fee of $3,500."
http://www.newlondonwi.org/meetings/minutes/2009/PR%201-6-09.pdf
WEST BEND: "The city's Park and Recreation Department has hired Aquatica Design L.L.C., Sheboygan, to design the water park and work with West Bend planners on finding the best location for the facility, said Craig Hoeppner, the park director. The work will cost the city $7,300."
http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2006/07/17/newscolumn1.html
NEW HOLSTIEN: Working with New Holstein on designing a project starting in 2005. Seems like project is waiting on fundraising.
(http://ci.new-holstein.wi.us/main.asp?SectionID=26&SubSectionID=49&ArticleID=63&TM=65034.3)
VILLAGE OF JACKSON: From Budget and Finance meeting minutes of the Village of Jackson:
"Kelly Valentino explained that the Joint Park & Recreation Committee had approved the use of Aquatica Design LLC. Kelly is familiar with the company and the work they have done. They do have experience doing this type of project."
(http://www.villageofjackson.com/vertical/Sites/%7BD4E639E0-08E4-4DA7-8985-CD98B86913E8%7D/uploads/%7B268AB0E3-754F-4564-A2B6-8F3FF92CEC7A%7D.PDF)
Not exactly the hallmark of a fly-by-night company.
"...some little known pseudo expert..."
ReplyDelete1. As opposed to the well known pool and fountain experts?
2. 'pseudo expert"? Since you do not even know anything about the company, isn't that bordering on libel?
---
"They have systems of killing bacteria in water on the cheap for countries in poverty. We could duplicate one of those systems and it could run on solar."
Would if comply with all the legal requirements? Please state all the applicable laws and regulations and explain how it would satisfy the conditons.
I am look forward to you presenting your report and recomendations to the City Council. {dripping sarcasm}
The bottom line is that a corrupt-to-the-core oligarchy runs and ruins Racine for its exclusive fun and profit. Until the corporate criminals are taught their place and are sent there (i.e. the penitentiary), Racine will remain the laughingstock of the Midwest.
ReplyDeleteCurious, seems they do a lot of splash pad/water parks. Maybe they could clear up the design issue. Some people still think this is a watching fountain.
ReplyDeleteSilver Menorahs
ReplyDelete