Buy Michigan savings not ‘small potatoes’

Published 12:03 pm Friday, February 15, 2008

By Staff
To the editor:
Today, Feb. 9, provides an ideal example of why I feel compelled to submit this letter. During last night, a few inches of heavy, wet snow fell. What has the Cass County Road Commission done about it? Absolutely nothing. As I made my way into Dowagiac along Marcellus Highway this morning (note to Road Commission: this is a heavily-traveled county road) with heart in throat, I had no choice but to follow the frozen ruts made by vehicles that had bravely gone before me, hoping that their ruts wouldn't lead me off into a ditch.
Because winter road maintenance is so abysmally poor in our county, I have a few tips and suggestions for the Road Commission: 1.) You might consider getting the plows on the roads during the night. Believe it or not, traffic is much lighter during that time, and you might even be able to have the roads in passable condition by the time most people awaken and begin their day (which, as you may or may not know, often includes the need to drive somewhere). 2.) Residents of Cass County sometimes must travel the roads even on weekends. It's true. If you don't believe me, I suggest that you venture out of your beautiful, capacious (and expensive) new building replete with tinted glass and drive around on a Saturday or Sunday (if you can negotiate the roads, that is) to see for yourself the steady volume of traffic. 3.) While sprinkling a token amount of sand along particularly treacherous stretches and at arbitrarily selected intersections transforms the ice and snow into a handsome shade of brown, this effort is merely cosmetic in nature and does nothing to improve road safety or navigability. 4.) There is now a substance available with a truly miraculous attribute. Commonly called "salt," chemists refer to it as "sodium chloride." This amazing compound actually has the ability to melt snow and ice! I know this because other governmental entities use it on their roadways, and it works. If you are skeptical, take a road trip (again, if you can make your way through and/or out of Cass County) to any nearby municipality (including Dowagiac) and see for yourself how clear and safe the roads become after salt is applied to them. Contrary to misconceptions apparently held by the Road Commission, salt's expense doesn't rival platinum's, and it is somewhat more easily obtainable than weapons-grade plutonium. In fact, retailers have been known to sell it by the bag, no ID required. As the folks at Dow Chemical used to say, this is a wonderful example of "better living through chemistry."
Sarcasm aside, I am not the least surprised that the millages recently proposed by the Cass County Road Commission went down in flames. Why reward unacceptable performance? The analogy that leaps to mind involves offering a pay increase to an employee whose job performance is poor to non-existent.
The Road Commission is strapped for cash, I'm told. If so, then it should allocate resources more wisely and improve road maintenance significantly.
I want to emphasize that I do not hold the road crews at fault – they can only do what they are told to do, and only when they are told to do it.
However, the rationale, if any, behind what the crews are told to do (or perhaps more accurately, what they are not told to do) escapes me entirely.
Is management too timid to schedule crews during overnight and weekend hours?
My hope is that the commission's two newest members will work diligently toward improving all matters under their purview. I believe the commission will find that some extra effort and more effective management, scheduling, resource allocation and supervision of personnel will favorably impact public opinion – and increase the probability of mounting a successful millage campaign.
However, the commission will only be able to determine the efficacy of this approach if it is pursued.
Dowagiac