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Parking ticket raises complaint

By Kelsie Hoitomt

GLENWOOD CITY — A gentleman by the name of Kennith Kuhr recently wrote a letter of complaint, which he sent copies of to a handful of government offices in the state after he received a $25 parking ticket in Glenwood City.

He received the ticket during the weekend of Rustic Lore Days after he parked his vehicle on the south side of Maple Street so he could walk to a garage sale. While at the garage sale, a local officer ticketed his parked car.

However, the man, who is not familiar with the streets of Glenwood City, believed that he was parked on Third Street as the signage that states “no parking” wasn’t properly marked on Maple and Third, which is what sparked the controversy as Kuhr felt he had been mis-ticketed.

“Upon seeing the officer by my vehicle, I approached him and asked if there was a problem. Said officer informed me I was illegally parked and he had placed a ticket on my windshield. I informed the officer I had not seen a ‘no parking’ sign. Said officer informed me that on the west end of Third Street there is a posted No Parking sign.” said Kuhr in his letter.

Kuhr then went on to tell the officer that even though there was a sign on the west end, there was/is no “No Parking sign” on the block where he had parked.

“The said officer then informed me that the state of Wisconsin only requires one, ‘No Parking sign’ on a street. The rational of such a statement by said officer is unclear in my mind. As I indicated, Third Street is crossed by multiple cross streets. When you come off one of those cross streets, you are not going to see a No Parking sign on the west end of Third Street,” Kuhr further wrote.

Kuhr said that after the instance, he went to his local Police Chief and asked about the said state law. The Chief did a computer review and was not able to find anything to verify what the Glenwood City officer had stated regarding only needing one No Parking sign.

“In my opinion, maybe the local merchants would conduct more commerce with visitors to their city if said visitors were not harassed by the thug tactics of their Police and Governing Authorities,” expressed Kuhr in a second letter.

Kuhr then sent a copy of his letters and the citation to Senator Tammy Baldwin, Attorney General Van Holder, Mayor John Larson, John Cates-Civil Rights Attorney and to the Tribune Press Reporter.

At the most recent Glenwood City Council Meeting on September 9, the council approved enough signs to be purchased so that the south side of Maple Street can be properly posted with “No Parking”.

Public Works Director, Doug Doornink said that the signs should be here very soon and put in place.