[RP TownTalk] Train Horns and Little Kids

Sat Apr 21 21:48:26 UTC 2007

Emily, you made a very good point about the horns being there for pedestrians as well as cars.  Pedestrians, though, may be walking on or crossing tracks at any point along the line, and if it is not near a crossing, there would not be a horn in that case, right?  In other words, pedestrians walking along the tracks are not protected by horns of trains crossing an intersection unless they are near that intersection.  As for myself, I've always been nervous around train tracks and thought they were not for playing and crossing only as needed, because of the inherent danger. I keep my head spinning back and forth like a scene from The Exorcist looking for trains whenever I am in proximity of tracks.  Anyone remember that horrific scene in Fried Green Tomatoes?  Kids should not be told 'listen for the horn' but 'stay off the tracks!'.   Thanks for bringing up the point. I understand that others don't think this activity as unusual; this is just my thoughts on it.

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Today's Topics:

   1. Town Elections Times (Lou King)
   2. Train Horns (OurDollMom at aol.com)
   3. Re: TownTalk Digest, Vol 9, Issue 30 (Euniverz at aol.com)

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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:58:48 -0400
From: Lou King 
Subject: [RP TownTalk] Town Elections Times
To: TownTalk 
Message-ID: <462953B8.6020903 at knob.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

When I read my Voter's Notification Card that I got in the mail late 
today was I surprised: It has an ERROR.

The Town Election for Mayor and Council members will be on May 7, 2007 
from 7AM to 8PM. The polling place is Riverdale Park Town Hall.

This is the date, times and place voted by the Town Council. This 
information was correctly reported in the April 2007 */Crier/*, there is 
a copy at http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us/rptc/2007/Crier2007-04.pdf

The correct date, times and place are also correctly reported, with the 
list of candidates, on posters around town.  A copy of that notice can 
be found at http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us/Misc/2007/04/candidates.html

The Chief Elections Judge, Joyce K. Marcos, and I made every effort to 
get the Voter's Notification Cards mailed in a timely manner with the 
correct information. Somewhere between our hands, the Prince George's 
County Board of Election and your mailbox, an error crept in.

Louis King
Deputy Chief Elections Judge

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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:36:20 EDT
From: OurDollMom at aol.com
Subject: [RP TownTalk] Train Horns
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The other day up at the town center I was
talking to some boys and girls about 7 yrs
old  - to about 10 yrs old - they were telling me
how much they loved the trains.  Just then a
train came thru blowing its horn and it was a
very loud horn.  They said Oh yes this train 
has the loudest horn of all the trains.  They 
like to sit and watch the trains (but they do not
sit at the train station to watch) they watch 
from out of the way points to be away from the
traffic.

I said one day we wont hear the horns any 
more as they are going to put up special gates
for more safety for the cars - then the horns will
not blow any more.

One child frowned and said Oh No - then how 
will we know a train is coming if there are no
horns any more.  We NEVER CROSS THE
TRACKS HERE WHERE ALL THE CARS ARE -
IT IS TOO DANGEROUS.  WE CROSS FURTHER
UP OR DOWN THE TRACKS ALL THE TIME.

She said We cross the tracks everyday all the time
but never here.

You know, this is a family neighborhood with MANY
children.  I think to silence the horns is very dangerous
--you never know when kids love the trains or the tracks or 
have to cross back and forth multiple times in a day. 

Find out how the conductor makes a decision to blow 
more than once or twice is important - if you want to
regulate the horn noise - 

BUT WE NEED SOME KIND OF HORN TO BLOW
FOR APPROACHING TRAINS to warn children playing
on or around the tracks and the homeless.  

emily

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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:27:01 EDT
From: Euniverz at aol.com
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] TownTalk Digest, Vol 9, Issue 30
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Message-ID: 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Alan and all,

I am not bringing this up to make life difficult for anyone and Alan,I  
appreciate the difficult and hugely subjective task you have been asked to  handle  
-- determining what is electioneering and what is not.   Frankly, I haven't 
yet heard exactly what "electioneering" is; and what it  should not be is, "I 
can't explain it but I know what it is when I see  it."  You perform your list 
moderator duties admirably.

Make no mistake, I believe that to further restrict open  discourse on this 
list would be the wrong path to travel.  No definition or  perception of 
electioneering should dampen open, respectful discussion  between candidates, 
incumbents and the public. That is EXACTLY why I am on  this list.  I also 
appreciate the efforts others have made to establish  other lists to exchange this 
discourse.  But there are neither enough list  members nor enough candidates to 
conduct open discourse on those lists. 

This is the list on which we should be doing that.  This community  list 
gives us the opportunity to stretch the boundaries of open exchange as  opposed to 
shrinking them.  

Thank you,

Adrianne Lefkowitz
Madison Street

*******************************************

Dear Ms. Lefkowitz,

Yes, some of the statements you marked could  be construed as
electioneering, as could many other statements that have gone  out on
the list recently.  I did not view them, in context,  as
electioneering.  If you believe I made an incorrect decision there  is
a process for appealing my decision specified in the policy  (see
http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2007-April/001549.html).
Of  course, I cannot pull messages that have already gone out back, but
if my  decision is determined to be wrong I can restrict future
postings  more.

Regards,

Alan Thompson
List Administrator and Acting  Webmaster
Town of Riverdale Park

On 4/19/07, euniverz at aol.com   wrote:
>
> Electioneering:   "persuasion of voters in a political campaign"
>
> Can any of the  statements in the Mayor's post (see below) be construed as
>  "electioneering"?  Specifically, those statements around which I  placed
> asterisks?
>
> Not complaining, just seeking  clarification.
>
> Adrianne Lefkowitz (apparent Town  Contrarian)
> Madison Street
>
> Dear voters,
>
>  ...These paper postings, along with an advertisement in a paper  of
> general
> circulation (we use the Town Crier), are the Charter  mandated means of
> getting information about elections out to you.  (emphasis added AML)
> ****Anything that is done by the
> town  beyond that represents the Mayor and Council going extra steps to give
>  information to the public.***
>
> You will note that when the  announcement went out electronically via
> the Town Announce it included  for each candidate the 1) phone number; 2)
> email address; and 3) web  site (if the candidate has one). If you want to
> have a one-on-one  discussion with the candidates for office (Emphasis added
> AML) ****you  are better
> able to do that now than in any election that has ever  occurred in the
> history of Riverdale Park****--and Riverdale Park  already had a very good
> record
> of constituent access to  candidates.
>
> (Emphasis added AML) ****Every Council member in one  way or another
> advocated providing more
> information to improve  electronic/voice access to the candidates. The only
> no vote on the  current policy for improving this access came from a council
> member who  wanted to go farther still...****
>
> 
>
>  Best wishes,
>
> Vern
>
> --
> (Emphasis added  AML) Vernon Archer, ****Mayor
> Town of Riverdale Park,  Maryland****

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End of TownTalk Digest, Vol 9, Issue 31
***************************************

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