Lake County Sentinel
Willoughby Hills government is putting residents safety at risk
Opinion by Tim Shirer
I was incredibly lucky to grow up in Wickliffe. I still live in Wickliffe and there has been one constant in the nearly 57 years my family has lived in our house is that the Wickliffe streets have been plowed and cleared in master fashion. No matter who was, Mayor, from Mel Buchheit to Tom Ruffner to current Mayor Joe Sakacs the streets of Wickliffe have always been plowed within hours of a snowstorm ending. Even when there is light snow, I will hear trucks going down my street plowing and I know I can drive anywhere in Wickliffe and be safe because the main roads will be clean and free of snow and ice.
Now to the point of the commentary. The city of Willoughby Hills must not have a snowplow. If they do, they wasted money on it because they never use it. I’ll speak directly in this commentary to the Mayor of Willoughby Hills Chris Hallum. Hey Chris, how about you use some of that speed camera money to buy some road salt? You claim the speed cameras keep people safe to prevent speeders. You might have a valid point, but we know why cities like Willoughby Hills have speed cameras, but that is for another commentary.
Mayor Hallum, if you really want to keep your residents safe, buy a plow if you don’t already have one (hard for me to know if you do or don’t because I drive through your city a lot and have never once seen a plow in use in Willoughby Hills). BUY A PLOW!!! If you have a plow and aren’t using it, THEN USE IT!!! I don’t want to hear about the salt shortage either. Other cities have salt shortages and their streets are clean.
It is simple, BUY A PLOW, USE THE PLOW, BUY SOME SALT, USE THE SALT.
I cannot imagine a mayor not caring about the safety of his or her residents. Not plowing your streets is blatant negligence, blatant.
One place that comes to mind in your city is the bridge on Rockefeller Road. You know the bridge where you have one of your police officers stationed, standing on the bridge taking radar? You know what I mean, the terrible part about that is what if the curve in the road is not clear and a car slips and hits the police officer? That would be horrible and don’t tell me you plow that area because I have traveled that many times and it has not been touched. I’m sure you would blame the motorist for the accident because cities like yours rarely take blame for anything.
Now I’m going to speak to the residents of Willoughby Hills. As a former Mayor of Wickliffe recently said to me “they are probably used to unplowed roads they didn’t grow up with roads plowed like you did.” I thought about that and he’s right 100%. But if you live in Willoughby Hills and you drive through Wickliffe and those roads are clear, understand roads being clear is an actual thing that is possible if your administration cared. Your city government might want you to think it is, but it is not. This is not the city workers’ fault, I am not blaming them at all. This is on the administration and the city council. They are responsible for allocating funds to the service department to do the job of plowing snow.
I’m sure some Willoughby Hills residents who read this might think, “Mind your own business Tim.” Well, it is my business because I drive through your city and it’s unsafe. But for those of you who care about this issue, call city hall, go to council meetings. Tell Mayor Hallum you want your roads cleared and safe.
For those of you who have families. Uncleaned roads can end in tragedy. Do you have kids? Do you have grandchildren? If you are married, you have a spouse. Or you might have parents that also live in Willoughby Hills. Why should a guy you elected decide that none of their lives are worth moving money around so streets can be plowed and safe for your family and friends to travel?
One thing we know about politicians who are not great at their job is they always have an excuse. In my mind, no matter what else positive he does for your city he is failing you. He is putting your lives in danger every single time the streets of Willoughby Hills go unplowed.
Back to you Mayor Hallum, PLOW THE STREETS!!! Your residents and visitors deserve to survive a snowstorm.
POSTED 01/31/2026 21:10
Related Stories
