Sheboygan letter-writers on importance of paid leave, handicapped parking enforcement

Here are this week’s letters to the editor of the Sheboygan Press. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views.

The importance of paid family and medical leave

Last year, a family friend who lives in California was diagnosed with cancer and had a surgery date, yet little help nearby. While he was nearly 2,000 miles away, no distance would keep me from being there. This experience opened my eyes to the importance of having paid family and medical leave.

At the time, I worked for a Wisconsin-based company as a licensed mental health counselor; yet, due to COVID-19, I was able to work remotely and provide care to a friend who is like family.

Since my friend’s recovery timeline was unknown, and because I wanted to ensure I could stay as long as needed, I became licensed in California and changed jobs to work a permanent remote position at a California-based company. This provided additional flexibility and 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, to which all California workers have access.

While I am now back in Sheboygan, I am still employed at the California company. The experiences of both caring for a friend and working for a California-based company have taught me the importance of having programs like paid leave for all workers. If this were a reality in our state, I would return to working for a company based in Wisconsin, or I’d start my own practice. If I were taken care of, more Wisconsinites would be taken care of. Our legislators in Wisconsin need to recognize the importance of providing workers with this security by passing paid leave.

Leah Hibl

Sheboygan

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Taking a handicapped parking spot a slap in the face to those with disabilities

I would like to thank all those people who slapped me in the face this past holiday season.

No, they didn’t really slap me in the face, but that’s what it feels like when you take up a handicapped parking space when you don’t need one or you are too lazy to walk.

I am a disabled veteran. I have a difficult time walking. Over the last three weeks, I have counted 13 people who were violating this handicapped parking law. I guess they don’t read the rules book that comes with the license plate and placard that come with them. I really don’t even know if it is a law. It is never enforced.

Over the years, I read in the paper’s “Day in Court” or “For the Record” about people not wearing seat belts or other traffic violations. Yet, in all my years reading these, I have never seen anyone cited for violating the handicapped parking law.

If Sheboygan police did issue a violation, I never see it in the papers I read. I guess us handicapped people must be second-class citizens.

Handicapped parking laws — who cares? No one, that’s who.

Robert R. Ries

Sheboygan

Our letters policy

Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to news@sheboyganpress.com and Editor Brandon Reid at breid@gannett.com. Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan letters on importance of paid leave, handicapped parking