West Bend Library Board Meeting will be moved...

What was anticipated to be a lengthy Library board meeting Tuesday night turned out to be a very short evening for everyone involved.

That’s because an overflow crowd forced the postponement of a meeting that was scheduled to discuss a recent complaint filed by West Bend residents Ginny and Jim Maziarka about questionable materials available within the West Bend Community Memorial Library.

The large crowd of people that included students and adults of all ages had hoped to offer their opinions on this subject, but the numbers exceeded the 265-capacity limit of the council chambers at City Hall. The room also included all four Milwaukee television stations.

“We have exceeded room capacity, and the meeting will have to be postponed to a later date to accommodate the (large) crowd,” Library Board President Kathryn Engelbrecht told the audience. “We apologize for the inconvenience, but it’s for the safety of everyone.”

Members of the West Bend Police Department became concerned about the steady flow of people entering the chambers minutes before and shortly after the scheduled 7 p.m. start. After consulting with the Library Board, Library Director Michael Tyree and West Bend Assistant City Attorney Cheryl Wentland, Engelbrecht announced that due to a fire code issue, the meeting could not start until a representative of the West Bend Fire Department arrived to take a people count.

A subsequent count by Fire Department Shift Lieutenant Chuck Briske and the Police Department determined that the room was over capacity and the meeting would have to be postponed. Engelbrecht announced the decision to a crowd, which filed out of the Chambers disappointed but in an orderly fashion.

“It’s disappointing that the meeting didn’t take place, but we agree with the Fire D e p a r t m e n t , ” Ginny Maziarka said. “It is there right to call the meeting off because of the large crowd.”
The board meeting was originally scheduled to take place at the Library, where it is normally held on a monthly basis, but the combination of limited space and the anticipated large crowd forced it be shifted to a larger venue.

“I know there’s a lot of disappointed people,” Tyree said. “I thought with a large place that we could have had the meeting tonight.”

The Library Board was scheduled to hear opinions regarding the Library offering pro-homosexual content through books in the YA (Young Adult) Zone and via a link on their Web site.

The Maziarkas had requested the Library to provide an equal balance of faith-based and ex-“gay” books that oppose a prohomosexual ideology, a change in a book recommendation list which is currently titled, “Out of the Closet,” the removal of two books for their explicit graphic sexual nature and the removal or password protection of a Web page that lists book titles about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender topics.

“ We’re disappointed by what happened, but this will give the community a chance to do more research (on this issue),” Ginny Maziarka said. “All we want to see is more balance in our library.”

Despite the meeting’s postponement, Jim Maziarka was impressed by the turnout. “This speaks volumes of the level of interest and the community involvement,” he said.

No timetable was made by the Library Board as to when the meeting will be rescheduled or when location will be determined.

(By the way, that Jim Maziarka guy is really cute...) :-)

West Bend Library Board meeting postponed

The large turnout was unexpected by Library Director, Michael Tyree, and it appeared that the overflowing Council chambers was causing a dilemma.

Tonight's scheduled West Bend Community Memorial Library board meeting concerning the complaint filed about the unbalanced bookshelves of homosexual books offered to youth patrons had to be postponed. After a 30-minute delay, a survey of the overfilled room by the West Bend police ended in a call to the local fire department who did a final head count and determined the crowd in attendance broke fire code. Also present were cameras from Channels 4, 6, 12, 58 and 30.

The meeting will now be rescheduled, most likely to take place in the next month at a larger location. The board is considering the use of the high school auditorium.

I would estimate the crowd was at least 300+. The room only holds 154, according to fire code. At 7 p.m., there was standing room only. People were sitting on the floor and crowded in wherever they could fit.

Some offered to leave the meeting in order to allow it to take place, but the board made it clear that everyone should be afforded the opportunity to attend.

We agreed.

I'll keep you posted......

Did interviews this afternoon with Channels 4, 6 and 58

Watch your local news tonight for an update on the West Bend Library homosexual book offerings for children.

Watch the 5 o'clock interview here:


http://www.fox6now.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3506409

Reminder ** West Bend Library Board Meeting TONIGHT

***ALERT**
MEETING LOCATION CHANGED
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN LOCATION FOR THIS
VERY IMPORTANT BOARD MEETING SCHEDULED FOR TONIGHT AT 7 P.M.

In light of the fact that there might be a large turnout for tomorrow night's Board meeting, the City Attorney has recommended that it be relocated to the City Council chambers on the N.W. corner of the second floor at City Hall. The address for City Hall is 1115 S. Main (it's on the N.E. corner of the intersection of S. Main Street and Vine across the street from McDonalds).

Coming soon to a theater near you -

(Did I say that??)

West Bend Teen Artist Lends Talent to Fire Department

I couldn't help but post this item. I know this young gal personally and her heart is as big as her murals... Her artwork is worthy of the front page today, and I am proud to know her. Kudos, Emily!

When firefighters at the Fillmore Fire Department decided their truck bay needed some atmosphere, they called on Emily Huf to do the job. The bay houses department vehicles, but when the equipment is moved out, it also serves as a social space.

“We have fundraisers, fish frys here. We wanted to make it look a little more welcoming,” said firefighter and First Responder Capt. Don “DJ” Neumann.

Department representatives called Kewaskum High School to ask for volunteers to dress up the station and Huf volunteered, Neumann said.

“I like to help people out, especially when it involves painting,” Huf said.

Huf conferred with the firefighters before getting out her paints and brushes, and now, four months after she started the first piece, sketches for a third mural showing the department’s two pumpers in the station’s meeting room is under way.

In the truck bay is a painting measuring 7 by 8.5 feet that bears the words, “American Heroes” and depicts firefighters in a field of smoke backed with the American flag.

Paul Harvey "If I Were the Devil"

By Paul Harvey

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;
I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;
I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;
I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;
I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;
I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;
I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;
I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;
I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;
I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;
I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;
I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.
I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;
I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;
I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;
I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;
I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;
I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;
I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

Formal complaint against West Bend Library - Large crowd expected

Concerned with the presence and appropriateness of some materials at the West Bend Community Memorial Library, West Bend residents Ginny and Jim Maziarka are taking action.

The Maziarkas have filed a formal, written complaint with the library. The complaint has been placed on the March agenda and will be heard by the members of the Library Board when they convene for their monthly meeting on Tuesday night.

Due to a large crowd that is expected to attend the proceedings, the meeting has been moved from the library board room to the City Council Chambers at City Hall.

“We find the books for youth on homosexuality to be biased, gay-affirming, promotional and romanticized,” the Maziarkas said in an e-mail sent to the Daily News. “We believe our library should be offering appropriate, wholesome literature to our youth instead of pursuing the illegitimate goals of transforming the views of other people's children on the contentious issue of homosexuality.”

The Maziarkas said they are requesting the library take the following steps:

Provide an equal balance of faith-based and ex-“gay” books that oppose a pro-homosexual ideology in both the YA Zone (Youth Adult Zone) and throughout the Library. The library’s Web site currently features a link to a YA Zone page and shows a list of fiction and non-fiction book titles about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues which are intended for reading by “young adults” in grades six through 12.

Library Director Michael Tyree said the Maziarkas have asked the Web page be removed or become password protected in order to prevent access without parental knowledge.

That the book recommendation list under the name, “Out of the Closet,” which they say brings a pro-homosexual connotation to the list, be renamed and include an equal balance of faith-based and ex-“gay” books that oppose a prohomosexual ideology.

The removal of the following books: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “The Geography Club” for their explicit graphic sexual nature.

Their contention is that each book is offensive because of heterosexual oral sex and homosexual sex acts which are detailed in explicit/pornographic language.

“We expect our public library to protect children and empower parents to decide what their children can read,” the Maziarkas said.

As part of the process for making formal complaints to the Library, the Maziarkas met face-to-face with Youth Adult Librarian Kristin Pekoll and Library Assistant Director Sue Cantrell last Monday, and Tyree Wednesday to discuss their concerns.

“I thought they had definite concerns,” Tyree said. “I thought they presented them in a good way. We listened (to them) and they listened (to us).“

Tyree and the Marziarkas have their opinions on how books are purchased and placed at the library. Tyree said books are purchased through a bibliographer who relies on his or her training background and databases which serve as resources for book reviews that cover a wide range of genres.

“We just don’t buy books that are based upon hearing that it is a great book,” he said. Tyree defended the process the library uses to purchase books and the collection of titles that are available to the public.

“These books that they (the Maziarkas) are saying were pornography or leading teens down the primrose path toward sexuality or early sexuality are published by reputable publishers and not fly-by-night publishers,” he said. “The publishers themselves would have been prosecuted by the federal government if it was pornography for publishing these (titles that are) slanted toward that age range.“

The Maziarkas said while the library claims to use library review materials to make their book selections, they added that “we feel these media are liberal and do not provide a purely objective viewpoint.”

“We are in this community. We (feel we) know what is good. We don’t need review magazines to tell us.“

During last week’s meetings, the Maziarkas did provide the library with a list of book titles they felt were suitable for placement. According to Tyree, all but one of the 12 titles on the list are adult books.

He went on to note that Pekoll researched how many libraries in the three-county library system and throughout the state carry the suggested titles and found some are available. Yet when asked whether or not the library will seek out to “balance” its current selection of book titles, Tyree said that decision will depend on the outcome of Tuesday night’s board meeting.

“I can not call that shot because I report to a group of nine library board members,” he said. “It’s not my determination what our board members are going to do. It’s the board members that will make the determination.

“I think we do have a balanced collection. But Mr. and Mrs. Maziarka did not find that we had any books that showed there are ways out of homosexuality.”

Tyree has received support and complaints through e-mails, phone messages and notes left at his desk regarding the issue.

“I think what we are seeing here are many members of the community sharing their opinions,” he said.

He was up front when asked if the matter will be resolved following Tuesday's meeting.

“I have no idea which way this is going to be resolved,” he said.

West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss acknowledged her belief in freedom of speech and freedom of the press because it affords everyone the right to speak out, and that she is pleased the formal process is moving forward.

“I have faith in the process,” she said. “I don’t feel it’s my place to dictate what the Library Board does. They are experts at what they do.“

This was a wimpy response from our mayor. She was equally as wimpy when we talked to her earlier. She did not want to take responsibility with the library board, or investigate in any way. Keep in mind, the mayor APPOINTS the library board.