Dubuque officials caved to lawyers

To the editor:

I am so saddened to read Todd Dorman's column ('Fear pushes sledding downhill,” Jan. 8) about how Dubuque city fathers have caved to the lawyers and have restricted sledding over fears of a lawsuit should a youngster be injured. Yep, leave it to the trial lawyers to ruin a good, wholesome pastime. Whatever happened to the quaint idea that parents should provide age-appropriate supervision of their children at play? Apparently, it's easier to threaten a lawsuit than to provide supervision. Instead, the kids are left to sit on their duffs and numb out their brains playing computer games.

We fear that kids could sled into a tree at 10 mph. But the real irony here is, in a few short years when those kids reach 16, we'll give them a driver's license when they'll be able to drive a car into a tree at 55 mph. Go figure.

Rich Zeis

Walker