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MILFORD -ÊA child being hit by a vehicle can be a parent's worst nightmare.
It is also something Milford School principal Cindy Kaiser and town marshal David Hobbs want to prevent at the intersection of Catherine Street and Higbee.
Higbee is the part of Ind. 15 that runs through Milford.
"The reason I brought it up is that I have had bus drivers say children are crossing the intersection (of Catherine Street and Higbee) in front of them," said Kaiser.
The concern apparently has gotten so great that Hobbs asked the town council Monday to consider an ordinance to ticket children who cross at the Catherine-Higbee intersection. Each ticket may cost more than $100, Hobbs said. The council directed town attorney Jay Rigdon to look into what legal action the town can take.
"What I'm doing first is waiting to see what the enforcement can do," Hobbs said.
Hobbs said the intersection is a dangerous place for children to cross, especially since they can cross safely one block north at the West Emeline stoplight.
"I hate to pose as a strong arm of society of wanting to write these tickets, but on the other hand, I don't want to have to work a fatal on one of the children there," he said Wednesday. "I feel (the intersection) is not safe for anyone to cross there."
Hobbs said there is a lot of traffic on Higbee, especially when Chore-Time Brock and other local business employees get off work the same time students leave school.
"Sometimes that traffic is blocked up two blocks back from the light. It's not safe," Hobbs said.
The dangerous intersection is a problem Kaiser said the school faces every year. Last week the problem was brought to her attention again.
There is a crossing guard and a light at Emeline Street, just one block south of Catherine and Higbee. Kaiser would rather have children cross there.
"We've done a number of things to get kids not to cross at that intersection (of Higbee and Catherine),"she said.
At the beginning of the year and at this time of year, Kaiser sends letters with walkers to parents to remind their students not to cross at the intersection of Catherine and Higbee.
Last year, Kaiser had a custodian at the Catherine and Higbee intersection to tell students not to cross there, but she doesn't think that's part of the custodian's job description.
Hobbs said, "If the school can't deal with it, how can I deal with it without some kind of penalty?"
Kaiser would like the town to pay for a crossing guard at the intersection or have parents volunteer. They would not stop traffic, she said, but would just tell children not to cross there.
"It's my understanding that we can't have a crossing guard stop traffic where there is no light," Kaiser said.
"My whole point is if someone gets hurt at that corner, I want to make sure I've done all I can," she said.
If something is not done at the intersection, Hobbs said, "I hate to think of what the alternative is to that."
He also said, "The school and I are working 100 percent together to solve this problem. We both recognize this (crossing) as a problem. The enforcement part is my idea."
On ticketing students, Kaiser said, "I haven't really given a lot of thought to ticketing students."
At the town council meeting Monday, Dallas Winchester, the town's utilities superintendent, said, "To ban that as a crossing ... I think you're getting a little bit (out of hand)."
Hobbs said Wednesday, "It's like I said -Êone life or (preventing) one injured kid is worth spending all the effort in keeping people from crossing there."
Hobbs said no child has been injured or killed at the intersection, though in the past Milford had child fatalities.
"I emphasize this: I don't want people to think it's all tickets and fines. If there's another solution, I'll use that solution," he said.
Milford School is a combined elementary and middle school, with 687 students in grades K-8.
"Even if I can't get the enforcement part done, I still want to go to the parents and students and see what we can do next," Hobbs said.
