Scott,

      I can say for a fact the the GPD wastes our money every day.  The West Woods is a nice facility that has taken a lot of our tax dollars to build.  Our property borders the West Woods and ALL of that wildlife is now in my backyard.  The deer are running rampant right now.  I'm not complaining, they are quite beautiful animals.  The Black Bear is another story.  She was not cub sized but it's certainly a concern for my pets and my neighbors' kids. The bear running scared makes me want to stay out of my woods just so it can have some peace. 

     Multiple times I have had people litter on our property and even expect to "pass through" to a main road. The trail's are not properly marked for the city folk to understand. If the Park District wants to do it right, they need to let the adjoining property owners have a say. The sight of a family of 4 kids and confused parents walking their bikes into my back yard just rubs me the wrong way.  What If I were target shooting with my AK?  These people would have looked at me like I'm a crook and called the cops. 

     GPD has NO plan in place to protect private property owners from trespassers.  (With the exception of the "stay on the trail" signs.)  Obviously these people ignored those signs.  They were nice and really didn't cause a problem but when will It become a bigger problem?  GPD is intruding on neighboring properties.  Shame on them.

- Kevin Reed

*************

Kevin:  There is a simple remedy here:  Open up with your AK-47 more often!  That will scare away the bear and deer and make any of the lost city folk head the opposite way!  Maybe if you put "Rifle Range - Stay Out!" signs on the back of your property, that too will make the "two-legged" beasts head for cover without burning powder!

     Seriously, this is a problem and certainly indicative of a park system that is way, way over extended due to excessive land purposes...  The question must be:  WHAT is the plan for the Park to keep people and dangerous animals off of the neighboring peoples' properties? 

     If a bear is running loose, you should report it to the county game warden and let him deal with it.  Whenever in the woods, pack along your AK-47 and fear no evil!  Works every time!