I read Mayor Kurt Schmoke’s defense of Baltimore City’s snow removal efforts in the Jan. 19 Sun with interest. His comments contrast with what I observed from my home three days earlier.

On Jan. 16, while it was still being reported that many city streets were impassable and that parents were concerned that many school bus stops were blocked with snow, forcing children to stand in the street, I observed a city work crew spend most of the day clearing snow from around the statues of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson at the corner of Art Museum Drive and Wyman Park Drive.

The crew delivered by a Baltimore City work truck included a front-end loader, several men with snow blowers and several more with shovels. They worked diligently for most of the day. The front-end loader was especially effective. By late afternoon, the area around the statues was completely clear of snow.

One has to question the sense of priority that would place snow removal from around a monument above snow removal from streets and school bus stops. If Mayor Schmoke thinks snow removal from a Confederate war memorial is more important than clear streets and school bus stops, then perhaps he should take a course in city management and forget about being a career politician for a while.

Jon K. Ayscue

Baltimore