Roseland

Here's another idea for a television series. There is a tiny town called Roseland just north of South Bend on the Michigan border where the town council has been run by two people for a few years now. Dorothy and David Snyder, a married couple, were two of the three members of the town council and basically that allowed them to run roughshod over council meetings. They always held a majority of votes, so they controlled everything. They routinely had people removed from meetings, including their third council member. Over the past few years, the town's citizens have grown more and more angry with the Snyders' decisions. People were geting fined for minor things like having yard signs protesting the Snyders, and for obscure building code violations. While the Snyders were in control, one business along a main stretch of US 31/33 had a sign that read, "Welcome to Snyderville."

Magi and I would often look forward to reading the South Bend Tribune simply for news of the latest Roseland fiasco. There was a story about David Snyder allegedly being a deadbeat dad, reported owing over $100,000 in child support. Then there was a story about Snyder's alleged battery on fellow council member Ted Penn. Last night, David Snyder was ejected from a council meeting and was then knocked to the ground and arrested by a Rosleand police officer. On the video it looks like the officer got a few head punches in while he had Snyder on the ground, too. This might be interpreted as police brutality, and Snyder could theoretically sue the town, which is already nearly bankrupt because of all the litigation against it from when he and his wife were in charge.

I wonder if he would use the money to pay his child support? Stay tuned.