Since You Asked: 'Residents only' not enforced during Marysville ballgames

Q: When will police start enforcing the "Residents Only" parking areas in the neighborhoods surrounding Appeal-Democrat Park? There is nowhere for residents or their company to park on game nights. There are signs that say "Residents Only," yet they are ignored. Why?

A: Parking signs in the 1300 block of D Street carry all the legal authority of a scarecrow.

Homeowners won't be happy to hear it, but if people choose to ignore the signs, there's nothing anybody can do about it.

"The signs were put up to deter people from parking there and to encourage them to park in the areas along E Street, but police aren't going to write citations if they don't," said City Services Director Dave Lamon.

Marysville police confirmed they can't write tickets for people legally parked along the public street.

If the neighborhood were zoned specifically for permit-only parking, then citations could be issued, Lamon said.

So until the neighborhood is rezoned, which seems unlikely, there's nothing homeowners can do about it.

Officials were concerned about publicly acknowledging that the signs are more like suggestions than directives, but anyone who drives down D Street on game nights knows that baseball fans figured this out a long time ago.

Q: Why does Dairy Queen in Yuba City charge 49 cents to remove bacon from a cheeseburger?

A: As a matter of policy, Dairy Queen doesn't charge for removing bacon or cheese or onions or anything else along those lines.

However, the ice cream-and-burger chain has had many issues with a new cash register computer system that was installed nearly two years ago, according to Yuba City store manager Tim Trusheim.

"It's a glitch that sometimes over- or undercharges customers and we don't always catch it, but we try to," Trusheim said. "We immediately fix it whenever it is brought to our attention. It's an easy fix, and we will always make it right."

The new system seems to have created more problems than it solved, and some customers are starting to take notice.

Trusheim said employees do what they can to ensure charges are correct, but said it does help when customers are aware of the problem as well.

So next time you order a Blizzard, you probably should take a glance at your receipt.

Since You Asked is published on Mondays. Send questions to reporter Rob Parsons at the Appeal-Democrat, 1530 Ellis Lake Drive, Marysville, CA 95901, email him at rparsons@appealdemocrat.com or call 749-4785.