Water park for a winter town

Rexburg, ID – For the city of Rexburg snow isn’t just a four-letter word it’s almost an 8-month way of life. Then why might you ask are they building a new outdoor swim park when it’s been heard that on record it’s snowed everyday of the year in this city.

The city of Rexburg is building a water park that will include among many things a lazy river and water slide. It has been rainy and cold keeping the construction from moving as fast as it can for it’s opening date Memorial Day May 30.

Actually the facility never opened on Memorial Day because of the weather delays. So if they can’t even get the park open in time because of the weather what will that say about who will go to it or even how many days out of the year it’ll be open due to the cold or rain.

Rexburg is a college town, believe it or not, and in the dead of winter there are over 12,000 students with nothing to do but sit in their apartments and try to keep off the frostbite. So wouldn’t it make more sense to build this water park indoors so this way it can make more money and everyone in town will have something fun to do in the wintertime?

This is just one student’s point of view so don’t take my word for.

[disclaimer: this is an exaggerated opinion article some information stated maybe not be true.]

Back to School

Sarasota, Flo. - While school children around coming out of classes some public officials are stepping into them. Sarasota, Flo. is holding a training session for all public officials June 1 and 2.

The lucky candidates for these classes will include commissioners, council members, advisory board members, city managers, clerks, and administrative staff members. But these students won’t have to push and shove to find a seat on the bus because they’re each given their own parking permit to park on the street between First and Second. But never fear these officials won’t get away with someone else paying their parking meter or getting reimbursed if they get a parking citation.

Not sticky floor lunchrooms for them ether because they’re treated to a Complimentary lunch. All in attendance have to register when they arrive and classes begin promptly at 9 a.m. and will get over at 4 p.m.

The course material for the two days will consist of Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law, including public records and parliamentary procedure. It’s good to know that all this information is stated as “essential” for newly elected or appointed public officials. But I would have thought they’d have known these things before they got into office. The courses are considered an “excellent refresher” for officials who are currently serving as well.

Also to make sure the kiddies are behaving themselves all of the sessions will be videotaped, but only for future use not for disciplinary action. Hopefully the officials will have a good day back in the classroom.

[ For more information and to read the entire letter go to: http://www.sarasotagov.com/InsideCityGovernment/Content/CAC/Communications/Releases/Manasota_Sunshine_training_tomorrow.htm ]

Tornadoes running wild

A massive tornado hit Joplin, Missouri killing at least 89 people on May 22. It is reported that 2,000 buildings were destroyed, and 25 to 30 percent of the city was damaged, city officials told the Associated Press.
The Joplin tornado was only one of 68 reported tornadoes across seven Midwest states over the weekend, from Oklahoma to Wisconsin, according to the national Weather Services’ Storm Prediction center.
The tornado “cut a path nearly six miles long and more than half-mile wide through the center of town,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Tornado sirens gave residents about 20 minutes warning before the tornado hit the city’s west side.
One of the worst hit buildings was St. John’s Regional Medical Center. The storm hit the building blowing out windows and leaving the facilities useless.
St. John’s patients were evacuated to other hospitals in the region, said Cora Scott a spokeswoman for the medical center’s sister hospital in Springfield, according to the Associated Press.
On Tuesday May 24 teams of search dogs, police, volunteers and firefighters search for the hundreds of missing people. The death toll has climbed to 122 according to the Joplin City manager Mark Rohr as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to the Wall Street Journal.Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges predicted the death toll would continue to rise, “we’re getting more bodies. We’ve been running calls [to pick up bodies] all morning,” Bridges told the Wall Street Journal

New grant for Sugar City Idaho

Sugar City ID – A $100,000 grant has been issued to Sugar City to fix up 7^th E widening the road and putting in a turning lane the Mayor said.

Seventh East lies between 3^rd S and highway 33 on the east side of the high school. The Mayor of Sugar City, Glenn W. Dalling, said that this is a main source of entrance to the high school and will help buses and vehicles get in and out easier.

Aaron Swenson, a project engineer for Forsgren Associates Inc., the company who helped lobby for the grant, said that 100 applications were submitted and Sugar City was ranked number eleven.

The grant came from Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC) who assists cities and counties, with small populations, manage their streets and the highways running through them.

What helped boost Sugar’s chances of getting the grant was that they were able to partner their small road construction with Madison County and the city of Rexburg’s bigger project in paving the east corridor.

“The county and the city of Rexburg just want to preserve a right-of-way for future growth,” Swenson said.

This street will go around Rexburg but where it will finally terminate is still being discussed, 7^th E in Sugar City has been one of many suggested alternatives.

The grant was applied for in fall of 2009 and Swenson said,

“They were formally notified of their award in January of this year, however we were informally told sometime last fall that they would be getting the money.”

Swenson said that Forsgren Associates Inc. has been working with Sugar City as a “private consultant” and had helped them in past years in planning out their needs and planning how to use their budget most effectively. They also discussed what projects they needed done that would work well with outside help, or had the highest probability to get funded, such as with LHTAC.

Swenson attended the Sugar City Council meeting Thursday May 12 talking to the council about the grant and what they can and cannot do with the money. It was clarified that the city is only allowed to use the money on construction and not for engineering fees. Any design services the city uses will have to come out of their own pocket, not from the grant.

The city is also not allowed to use any of the money to improve other roads in the city, not even for crack or chip seal.

The city has to use the grant money by the end of LHTAC’s fiscal year, which will be ether the end of September or the beginning of October of this year.

Swenson said that he will be having a follow up meeting with the city council to possibly help them put together a simple design plan they can put up for bid to contractors.

Flooding in Memphis

Back in fall of 2010 cities were worried about drought and water loss, but as for Tennessee and many other southern states water is not going to be a problem for a long time.

The weekend of April 29 rain clouds dropped over 13 inches of rain on Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, overflowing all water sources covering roads and causing 24 deaths as of May 5, according to www.boston.com.

“The Cumberland River, which winds through downtown Nashville, Tennessee, crested Monday at 51.9 feet, 12 feet above flood stage, spilling into the city and surrounding neighborhoods.”

The Mississippi river reached it’s highest level in 75 years on Monday, May 9. It’s expected to reach 48feet late Monday or early Tuesday, barley below the state record of 48.7 feet in 1937, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Downtown Memphis was out of harms way sitting atop a bluff but other parts of the city were badly hit including at least four trailer parks. About 3,500 homes could be affected by flooding, said County officials to the Wall Street Journal.

The Army Corps of Engineers for that district are saying that,

“There is no concern of a levee failing, no concern of a levee overtopping,” as stated in the Wall Street Journal.

One economist said all of the damage toll for the flooding could reach 4 million dollars, according to www.msnbc.com.

One man affected by the flooding is Michael Oxner who’s had his 5,000-acre farmland covered in floodwater, with depths ranging from 6 feet to 12 feet in some places.

“I'm exhausted. It's in the Lord's hands. I've tried all I could do," said Oxner to CNN.

All that’s left to do now is prepare for where the flood waters might strike next.

New gas pumps in Sugar

Sugar City, ID – The Sugar City Planning and Zoning committee discussed the building of a new set of gas station pumps for the local gas station Thursday night, and the role they would play in that decision along with the City Council.

The owner of the Sinclair gas station, located on Center street, has give the committee and the city council a “heads up” about his want to put up new gas pumps and whether or not he would have to add an additional gas tank on that same lot.

The owner came in looking for clarification on permission to ether move or destroy a house that sits behind the gas station to make room for the pumps.

Council member number one stated that the owner has the idea to sell diesel along with the other octanes already provided. Initially it was a carwash that the owner was thinking about putting in but it is now more pumps.

To answer the owners question about whether or not he needs an addition tank council member number one clarified by stating:

“He would have to add an additional tank.”

The council member also mentioned how with only the two pumps already in existence it makes it hard for the owner when the station is really busy. The idea of putting in the other pumps in the rear of the building is to help with the congestion during those rush hours so people can go ether way.

The Sinclair is placed in the Downtown Commercial zone and because of this the owner would have to have a special use permit for the new development. The committee’s job now is to decide whether they will allow the new pumps to be put in.

In order for the project to move forward a council member by the name of Steve explain what would have to happen.

“He would come in and present then we would say ‘well you’ll have to get a special use permit and we have to have a public hearing when would you like to schedule that?’”

For the public hearing the public would be invited in to express their views on the matter and then the Planning and Zoning committee would gather there in the room where the hearing was taking place and discuss whether or not he should be allowed to build.

Council member Steve went on to explain what would happen before the public hearing in order to notify the public.

“He has to pay to put it in the news paper, he has to pay to go around within, I believe, three hundred feet and everyone has to [be notified and] receive a letter from him.”

After everyone presents his or her case at the public hearing the committee would then have to make a recommendation. The committee could table the matter right away, discuss the matter and then table it and come to a decision at a latter date or make the decision there at the present time.

In discussing the committees options in how to handle the decision when it comes to them council member number one said,

“I don’t think we want to discuss it and try and make a decision ahead of time cause I think we owe it to the public to listen to the comments.”

After the Planning and Zoning committee makes their recommendation it is up to the City Council to make the final decision. Whether the City takes the committee’s recommendation, be it yeah or nay the City can go against or with the committee’s decision.

The Planning and Zoning committee ended the discussion further informed about what their role will be once this project comes to the public hearing.

Levee destruction leaves farmland flooded

Instead of sending the little boy to plug up the hole in the dike they're sending the Army Corps of Engineers to blast a hole into the Missouri levee.

Monday May 2 the Army Corp of Engineers blew up a levee along the Mississippi River in hopes to relieve stress from high water levels on other levees that were protecting towns.

With the destruction of the levee they are sending 396,000 cubic feet per second of water onto 200 square miles of fertile Missouri farmland, reported CNN.

A federal judge made this ruling on Friday giving the go ahead for the levee to be breached. But Missouri wasn't giving up without a fight. They filed a suit to prevent the Corps from moving forward with their plan. However the judge ruled in favor of the Corps saying, "this Court finds that no aspect of the Corps' response to these historic floods suggests arbitrary or capricious decision-making is occurring," as stated in an article on Yahoo News.

With the removal of the levee it is hopes to prevent the flooding of the city Cairo, Illinois, however with the sacrifice of farm land that could not be drained of water until late summer or even early fall, according to www.KAIT8.com.

The Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, did say that "insurance reimbursements will be available to flooded-out farmers is southeast Missouri," according to www.KAIT8.com. However the reimbursement will not be given to those without crop insurance.

Entrepreneurs

While some city councils are discussion their recent Easter egg hunts The New York City Council is launching a city wide initiative to increase lending and help pull small businesses that are struggling in the recent recession above water.

The city of New York is holding a credit fair May 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. At the fair there will be a "forum for alternative lenders to provide technical assistance and counseling so small businesses owners know how to properly apply for a loan," according to a press relase from The New York City Council website.

Small business owners are invited to attend to receive advice and help, loans being one of the options available to them.

Some of the companies attending that will be loaning to the small businesses include: Accion USA, Chase Bank, Citibank, New York State Small Business Development Center, NYC Business Solutions, and at least ten other companies.

Leroy Comrie, Queens delegation chairman and Council Member was quoted as saying, "I've reached out to hundreds of small business owners in the Southeast Queens community and I'm sure they will benefit from this fair... I firmly believe that the Credit Fair is a step in the right direction for our borough's business community," as stated on the The New York City Council press room website, http://www.council.nyc.gov/html/releases/01_26_11_credit.shtml.

Applicants applying must meet the U.S. Small Business Administration eligibility requirements and also agree to seek business counseling from the regional Small Business Development Center. The program has already been successfully implemented in other parts of the State.

To read more visit The New York City Council website:

http://www.council.nyc.gov/html/releases/01_26_11_credit.shtml