Speak Out 1/2/15

Keep cash local

The recent speak out column highlighted how the City Council voted against hiring a local firm and instead voted to hire a firm that was from out of town. That is the total opposite of what the council voted on. The council voted to hire Dille Traxel a local architectural firm to conduct a feasibility study and not to hire the architectural firm GHN from Springfield, Mo. The civil engineering firms listed in the previous article are sub consultants to the two Architectural firms and under the feasibility study the Civil Engineer would do little to no work on the project.

If the Council had voted to hire GHN the majority of the fees would be leaving the Poplar Bluff area and very little if any would stay in town. By selecting Dille Traxel the majority of the design fees will stay local.

So the Council voted to keep most of the money local instead of sending it out of town. Is this not what you would want the City Council to do? Or would you rather the majority of the money be sent out of town so a local consultant might get a little piece of the pie?

You should applaud them for their decision to keep the majority of the money local.

Getting taste of their own meds

Isn't it just wonderful the OPEC Arabs and various others basically held the United States hostage in the late 70s and from there right on up till now by dictating the price of oil which in turn dictated what vehicles that we could afford to buy and operate and everything like that and now that the United States has the new technology to produce oil and gasoline and they're all upset about the price of oil. I'd like to see if where they just had to drink the stuff because they are reaping the fruits of their greed from years ago when they basically acted as a cartel and escalated the price of oil and its products on us and the rest of the world. It's a good day! Truly, a good day! To see 'em get a taste. Thank you very much.

City consultant

Lucky for Kaplan, who says our city is facing Chapter 9 Bankruptcy, he has a bankruptcy expert right there on the council. Peter Tinsley (who has been through the process numerous times in his personal life) is our own expert and might counsel free of charge, UNLESS -- he decides to establish his own bankruptcy consulting firm and charge the city some outrageous amount like to rest of Kaplan's so-called "consultants."

How to spend

the money?

I am proud to say I have been proven wrong about the city's new grant writer. I didn't think she was doing anything -- now it appears that is not the case -- she has applied for a grant for downtown, if approved we could receive anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 dollars --Let's, see -- where can we put such a large amount of money-- perhaps complete the stairs to the depot or maybe it will finish the renovations of the Rodgers Theater! Good for us!

Just rolling in dough - not

Well, the cost of gas has gone down. When I filled up my tank I saved 35 cents. I got my increase from my social security so that's $15 more a month. Now I can go get my denture that I need. My denture is $1100. So with that $15.35 I'm just rolling in dough. If I was on public assistance I could go to Arkansas and get my denture for nothing, but since I have to pay my own way I have to pay $1100 and also Obama is in Hawaii for the holidays. What's wrong with this picture, folks?

Help solve

the problem

Hey, I have a message to the "nameless source," complaining about the Rescue Mission's junk. Maybe you could volunteer and help the Rescue Mission get rid of some of that stuff or maybe you could pay for a dumpster to put the stuff in. That would be one idea instead of saying that you're tired of looking at their junk. Maybe you could come help them clean it up as a volunteer in our fine community.

I know the Rescue Mission is just doing the best they can with what they have. Maybe if we all helped instead of taking shots at 'em their life and our life would be better in Poplar Bluff. Thank you. That's all. Bye.