B
Hot Springs' infamous downtown "Bottleneck" courtesy of our city manager, mayor, and board
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What's Another Ten Grand to Our Much Traveled City Directors?
From: Observer - Hot Springs Date: January 6, 2008
The City Board is at it again, sending a majority of the board to yet another conference when a single representative would suffice. On the agenda Tuesday night is an item for approval of travel to the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, DC in March for directors Elaine Jones, Cynthia Keheley, Rick Ramick, and Tom Daniel at an estimated cost of $2,500 per person. They also will be approving (I mean considering) several handouts (I mean budget proposals) to the Chamber of Commerce, Boys Club, and Garland County Economic Development Corp. (an alias of the Chamber) all in the usual "waive the bidding" format.
Welcome to 2009. It sure sounds a lot like 2008.
Editors note: What's another ten grand to our city directors? They apparently consider it not to be real money, it is only our tax money. Thanks for the comments. Note the new information on the "Commentary" page which is consistent with your comments relative to the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Mid America Museum Making Progress Despite A&P Games
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: December 27, 2008
Isn't it interesting how the once slanted newspaper reports on the "Museum Tax" have now changed? Remember the tax that was passed by closing all of the polls without proper notification at a special election held solely for their single purpose? Recall the banter orchestrated by the newspaper, chamber, and A&P, "It's for the kids?" The newspaper now, finally, mentions, although not quite so bluntly, how the passing of the improperly named "Museum Tax" was actually a smokescreen for encumbering the 3% A&P tax for 20 years preventing the public a vote. In other words, the A&P is willing to give the museum a million bucks so they could collect around $60 million and prohibit the citizens from having an election for that 20 year period.
The latest news articles also report on how successful this last year has been for the museum. Holy Cow Batman! Weren't we told that this should be considered an emergency because the "life safety system (fire alarm)" and the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) system was over 30 years old and would fail at any time. In reading older information on your website, you guys told us the major part of the air conditioning system was only a few years old and, except for about $60,000 worth of needed repairs, was reliable and functioning well. We recently went to the museum and verified that your information was accurate and discovered that there have been absolutely no major malfunctions of any kind with the "life safety" or HVAC equipment.
Apparently, the newspaper has finally gotten it's facts together. When do you
suppose the city, the A&P, and the chamber is going to quit playing games with
the public?
Editors note: The short answer is "never." They seem to be very slow learners. Hey, haven't you recently read where the chamber of commerce now even wants to become a political action committee? Hold on to your wallets.
Citizens Have Duty to Expose Wrong-Doings
From: Roman Terlecki - Hot Springs Date: December 23, 2008
| I've said a prayer...read a
little scripture and little would I know I'd find this issue. Be slow with a suit ...but leverage the issue for a regular piece of air-time: ie balance (since Dick or 'the station' has everybody and their brother on GGGG). As humans, we can be redeemed: but the ol' flesh...the old-man is ever present: it's our redeemed part that should be (salty) standing for biblical & rule of law or constitutional truth...shining the light of God's truths, in a Christ like love, into the darkness of corruption (Eph 5:11) of a human kind or civil issues. Finally ...Paul's admonition in Roman's 13 ref 'the power'.... having pledged 'and to the Republic' we collectively have a civic duty as state citizens not only to stand: but to reprove (expose) the works of darkness, the wrong doings, Just as God's word is the plumb-bob of standards for the believer so too is the rule of law for the citizen (the government). The so called authorities are merely agents (where from come agencies) entrusted (via-selection by election in most cases) by we the people (the government) to 'act' within the shadow of the authority of our rule of law (AKA the organic law). I believe that the core motivation of GGGG by it's founder and membership to be just this ...it's so said after hitting a home run when the first base ref said: he missed the bag!
We The People are the referee ...GGGG is a team, a
ref in the arena of Politics: sometimes the ref cries 'you're-out'... |
Editors note: Thanks Roman, well stated. We just wish more citizens would wake up and take on some responsibility for the improper actions of their public servants.
Chamber of Commerce Becoming a Political Action Committee?
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: December 22, 2008
What is the deal with the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce? We read in the
paper where they want to become a political action committee or pac in
addition to being a chamber. It sounds like they would be the only chamber of
commerce in the entire state to also be a pac. Is this correct or not? We were
chamber members until it became obvious this chamber was more interested in
politics and taking care of the old time businesses and their close friends
instead of promoting our business. We came here from out of state several
years ago and have been members of several chambers in other states. No other
chamber we could think of ever got involved in politics like Hot Springs
Chamber does. They now have the nerve to tell the reporters they have just
decided to get involved in politics, hah! My friends who are still in the
chamber got letters from the chamber head telling them to vote for the museum
bonds and then told them to vote for the new jail and all the other stuff on
the ballot with it. Who do they think they are kidding? This is most political
chamber we have ever seen. What, if anything can we do about them being more
concerned about politics than our businesses?
Editors note: Perhaps more than you know. Our editor and his business also joined the chamber when he first moved here. He and several other business people we know have had similar experiences to yours. Needless to say, he and his business plus numerous others are no longer members. If this trend continues, it is likely other members will also be lost and, eventually, the few remaining members will demand an ouster of their hired leader. However, this could be difficult because the chamber also collects thousands of taxpayer dollars to provide hired "economic development" to the city and county plus various other functions. This simply means that the chamber leader apparently does not rely solely on chamber membership dues for his salary. We plan a more in-depth report on this later but for now, suffice it to say that we agree that a chamber has absolutely no business playing political games.
Candidates May Have Filed Fraudulent Reports on Contributors, Expenses?
From: Observer - Hot Springs Date: December 13, 2008
The highlights of these reports (attached) are $6800 in unidentified
contributions by Tom Daniels. Tom Daniels claimed he only spent $5800 on
advertising the last 10 days of the campaign.
Smith claimed he only spent $1400 in newspaper advertising in the beginning of
the campaign and nothing the final 10 days. His 10 day before election report
showed a small ending balance but the next report showed no opening
balance and no expenditures the last 10 days, but there were numerous large ads
in the newspaper.
Editors note: Thanks for the candidate contributions/expenses reports. It certainly appears that the last few days of newspaper ads were under-reported by both candidates. What is more obvious, however, is how anyone can have the majority ($6,825) of their contributors not known or identified. It appears that either Mr. Daniel or his campaign treasurer didn't do their job or withheld the information. We will look into it further. Readers can judge for themselves by clicking the following reports: Daniel pre-election 1, note the $5,450 "nonitimized contributions." Daniel pre-election 2, shows the same $5,450 nonitimized contributions. Daniel post election, note the additional $1,375 nonitimized contributions. Smith pre and post election.
Albright Makes His Own Law
From: Never Got A Day In Court - Hot Springs Date: November 28, 2008
Not wanting to make Mr. Albright, our city attorney, feel left out of the spotlight, I felt I should expound upon his legal ethics. A few years back, I was backing out of my driveway. I had looked both directions and could see no vehicles down the long stretch to my left, and none coming from the hairpin curve to my right. I checked left again, since cars come much more slowly from the hairpin curve on the right. No car, so I started backing slowly out of my driveway. I was all the way back to the center line in the road, when I was hit from the right side hard enough to spin my vehicle sideways. I was trying to figure out what happened when my neighbor came running over to see if I was ok, and told me a speeding car had hit me and drove away from the scene. Five of my neighbors saw the man speed and hit me, and saw him speed away. My husband jumped in his truck and trapped the man on a one way street. He saw the man throw something into the woods. He made him come back and the police were called.
I was cited for backing out of my driveway, which I found out is illegal in Hot Springs. The man who hit me and fled the scene had expired tags and insurance and was in his mother’s car. He asked me to not call the police because he had been in trouble and was afraid they would revoke his license. My neighbors told me they would all go to court as witnesses. I went to court and pled no contest as to my backing out of my driveway. But I told the judge that the man was speeding, hit and ran, had expired tags and insurance. I also told the judge to please check his driving record for warrants, and that I be allowed to return to court with my five neighbors as witnesses and my husband who had chased the man down. The judge granted my request and set a court date.
On the date for the next hearing, I came to court with my five neighbors and my husband and sat for hours waiting my turn. They finally were ready to adjourn, and I asked about my hearing. They told me that it had been dismissed. I said there must be a mistake, that the judge set the date for me to come back with my witnesses. They then told me that Mr. Albright had had the case dismissed. I was very upset as were all of my witnesses who had missed work to be there for the hearing. I returned to work and called Mr. Albright’s office and asked to speak to him. I asked him if he had taken us off the court docket. He said yes he had. I explained to him everything that had happened and asked if he had the authority to overrule the judge who had granted me the right to bring my witnesses to court. He told me that the man who hit me was a working man who had several tickets and could lose his license if he got into trouble again. I said, he hit me speeding, and ran, and had expired license and lapsed insurance, and you are going to let him off with no consequences. All he said in reply to my question was, “ well he’s a working guy having a hard time, what do you have to gain by getting him into more trouble”.
I tried several times to get put back on the court docket, but could not. I had to not only pay for the damages to my vehicle, but the man’s mother’s car was declared totaled and I had to pay an exorbitant amount for her old beat up car , that the man said he had wrecked several times before. I ,still to this day, wonder what he threw into the woods when my husband cornered him on the dead end street. Although, I’m sure it was booze or drugs.
I was later told by someone at the courthouse that they suspect Mr. Albright had either taken a bribe or was doing a favor for someone he owed a favor to, but had no way to prove it. And I’m sure he uses the same ethics when representing the city board.
Mr. Albright should be right at home with the rest of the folks at the city who make or bend the law to suit themselves or to better themselves.
Editors note: One of our staff had a very similar experience lately. He desperately wanted his day in court in order to prove that a police officer had stepped over her bounds and he wished to be on the record as to why this had happened. Although the city attorney's office knew all the details, they extended the court date and subpoenaed witnesses. The disputable charges were withdrawn at the last moment denying him his day in court. The public deserves to learn of the shenanigans of the city attorney's office. You are correct that some are not prosecuted that should be, but you should also know that city directors have not been prosecuted, even when they are obviously at fault. Don't take our word for it. Go to the free public computer in the district court and look up the names of directors who would have long rap sheets if only the city attorney had done his job and not given them preferential treatment. The state ethics commission has already questioned him on this once but they didn't have the full story then.
City Manager Drops Us Like a Hot Potato
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: November 25, 2008
It sure seems to me that our city leaders are being extremely generous to our city manager who dropped us like a hot potato. Or maybe it was one of those “get out of town before you get tarred and feathered, and ridden out on a rail” situations. You keep your hand in the cookie jar long enough, you’re going to get caught. But even under the circumstances, the city seems to be paying a lot of severance and giving a lot of perks till January 1, 2009. All I can say is, our city manager must have a lot of dirt that has been swept under the rug that he can tell people about, because he sure is getting a lot of hush money. I sure would love to see an external independent audit done on our city books and spending.
Editors note: I does make one wonder. We were told a month or so back that the city manager's contract was being terminated to avoid having to pay for such expenses. Perhaps they forgot that already. A truly independent audit could be enlightening but we already know how many trips the freeloading directors have taken. And, we already know who the free-spending directors are. Heck, we just re-elected one of them.
Life-Net Employees Forced to Attend City Board Meeting?
From: Ted Burhenn - Hot Springs Date: November 19, 2008
Editors note: Thanks for the information. We did notice some city employees contradicting each other and, occasionally, even themselves. It appeared quite obvious that the city manager was biased in the selection process. Oh well, he has now resigned effective January 1, 2009. Actually, the whole city board show was akin to a 3-ring circus.
No Change in Travel Budget for Freeloading Directors
From: GP - Hot Springs Date: November 18, 2008
I was reading the paper this morning about the new city budget which appears to be lower than last year. I wanted to get your take on it. The one thing I did notice was that no reduction was made to the director's budget which includes all of those trips to Hanamaki and other resort places that the freeloading city directors constantly take at our expense. Didn't most of our directors just return from Orlando, FL? I also check your website daily but there have been no new postings lately. Why is this? Can you give us your take on the city's proposed budget? It seems like they are wasteful with out tax money but do a good job of giving us a spin they think we will believe.
Editors note: Thanks for your comments. Based on your observations, you are obviously very astute. We do not yet have a copy of the proposed budget but will attempt to get one and have one of our CPA types review it and then provide comments on this website based on facts rather than theory. However, in the interim, we also noticed that no mention is made of reducing the budget of our perennial travelers also known as the city board. Yes, they did just return from Disneyworld at the taxpayer's expense. As to web updates, we can only publish what we receive. Send us your comments daily and we'll have daily content.
Direct
or Used Public Property for Personal Gain?From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: November 10, 2008
Thought you would want to know how Tom Daniel won the election. We thought he would lose but he was and has promised lots of people in our area street paving and other favors if they would vote for him. He told some of them outright and insinuated to others. He even reminded people to remember who got there street paved for them. Isn't this illegal somehow? He used asphalt that belonged to the public and city employees labor to get hisself some votes didn't he? We live near Tom and have heard this and also from several other neighbors too.
Editors note: We do think it may be illegal or, as a minimum, unethical. Please give us as many of the peoples names who know about these promises, were offered paving (or other favors), or received paving, etc. and we will see what can be done. If it can be proven that he used the public's property for his own gain, he could possibly be prosecuted. As a minimum, we can file a complaint with the state ethics commission. It will certainly not be the first for this director.
Arrogant Sign Installer Told Where to Go?
From: Bubba - Hot Springs Date: November 6, 2008
I told you Tommie and Stevie were putting up signs without permission. A small little old guy chewed out my brother and told him he had permission to put signs up on his property. The little guy didnt know he was talking to the owner. My brother told him in no uncertain terms where to go and where he should put his signs. Guess what. Next day the damn signs were up again. I told you Tommie and Stevie would put signs where they want. They dont care who owns the property. Remember Stevie put signs up in Greenwood cemetary. You have the pictures. Stevie is gone now but how come Tommie got elected again? Are that many people dumb?
Editors note: Could be. See our commentary on the main page.
Paranoia or Legitimate Voter Fraud Concerns?
From: Observer - Hot Springs Date: November 4, 2008
I hear there is concern about people going around to several polling places without ID and voting several times especially in district 3 and 6. Is there anything to this and what can be done to stop it. When you hear about the ACORN folks registering a guy out of state 73 times it seems so distant, but to think that kind of stuff might happen here in Hot Springs makes me really upset. Is that just paranoia or does it happen here?
Editors note: It can certainly happen here. We fully intend to make a few random checks to see if it is being done here.
Daniel is Shameful, Smith Should be Committed
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: November 3, 2008
Boy are those good ole boys beginning to get desperate. A good indication of how to tell if candidates are really desperate is whether or not they are using their kids or moms in their ads. Everybody likes kids and moms and everybody has a mom. The only local candidate doing this is Tom Daniels. Hey Tom if we could vote for moms we would do so but you and a couple of your buddies on the board are the ones who have literally screwed up the town and ignored the public except to occasionally chew them out. It is interesting to note that you have used other people even the poor old couple who you told to put up that downtown awning because you would overrule anybody who gave them trouble. You have now forced them into a lawsuit. You have good reason to be ashamed of your record. You should be forced to run on your record. If you did you would get no votes. That is probably why you have mentioned everything but your record. You have done a shameful job of trying to start rumors on your opponent. Now you have even helped your buddies who are running by telling them how to start rumors. You are a shameful person Tom. Maybe you will soon have lots of time to think about it. You can help us all by staying out of politics. Almost forgot but Steve Smith says he is committed in todays ad. Maybe you will be soon Steve.
Editors note: But how do you really feel about those two incumbents? Have they misused their offices?
Chamber is Unethical, Not the Candidates
[The following e-mail references an article which reports that the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce has complained to the Arkansas Ethics Commission that city director Tom Daniel and challenger Ken Carney had improperly used the chamber's mailing list for political purposes.]
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: October 30, 2008
Concerning todays Sentinel Record front page article here are a few points that should be made:
1) Mr. Carney responded to an inappropriate attack he didn’t start the exchange he has run a very positive campaign.
2) Mr. Carney obtained the list from a chamber member. He didn’t claim to represent the church in obtaining the list.
3) The list was used in The Oaklawn issue and the Museum issue for political purposes why would the chamber now complain?
4) The chamber stated the list was worth $1,000 in the paper. Have they ever sold it to anyone? They have given it away so may times does that not establish the value?
5) When you file an ethics complaint you are urged to wait until they make their findings public. It asks you on the form not to disclose the complaint to anyone. Did the chamber violate this?
6) If the Chamber claims to have given out something worth $2,000 to candidates why have they not filed their needed forms with the Ethics commission as a pac? If you give more than $500 to a candidate does that not make you subject to fling as a pac?
[PAC - political action committee]Editors note: Since you didn't elaborate much on each item, we did a bit of research and discovered the following: 1) It appears that Mr. Carney did respond to the same list of people Mr. Daniel sent an e-mail to making a charge that Carney was opposed to businesses and businessmen. [Click here to see letters referenced]
. 2) We are aware of where the list came from and agree it was not obtained through Carney's church. 3) You are correct that the chamber itself has used its own list to support Oaklawn and the museum (for the kids) campaign. We think they also sent members e-mails recommending they vote for the jail tax. 4) Correct. If an item is given away freely for years, it should not become worth $1,000 overnight. 5) It does appear that the chamber made the information known to the news media. We can only speculate as to their purpose but it appears to be political in nature. Our opinion is that this is very unethical. 6) We also understand that if groups give $500 or more (actual or in-kind contributions to political candidates, they must file as a political action committee (PAC). What is most disturbing is that the chamber of commerce appears to be continually getting involved in politics. The job of a chamber is typically to represent the business community, not to take political positions including supporting or complaining about individual candidates or political parties.
Even More Comments on Director Daniel
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: October 27, 2008
I was listening to City Director Tom Daniels on a KZNG radio talk show this morning and I heard him compliment the Garland Good Government Group. He said ”Everyone likes Good Government”. Did you guys kiss and make up for the election? I thought he votes for all the Hanamaki and other vacations, the bottleneck, city hall without voter input, etc…
Director Daniel also said that a city director can’t just get someone hired. I thought City Director Carroll Weatherford got one of his cronies hired in the sewer department after the guy got out of prison. The story I heard is that Director Weatherford allegedly arranged for the guy to kidnap a man who had been accused of stealing from Director Weatherford. The police responded while the kidnapping was in progress, the guy was never convicted of the kidnapping but it made the front page of the newspaper. He went to prison on a parole violation and after he was released with a long record of Drug offenses, attempted murder etc… he was hired by the city sewer department. I would like Director Daniels explain how a Director can’t get someone hired but this crony was hired?
Editors note: We can't speak for the Garland Good Government group but we can almost guarantee there was no "kissing or making up." Politicians are prone to say whatever they think will get them elected rather than what they really believe. We are almost certain that Director Daniel did, indeed, vote for Hanamaki and all the other taxpayer paid "vacations," the bottleneck, the new city hall, and not allowing the citizens a voice or a vote on most issues. We also have heard about how the directors improperly influence lots of things, not just hiring. We think this is called "abuse of office" and far too many of our directors do it.
C
andidates Reach New Campaigning LowsFrom: RK - Hot Springs Date: October 27, 2008
I want to make a couple of points which show how out of touch Tom Daniel, Carol Weatherford, Steve Smith and Kim Gilliam are with the people. I just heard Tom on a morning talk show talking about 4 laneing Shady Grove. We live off of Shady Grove so we know this is a residential neighborhood. Tom DanieI has never asked anyone we know of if we wanted it 4 laned. If he would bother to ask us he would find we don't want it 4 laned. We see him hanging with his buddies Weatherford and Smith deciding what they are going to do to raise our taxes. He was talking about that again this morning. They never have enough money. He bragged about the money the tourists pay on the hamburger tax and he still acts like we residents don't pay it also. He said it took him 4 years to get AC-LI-MENTED to the job and needs 4 more now to get the work done. I think he will never get acclimated since he can't even pronounce the word.
Tom and the good old boy system started their campaign with misrepresentations and lies. It is really low when the A&P picks one of their board members to run against the only person who ever questions what they and the city do with our money but to see her running ads that say - I have the problem Pegged - is a new low. How about we run one that says - Dirty politics is so bad it is has become Kimmed? Both are stupid and childish. Another low is the Act 1 people using kids to try to get people to vote against it. The Hot Springs good old boys were first to use kids. Remember the museum vote?
You were right about Daniel and Smith having no concern about rules and regulations. We have noticed several of their signs on public right of way. Why don't you take a picture of the one in the middle of the county club right beside a fire hydrant?
Editors note: If you take the pictures, we will try and publish them. You must not have seen the photos we published on the "News" page that show what the A&P is not using our tax money for. Click here and check them out.
An Open Letter to City Director Daniel
From: Tom - Hot Springs Date: October 25, 2008
This is intended to be an open letter to Tom DanieI. I should start by apologizing to everyone for having the same name. I had the name first so he should be the one to stop using it. He could rename himself traitor because that is what he is to the people who elected him.
Tom - since you have been in office you have voted for every tax increase and fee increase that you and your buddies could think of. You voted to spend our tax money to send yourself and all your cronies on vacation to Japan, Reno, Vega, Washington, New Orleans, and several other vacation spots. You just voted to send most of the directors to Disneyworld in November. Beleive me - you would have gone to but it would look bad with you running for office again. Tom - you voted for the bypass knowing most people didn't want it. You voted to buy property and build a city hall the people didn't want. You told the police and firemen you supported them but you know you voted to not give them any raise. How dumb do you think people are? There is a record of your actions Tom. I guess you are hoping people don't have time to check it before the election or remember how bad a director you have been. Tom - I remember how rude you are to anyone who dares question what you have done and I remember how you always voted against the people. Now it's my turn to vote and I'm damn well going to remember how you voted. Sayonara Tom!
Editors note: You make an interesting point.
Wouldn't it be interesting and enlightening, although perhaps, devastating to
Director Daniel's re-election efforts, to have his voting record printed before the election.
However, you made no mention of the issues we think are more deplorable. Those issues
include his record of placing items on the agenda, discussing and influencing
those items, or voting on those items. You may not know that he was
investigated by the Arkansas Ethics Commission for such "conflicts of
interests." We have personally witnessed conflicts similar to giving
himself fireworks contracts, helping his relatives or friends get their items
approved, approving signs that only his sign company sells or rents, using his
position to resolve personal vendettas, illegally meeting with other
directors, bragging about using his position to help his downtown business,
and the list goes on. His voting record is secondary to but confirms much of what should be
illegal activities committed by this director.
City Board Member Beats Women?
From: Not Signed - Hot Springs Date: October 24, 2008
I have lived out of town for awhile and now that I'm back I see that Steve Smith is on the City Board. I guess that no one does background checks when these people run. This man is a wife beater, I don't know about the wife he has now but I sure know about the one before and I know for a fact he has beaten his Mother (hence the reason she moved from Hot Springs) He was supposed to have paid his Mother and Stepfather for their business when they retired but he didn't. Instead he sold artifacts that were very important to them. This man is rude, mean, hateful and abusive. I pray he doesn't get reelected.
Editors note: You are correct about background
checks. Believe it or not, Steve doesn't have the longest "rap-sheet" on
the city board. We didn't even know his mother had lived here but we do
know about his rudeness and abusiveness. He has demonstrated that to the
public often enough to where we feel confident he will NOT be re-elected.
Newspaper Bias and Good Ol' Boy Mentors
From: RK - Hot Springs Date: October 23, 2008
I have two observations to make. First - Why is the local newspaper so biased? Note the question list they publish for candidates. They always list the incumbent first and use bold face headlines while the challenger always is listed second with smaller font headlines. When turning to the continued article the challenger is listed first so that the reader ends by reading the incumbents information last which means the reader will more likely remember the words from the incumbent. Don't tell me this is accidental. Look back at all of the city and county races the paper covered over the last week.
Second - Some people may not remember but the mentor Tom Daniel proudly professes to be following in his ads was a likeable alcoholic good old boy but he only worked for himself and the same special interests Tom now works for. Tom is looking up to this good old boy the same way he looked up to his buddy Don Bridges that used to be in the ducks business. Tom so much wanted to be like him that he would dress the same and buy the same brand of vehicle Don had and even get the same color. It was kind of a joke in town back before Tom became so important. Some of the things Tom takes credit for in his ads are also claimed by his fellow amigo Carol Weatherford. Ask Carol who started the cook offs and Christmas lights and who is in charge of them. Carol will tell you it was him not Tom. But what else is new, those two and the other amigo Steve Smith who always met together every morning before Grannys Kitchen or National Cafe closed tell you whatever they think will make them look important.
Editors note:
We did go check previous issues of the Sentinel Record. We had not noticed this but you are correct that they have consistently treated incumbents and challengers in the manner you describe. Maybe it is intended to be a subliminal thing, huh? As to Daniel's mentors, we do not and did not know these individuals. We would encourage our readers to enquire for themselves before believing what our submitters send us.
Reader Seems to be Upset with City Candidates
From:
Bubba - Hot Springs Date: September 19, 2008I just read todays paper and want to let you know I am tired of the same old crap from our city directors. I see where you guys dont much like them anyhow. The stuff Stevie Smith told the newpaper made me want to puke. I took some pictures of where he is putting his signs. He must think those folks in the greenwood cemetary are going to vote for him. Heck they might knowing how voting fraud goes or used to. Look at the pictures of Tommie Daniels signs. He puts them up on city street signs and public right of way. He must think he owns the city but who has the guts to stop this? He has always thrown his big weight around pun intended. This shows how much respect he has for public property. He think he owns it. He put signs on my friends land and didnt ask if it was ok. Stevie also has signs on city land. Look at the pictures. Do you guys not give a dam either?
Editors note: Oh we care, but like you say, it is difficult to get anything done other than to just demonstrate the facts so the people can see what is happening. We are publishing a few of your photos below. Perhaps that will help.
City Bond Elections Cause Statewide Problems
From: Comment 1 - Hot Springs Date: October 15, 2008
We have been sold on bond elections, and bonds against our fees in Hot Springs several times over the last couple of years and repeatedly told don’t worry about it there will not be any new taxes. Now on the front page of the Sentinel Record we see the state can’t waive the birth certificate fees for the homeless and domestic violence victims because of those great bonds our city leaders and newspaper has been trying to sell us on have tied the states hands.
The front page of the newspaper today states “The Arkansas Department of Health charges $12 for the first copy of a birth certificate and $10 for each additional copy. McDaniel’s opinion said that birth certificate fees were used to secure a loan that the state’s Development Finance Authority issued to the Health Department to build a lab. The attorney general’s office said that waiving those fees without replacing the revenue stream would be an unconstitutional impairment of a contract between the two agencies.”
Why didn’t the newspaper explain that on the front page before the city hall, the jail tax and especially the museum bond elections?
Editors note: Great question but you're not really expecting an answer from them are you? Oh, you don't really expect the city leaders to stop raising taxes and fees either, do you? These is only one answer and that is the one citizens can help in November 4th. at the polls. We must support Marurthur and replace the spendthrifts, Daniel and Smith.
City Manager Looking Even Harder Now to Leave Town
From: BC - Hot Springs Date: October 14, 2008
Well, our city manager is looking even harder now that he is about to lose his support on the city board due to the upcoming election. He will be out of town this weekend. The following appears in The Tennessean, a Tennessee newspaper.
FRANKLIN — The list of candidates vying to be hired as Franklin’s next city administrator is now five.
Norcross Ga. based Slavin Management Consultants is
recommending interviews in Franklin with four people out of a list of 12
possible candidates as well as fifth official who’s résumé was received
after the original 12 candidates were selected.
The final five candidates include:
James Lewellen - administrator for
Collierville, Tenn., since 1995.
David Hales - director of finance/administrative services for West
Jordan, Utah.
Kent Myers - city manager for Hot Springs, Ark., since 1994.
Eric Stuckey - assistant administrator for Hamilton County, Ohio,
since 2000.
Rick E. Chaffin - assistant city manager for the city of McKinney,
Texas since December 2006.
Slavin initially recommended former Broward County, Fla. administrator Pamela Brangaccio as a candidate, but her name was withdrawn from consideration after finding temporary employment with the city of Sarasota, Fla.
The top five finalists will arrive in Franklin on Friday, Oct. 17 and will be interviewed by members of the city’s search committee on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Editors note: We wish him well. There are a couple of locations to see the information you reference. To read these: Click Here for one or Click Here for the other. Oh, you can Click Here to see what he told the Springfield interviewers. Do you think this is our Kent or an imposter?
Perceived Emergency Wakes People Across the County and the Country
From: Observer - Hot Springs Date: September 17, 2008
Phones all over Garland County and even across the country rang from 1 am till 3 am with the voice of Nate Schanlaber, the City Fire Marshall, waking people up to warn them about trees and power lines being down and that it was unsafe to go outside. Mr. Schanlaber who has an unlisted phone number on Lakeside road, and probably his superiors who authorized the call, need a lesson in early planning and telephone courtesy. We knew for at least 4 days that the reminants of a major hurricane would pass over us Saturday night downing trees and power lines. They could have easily give a press release Friday to all of the local media and accomplished the same result. If they really felt it was necessary to use their 20 cent per call code red toy to call everyone. Why didn’t they do it during daytime hours? They called every water customer in the county even though the system is paid for by city customers. That call must have cost $10,000. Some customers who live out of state were so concerned about what was going on that was so drastic that the fire department found it necessary to call everyone in the middle of the night, that they begin calling local residents to find out.
This harassment on our cell phones and unlisted numbers by people with no common sense needs to stop. We didn’t get to vote on the $3 per month per household tax that pays for this. So our only choice now it to vote against the directors that are forcing this lunacy on us and recall those not up for election.
Editors note: We totally agree. We talked to some people that didn't get to the phone in time during the wee hours of the morning so they began calling family members to see if they had called due to a real emergency. Check out the item on the replays of the city board meeting at 7 PM any evening this week (cable channel 15) and you will see how belligerent the mayor, board members, and the city attorney were and how proud they were to have awakened people in several states for their perceived emergency. By the way, if you would like to tell these folks how proud you are, you can click here for their phone numbers. We recommend you call between 1 and 3 AM just to be certain they are at home. Sorry but the city attorney (Brian W. Albright at 304 Lotus Loop) has an unlisted phone (like many of those the city called). Could be you could just ring his doorbell at about 2 AM, huh?
No Life Threatening or Emergency Safety Work Needed at Mid-America Museum
From: Mrs. H - Hot Springs Date: September 17, 2008
Editors note: No doubt about it. But then, we've said that all along. The undeniable fact we have repeated time and time again is that the museum was used and abused in a poorly disguised scheme to encumber the A&P's future tax funds and, effectively, not allow a vote by the people for the next 10 years. In fact, look at the official court transcript for the kangaroo court held last week and you will see some of the half-dozen high-priced lawyers hired with our tax money saying exactly that. Their contention was that the court could not allow the citizens a vote on the taxes because those taxes were encumbered by the museum bonds. Read the transcript and then let us know how many of you still believe that the museum vote was "for the kids."
Crows Sound Better in Cool Weather
From: 'a'crow'n - Hot Springs Date: September 17, 2008
| Some is always say'n call
Bob... call Bob: ya know ya can call him. It's precious...but also
very true: the action has definitely picked up since ya came to town
and GGGG has made an impact. CONGRATS! I was think'n which got me to write'n and was a hope'n you'd post this and as usual just sign me 'a'crow'n' Blessings to ya Eph 5:11 keep reproving Speaking of fall… Have ya ever noticed how much better the crows sound in the cool weather? I don’t know how they know that their appeal goes up 10 fold in the fall…maybe it’s the empty nest syndrome or perhaps the un-crowded fly ways after the opening day of dove season; your guess is as good as mine. Talk about guessing: is it possible that the season for Detachment of territory has come? I mean…according to the rules I have to wait to a certain time of the year to bust crows; and as such the proceedings for detachment have a seasonal appeal as well: just listen to the sound of it…When ever any corporation shall desire to throw any portion of the territory aka city (Arkansas allodial and patented land or otherwise?) lying within it’s corporate limits outside of such limits and remitt it back to the county in which such corporation is situated and so on and so on blah blah blah (That’s blah law short hand: cause ther’s a bunch more) Any how just like crows can’t stay away from the new high tech digital mp3 driven crow caller so too are the county folks await’n on you city folk to get some detachment action a go’n…once ya think about it: boy howdy you just love the action! KAW-kaw kaw kaw |
Editors note: Thanks for the congrats. You are sure right about the crows sounding clear and crisp in the cool weather. We noticed recently that even the vultures are making noise. It is good that the city decided to leave the county people alone for the time being. The folks at the city do appear similar to crows being fascinated with high-tech gizmos. They appear unable to resist finding any reason to use their new high-tech crow caller. In fact, they used it in the wee hours last Saturday to call even county, out-of-county, and out-of-state water/wastewater customers to tell them trees were down in the city. Wonder how many residents got up at 2:00 AM to go see what trees were down because the city woke them. Oh, speaking of detachments, would you agree that because of the detachment between the city residents and their representatives, we need to detach some of the non-representative directors from their positions in the November election?
Late Questions?
From: Jim McCafferty - Hot Springs Date: September 11, 2008
Re: Late Questions?
1. Does State law allow for the enactment of a County sales tax specifically limited for capital improvements that would not require that tax proceeds be shared with local municipalities?
2. Does State law allow a County to enter into contractual arrangements with private correctional facility providers, such as is done in neighboring states, for example Texas?
3. Does State law allow a County to issue industrial revenue bonds for capital construction projects? And if so, under what conditions can a County offer a guarantee for those bonds?
4. What estimates, projections and reports are available that evaluate the capital costs, required debt service of short-term bonds, and pay-back analysis for a phased jail expansion involving rehabilitation of the current jail, immediate addition of 300 +/- beds, and a design that allows future expansion based upon need?
5. What are the projected operating costs for the jail program described in the previous question?
6. What annual revenue would be generated per 1 mil of property tax in Garland County?
7. Are there thresholds regarding property tax increases that can trigger voter-led roll back initiatives? If so, please describe those limits and process.
8. What alternative approaches are available for addressing the public safety communication equipment needs throughout Garland County?
These are all good questions. And they need answers. But perhaps the better question is: why weren’t these Chamber of Commerce questions publicly asked and answered by the County Judge and the Quorum Court before the doomed jail tax proposal was presented to voters on August 12? How much did that special election cost? Who’s in charge here?
Editors note:
Those are good questions but were hard to answer and even harder to ask without holding a town-hall type meeting or two. We understand the election cost was $30,000 which was apparently paid by the county. The newspaper has only had about 3 weeks to publish your letter. Perhaps they will get around to it. Okay, perhaps not!
Real Reason for Special Elections Disclosed
From: Carl Steplock - Hot Springs Date: September 10, 2008
Conversely, in a special election, you have mainly the special interests and their backers who are the majority of the voters. My recommendation is to NEVER have a special election except in a TRUE emergency need.
Editors note: We heard that explanation as well. It is refreshing to occasionally hear the truth from an elected official.
Idiots Running the City Denying Citizens a Vote?
From: GB - Hot Springs Date: September 4, 2008
My day was going just fine until I read todays headline. How dare these idiots tell me and 1587 other citizens we don't deserve a vote on something we have never had a vote on anyhow? I see where we taxpayers are sending most of the idiots to Disneyworld in Orlando. Isn’t one of them in Japan now? They don't even thank us for sending them on monthly vacations do they? Yesterdays headlines said the idiots are going up on garbage fees again. Didn't they just raise our water and sewer bills? The audacity of these idiots. Do they not know the meaning of planning or budgeting or do they just not give a damn?
Editors note: In the interest of accuracy, the public did vote once in the 80's but this was due to a lawsuit and not because the city ever wanted to allow the public to vote. Your final question indicates that you already know the answers to most of your questions. Yes, they did just raise several of our fees and taxes and, yes, they may NOT know the meaning of planning or budgeting. As to planning - the city's new strategic plan is now printed. It consists of 8 pages, none of which are actually devoted to planning. As to budgeting - we do have directors who have failed in business and taken multiple bankruptcies. Don't take our word for it. Pick up your own "City of Hot Springs - 2007-2008 - Strategic Plan" and check the county court records for the directors. As to the city clerk and city attorney trying to throw out the petitions allowing our citizens to vote - they are only acting on behalf of the city and the city's A&P commission in making it so apparent that they will go to any lengths to keep the public from having a voice in our local government including once again denying us our fundamental "right to vote" on important issues. Someone pointed out recently that the legacy of our current leaders can only be that of obstructionists determined to represent only their "good ol' boy" interests. When if comes to elections, our leaders seem to continuously demonstrate that they can get monthly special interest elections approved by misrepresenting the real reasons for the elections and misrepresenting those who are promoting or funding the elections. But then, let some 1600 citizens ask for a vote and see how quickly they can find a reason not to allow those people to be heard at a general election. If constantly raising fees and taxes, traveling all over the world at the taxpayer's expense, not allowing the public a voice in their own government, and constantly denying our citizens their "right to vote" is what our current leaders want to be remembered for, as our illustrious mayor would likely say, "so be it!" We can remember their actions when we finally get a change to vote in their re-election.
A&P a Fraud to Tourists?
From: L - Hot Springs Village Date: September 3, 2008
Editors note:
We heard a similar complaint from people from Shreveport recently except it was about the police being rather rude. When asked for directions to a museum, the cop told them Hot Springs didn't have one, they would have to go to Little Rock. Besides needing to inform our police that their job includes being good will ambassadors, we apparently also need to tell them what attractions we have including the Mid-America Science Museum. Thankfully, they found the museum on their own and loved it.
The A&P Guru Has Fans?
From: Free Speech Advocate - Hot Springs Date: September 2, 2008
----- Original Message -----From: LarrySent: Monday, September 01Subject: Re: A&P
Editors note: Hey guys, the commentary you reference is from our "Commentary" page dated August 30, 2008. Neither Barbara or Diane or an upset easily impressed government teacher friend that has some sense wrote that article.
Emergency Storm System Used to Tell Us About Garbage
From: Callee - Hot Springs Date: September 1, 2008
I got a phone all today from the code red system saying they wouldn’t pick up garbage today. I thought after they used up 40,000 minutes they were being charged something like a whopping 20 cents per minute. Do they think we are so stupid that they must spend something like $4,000 to tell us it is a holiday?
We could use that money to send Director Weatherford back to Hanamaki again and keep him from hassling local contractors and citizens.
Editors note:
We are fairly sure he is in Hanamaki now, correct? Code Red, the former telemarketing company that the city sent all of our personal data to does appear to be misused but so what if they go over their allocated minutes? They can just raise our taxes, err... water/sewer fees again, can't they?
Hot Springs Finest Not All That Fine?
From: Fed up in Hot Springs
National Park
Date: September 1, 2008
Editors note:
Hey, there are times when only 4 patrol cars are out there and they aren't patrolling (we are told because of gas prices). Could be our police need some sensitivity training or, at least, some basic lessons in public relations. Oh it does appear that the city could be in violation of the terms of use for the federal funds received for the new parking deck. Oh well, what else is new and why should they care? By the way check out how Hot Springs now rates in the crime field at http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ar/hot-springs/crime/.