LaSalle Insider

On Thursday evening the Rotary Park Board had their first meeting as an official committee of the city of LaSalle.  After the necessary steps of determining terms for the current members and establishing a financial account for the committee talked turn to the recent viewing by the DNR representative Mick Rosendahl.  Mr Rosendahl was escorted by Andy Bacidore and Sam McNeilly and others on a tour of the property.  To say he came away impressed would be a gross understatement.  I refer you to the pictures on the YouTube insert on this website to view some of what met Mr.Rosendahl on his visit.  The board is very excited by the input from Mick Rosendahl after his tour and we look forward to our presentation in Springfield before the board which will determine whether we receive the grant.  Our cause is helped by the fact that former Mayor Washkowiak has a good relationship with  Mick and the DNR.  He will be among those who go to Springfield to present our case.  Joining him will be Gary Gearhart , Nora Fesco-Ballerine, and hopefully Mayor Grove or his representative.  John Lavieri or myself have volunteered in the event Mayor Grove is unavailable.

I must add that the “s” word was used during the meeting.  I am referring to the possibility of “stimulus monies” being available for our park development.

We will need the help of  both Senator Dahl and Representative Mautino to have any chance of receiving any funds from that source.  The post meeting conversation centered on the possibility of giving tours of the park area to local residents perhaps in return for a small donation to the cause.  This will be discussed further at our September 24th meeting.

Everyone who has an opportunity to view this area should take advantage of the chance to see it.  The vistas and natural lay of the land is jaw dropping.

Once opened there is no doubt that this park will be the number one area for fishermen, bikers, hikers,and park enthusiasts!

What’s your feedback?  Do you want a  chance to see the property now?

Will this park happen?  Let me know what you think…

One more thing from Monday night that the news trib failed to report was the ongoing traffic issue for Northwest School.  Yes the council approved yet another  change in traffic flow for Northwest but this will do no more than the previous change.  Can I make a suggestion to the Board of Education for LaSalle Public Schools….FIX YOUR OWN D**M PROBLEM!!!!!!  I have grown tired of listening to principals and superintendents telling me the city has a problem.  WE DON”T HAVE A PROBLEM ,YOU DO!  Until the Board realizes that the answer is unloading and loading students on the school property not the public streets, this will never go away!  Spend some of your tax payers dollars to create a parking lot which allows your parents to offload and on load their children in an area that is NOT a public street!  You spent over $600,000 to build a classroom to handle the needs of students for the 2009-2010 year only…why not be a little futuristic and spend some dollars to insure the safety of children for many years to come????? ( I must note here that this is another point the news tribune did not cover in their report on the council activities from Monday night) I suggested to the residents who attended our last council meeting that they need to attend the next school board meeting to make this point!  I am hoping they do that……but what do you parents think?   Let me know….don’t be shy,if I am wrong I want to hear about it!….If you agree I want to hear that as well!

Another story which was missed by our local paper was the fact that the council approved a change in how we spend our funds with respect to  the news tribune.  This is not the first time that the council questioned  a mayor’s desire to spend freely with our local paper!  I made a motion  on Monday night that the finance committee should review the spending when it comes to placing ads in the news tribune.  It seems that LaSalle  Mayors can’t help themselves when it comes to having their mugs appear in an ad supporting anything from school openings to supporting the football teams of area high schools.  The Council has made it clear that we have to watch every nickel we spend but our Mayor seems it doesn’t apply  to newspaper ads!  Enough is enough…the city of LaSalle spent over $2,000 in July  in ads with the local paper.  This comes at a time when we decided as a council not to approve  charitable donations of any amount until the economy improves. This did not stop our Mayor so Monday night , with unanimous approval, I made a motion to have the Finance committee  approve all ads in any publication!

Isn’t it funny that the News Tribune did not include this in either the written notes from the council meeting OR the radio broadcasts ALL DAY!  I guess this isn’t news worthy to the editorial staff!  It appears that the news sources (radio and print) are so fearful of looking bad that they are afraid of reporting the NEWS!  Come on Jennifer Nagle…you are the news editor aren’t you? Why not report everything?  Maybe somebody is telling you what you can and cannot say….there goes your credibility!!!

If you really want to find out what goes on at council meetings come here for your info….the paper is not interested in reporting the real story…

Oh …..one last thing…..the council meetings start at 7PM Jennifer, why not try to get there on time..or not at all….Joe Hogan I miss you!!

On Monday we held a city council meeting but apparently  our Mayor did not show up…. Ever since  he pushed to appoint an economic director he has been beating up IVAC.   He was successful in getting not only the position of Economic Director approved by his council, he also got his person approved for the position.   His position was  that we need to have are own Economic director because IVAC wasn’t doing the job.  When push  came to shove on Monday night he backed down and cast the deciding vote in favor of extending IVAC for another year….is that leadership?  If you take a stand don’t back down under pressure simply because you have to make the deciding vote!  For the record, I was against approving the position in this economy and against the person appointed due to the fact that he has no previous experience as an economic director…..he is a Tupperware salesman and from what I found out monday night , a teacher at IVCC. So much for devoting his full time  to helping LaSalle attract business. For the record he lives in Peru and his business location is in Peru.  Am I the only person who finds this rather hypocritical if his job is selling LaSalle to potential  businesses.  Let me know what you think?  Am I being too hard on our Mayor?  Leave your comments after this story…I want to know what you think….

I have several items to share with you and would love to here from you as to your thoughts, its easy to do , just add your comments at the end of the article….

ok first…

what is the mayor of spring valley thinking when he talks about resurrecting a trolley car for transportation?  Don’t we have better uses for tax dollars? Isn’t there a reason the trolley car went away to begin with?  Next we will get the nostalgic pony express for mail delivery and the horse and buggy will be our main form of transportation!  If someone really thinks there is a market for this nonsense then do it with PRIVATE FUNDS not our TAX DOLLARS!

What do you think?

number 2….

Are you willing to pay higher fees for sewer service to help pay for the necessary changes to our existing sewers and construct our new east end facility?  How much is to much for a monthly increase?  $10  , $5,  $0 ?

number 3…

Do we stay with IVAC and keep Don our ECon Director or go with Don alone?

IVAC alone?  (their fee is 13K annually and its due now!

and finally……

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LEGALIZED VIDEO POKER MACHINES IN LASALLE?     THEY ARE COMING UNLESS WE WRITE AN ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT THEM!

I want to hear from you……….

On a positive note we have finished the road construction on Sterling street.  I have enclosed some pics of the finished product!.  Thanks to all for your excellent work in getting this done.  I am sure you all agree its a big improvement to our city.

If anyone read Thursday’s edition of the News tribune you no doubt saw the picture of our mayors, Harl and Grove, posing with two pieces of equipment and several city employees.  The story was on page A3 and the headline read”LaSalle,Peru cooperate”.  I have gotten more feedback on this story from constituents then any other since Jeff became Mayor.  First off let me tell everyone that the city of LaSalle and also Peru have NOT agreed to share equipment!  Maybe Jeff and Scott will lend each other personal items but outside of that there is not deal in place at this time.  Someone needs to tell our inexperienced mayors that just because you say something,  that doesn’t make it so. Both city councils have to have a written agreement covering this action if they decide its in the best interest of their city.  This conversation has never hit the council floor as of this date. There will be discussion before any equipment and personnel are exchanged between cities.  Mayor Grove should understand the need for this and it scares me he would take this step without council consent.  The city of LaSalle is not a dictatorship and almost everything needs council approval before it happens.  This is in the best interest of the taxpayers of both cities.  I spoke to a Peru alderman and he agreed that nothing has been approved by Peru’s council at this time.  Our two cities participate in sharing emergency equipment now but that is done under a MABAS agreement between several cities.  The document spells out every cities duties and liabilities. Apparently Jeff and Scott need a mayor handbook to study before they decide , on their own, what each city will do and at who’s cost.  I suggest those interested can come to our next meeting if you want to weigh in or hear more about this topic.  In the mean time don’t look for any equipment from either city leaving  town!

NOTE- THIS EMAIL WAS SENT TO ME AND I THOUGHT IT MADE A GREAT POINT…. I  WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH MY READERS….

Subject: Memorial for “Shifty”

We’re hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.  I want a
nationwide memorial service for Darrell “Shifty” Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry.
If you’ve seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know
Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is
interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn’t know
who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble
reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right
gate, and noticed the “Screaming Eagle“, the symbol of the 101st Airborne,
on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he’d been in the 101st Airborne or if
his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I
thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many
jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said “Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and
was in until sometime in 1945 . . . ” at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said “I made the 5 training jumps at
Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy
is?” At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know
what D-Day was. At that point he said “I also made a second jump into
Holland, into Arnhem.” I was standing with a genuine war hero
. . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of
D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said “Yes. And
it’s real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that
are, lots of them can’t make the trip.” My heart was in my throat and I
didn’t know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach,
while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and
said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out
of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I’d take his in
coach..

He said “No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still
some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man
very happy.” His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming
up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to
wall back to back 24×7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on
television..

And that’s not right.

Let’s give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way.

Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace,
Shifty.

Darrell “Shifty” Powers, one of the soldiers depicted in Band of Brothers,

passed away on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

NOTE- THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS SUBMITTED BY A GENTLEMAN WE WILL REFER TO AS ” MR SCIENCE” AND WE HOPE TO HAVE MORE IN THE FUTURE…….

First the facts, don’t believe the Texas oilman who claims we can free ourselves from foreign oil by generating 22% of our electrical energy needs from the wind.  According to the World Energy Assessment Report the total energy consumed on the Earth right now is about 13 terawatts.  The total kinetic energy available from wind, making use of even low wind speed areas is about 3 terawatts, making wind power a niche solution at best.

Now for the scam … wind energy is a boondoggle of colossal proportions!

The problem lies in the fact that the statement “the wind is free” shuts everyone’s brain off.  Any reasonable consideration should consider all costs, including capital and interest, maintenance and feedstock.

By the way of comparison, current coal-fired plants deliver electricity to consumers for 10 cents per kilowatt hour.  The coal cost is approximately 0.8 cents.  So if the coal were absolutely free the cost to consumers would be 9.2 cents per kilowatt hour.

With wind mills, capital costs are more than four times that of coal plants per kilowatt-hour and the maintenance issues are dangerous and expensive.  In Denmark, the king of wind energy they need to charge 36 cents per kilowatt hour in order to harvest this ”free” wind.  Danes also had to foot the bill for new coal plants (so much for the green factor) to back up their windmills which are only available 30% to 40% of the time!

The first clue to any energy solution is the fact that there is some kind of taxpayer subsidy involved.  Like ethanol and many solar plants, wind energy will not stand on its own, and has already drained billions of investment dollars that should have been used on more rational approaches.  In the context of current financial conditions, chasing dead ends is not only ignorant, it’s dangerous.

If a country like the U.S. is going to seek alternative energy scenarios, the discussion must begin by establishing the lowest product price as the ultimate societal goal.