Lioneld Jordan visits with supporters on East Dickson Street

Please click on images to ENLARGE.

Aubrey James Shepherd's third video supporting Lioneld Jordan for mayor

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor

For Lioneld Jordan

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition

Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/241825

LIONELD JORDAN has a reputation for working hard. He’s the city alderman in Fayetteville who’s never missed a city council meeting in his nearly eight years in office. Alderman Jordan has brought the same dedication to the monthly meetings he’s held in his ward.
He’s also known for his thorough knowledge of city government, for his ability to understand complicated city business, and his just plain love of his hometown.
One of the candidates Lioneld Jordan is running against is the incumbent, Dan Coody. Mayor Coody is winding up his eighth year as mayor with a mixed record. He’s certainly done some good things for Fayetteville. Like establishing the current system of trails in the city. And he talks up environmental issues, even if he hasn’t always lived up to his own standards.
But the Coody administration has had some notable shortcomings, too. There’s the $ 60-million-plus cost overrun for the expansion of the city’s wastewater system. The project came in three years late and had to be bailed out with an increase in the city sales tax. Then there’s the stalled development the mayor backed on the site of the old Mountain Inn. Instead of a big hotel, the city got a big hole, which is now to become a big parking lot. That’ll be an improvement, but not much of one.
The mayor’s also presided over a takeover of the city’s Government Channel. The biggest result has been an end to its forums, where issues were discussed openly and fairly. A fear of fair and open discussion is not a good sign in a mayor, especially a mayor of a town as freespirited and open to argument as Fayetteville. What a shame.
Mayor Coody, maybe reflecting what he learned in the military, says a city’s chief executive is responsible for what happens during his administration. We agree. The wastewater project, the downtown hole in the ground, the canceling of issue forums... he must take responsibility for all of them along with the city’s accomplishments during his tenure.
As an alderman, Lioneld Jordan hasn’t always been right. But he’s consistently shown a willingness to dig into issues and take every side into account. As his supporters have noticed, when he disagrees with anybody, he tells them why. And his explanations tend to be well thought-out. (It’s hard to imagine him shutting down any public forums. )
His long service on important committees, such as the Street, Water-and-Sewer, and Equipment committees have given him a thorough understanding of how the city works. He does his homework. And he’s served as vice mayor, which would be good experience for the top job.
If it’s time for a change in Fayetteville, and it is, its name is Lioneld Jordan. That’s why we’re endorsing him today.

Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com

Stormwater management a local issue that requires local effort

American Rivers organization offers basic information on managing stormwater

Lifetime outdoorsman's video clips support Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas

Please click on control below each video to play.

Fayetteville police and firefighters urging people to vote for Lioneld Jordan for mayor

Please click on image to ENLARGE Firefighters and Police officers' endorsement of Lioneld Jordan for mayor.

Fayetteville police organization endorses Lioneld Jordan for mayor

Please click on image to ENLARGE for easy reading of the Fayetteville, Arkansas, chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police's endorsement of Lioneld Jordan for mayor.

Firefighters endorse Lioneld Jordan for mayor

Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association endorses Jordan
Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/70088

The Fayetteville Fire Fighters Association IAFF Local 2866 has endorsed Lioneld Jordan for mayor of Fayetteville in the Nov. 4 general election.
Other endorsements by the association:
• Don Conner — Ward 1, Position 2
• Mark Kinion — Ward 2, Position 2
• Craig Honchell — Ward 4, Position 2
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com

Good idea only if using waste material from agriculture and timber production and without decreasing wildlife habitat. Clearing land pollutes air

Summit promotes growing high-energy plants
BY DUSTIN TRACY
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/69979/
Northwest Arkansas Times Fayetteville’s first ever Sustainability Summit brought more than 300 people to the city’s center to talk about ways organizations can become more environmentally friendly. One way discussed was a switch from conventional diesel fuel to the use of bioenergybased fuel. Jim Wimberly with BioEnergy System LLC in Fayetteville talked about the energy-efficient idea at a small breakout session during the summit. “ Agriculture and energy are so intertwined, ” Wimberly said.
He said the idea is to start promoting the growth of high-energy yielding plants that can be processed and manufactured into a full spectrum of energy projects, including fuel for automobiles.
“ In essence, plants are batteries, ” he said. “ They store energy through photosynthesis. ”
Arkansas provides a large amount of natural resources to make bioenergy manufacturing a reality, Wimberly said, and if the state takes an active interest in the concept, it could cut in half its yearly 1 billion gallons of petroleum used each year.
“ It would take just under a million acres of herbaceous energy crops (crops high in energy ) to displace half of that diesel used, ” he said.
Wimberly said a lot of research is being done on soybeans to create biodiesel, and that it’s a good fuel. However, he said fuel users need to broaden their horizons.
“ We need to quit being worried about planting a future around traditional approaches to biofuel, ” he said.
The state has the forest and farmland to support biofuel operations, which makes it already an attractive location to bioenergy companies, Wimberly said, but Arkansas and its cities need to work towards sealing the deal with the green fuel producers.
“ We are in competition with neighboring states, ” Wimberly said.
Financial incentives as well as getting state landowners and far mers on board with the idea could be the key, Wimberly said.
“ It’s not going to happen unless (farmers ) can make at least as much money as they do growing traditional crops, ” he said.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com

Only 8 polling places open today for school-board election

Polling Places

Zn # 1 Precincts 6, 19, 22, 28, 30, 39
Prairie Twp 1-A
Northeast Baptist Church
2578 Oakland Zion Road

Zn #2 Precincts 7, 8, 11, 12, 21, 29, 42,
Elkins, Prairie Twp 1-B,
Prairie Twp 2, Richland,
Richland-S, Wyman
First United Presbyterian Church
695 Calvin

Zn #2 Goshen City, Goshen Twp,
Brush Creek Twp
Goshen Community Center

Zn # 3 Precincts 2, 20, 27
Covenant Church
4511 W. Wedington

Zn # 3 Precincts 1,9,10,15,26,35, Center Twp
Farmington, Prairie Twp 3
Wiggins Methodist Church
205 W. 6th Street/MLK Blvd

Zn # 4 Precincts 13, 14, 23, 31, 37, 38, 40,41
Johnson City, Johnson Twp,
Prairie Twp 4 Wheeler
Trinity Methodist Church
1021 W. Sycamore

Zn # 4 Precincts 17, 18, 32
Sequoyah Methodist Church
1910 Old Wire Road

Zn # 5 Precincts 3, 4, 5, 24, 25, 33, 34, 36
Central Methodist Church
6 W. Dickson Street

Or call the County Clerk's office
444-1711

Be sure to vote today. My choice is Jim Halsell in the Fayetteville School Board Race. Put your choice on a ballot!

Why do I support Jim Halsell? Jim Halsell's campaign Web site says it all

Ducks Unlimited Banquet October 2, 2008

Please click on images to ENLARGE.

Diverse plants and wildlife call World Peace Wetland Prairie home on August 29, 2008

Please click on images to ENLARGE photos of butterflies and flowers and tall grass on August 29, 2008, on World Peace Wetland Prairie.



First and second photos above feature a monarch butterfly nectaring on native thistles on World Peace Wetland Prairie. Native thistles are NOT outlawed and are exceptionally valuable to butterflies, bees and numerous species of birds.
The following two photos (below) feature Centaurea Americana, the American basketflower, surrounded by Demaree's gaura or Gaura demareei, and Dematree's gaura is seen up close in the fifth photo.




Gaura demareei above.
A small, pale butterfly rests on tall grass in the sixth photo (below).





Florida lettuce above (Latuca floridana) above.

Blast from past: Reasons for protecting wetland not common knowledge among politicians

Posted 8/29/04 on www.aubunique.com
First posted on http"//www.aubunique.com in 2004
Coody finally keeps promise but doesn't stay long


Aubrey's Notebook:
Mayor's Request Would Have Council Ignore Task Force Report
Recommends Putting All Tree, Trail Money Into One Purchase
Mayor Dan Coody visits Town Branch watershed August 23, 2004, fullfilling a promise made in March.

It seems that Mayor Dan Coody is in a big rush to get the Fayetteville City Council to ignore the recommendation of the city's Tree and Trail Task Force and use the full remaining $100,000 from the Steele Crossing lawsuit settlement to acquire 2.44 acres of mostly steep woodland on South West Avenue from renowned architect Fay Jones.
The reason is that there is a deadline to act on the offer to Fay Jones. If that deadline were extended, then maybe there could be a bit more discussion.
I agree that Jones' property must be protected. He bought it more than 35 years ago and has kept it in nearly pristine condition ever since.
I admire and respect Fay Jones for protecting the land all these years and believe he should be paid properly for it. However, both parcels are important and environmentally sensitive and must be protected for their conservation value. There has to be a way to acquire and protect both areas. Such places are disappearing rapidly inside Fayetteville and all over Northwest Arkansas.
Many people who have known me a long time realize that I can't imagine how anyone could disturb Jones' parcel and can't really understand why this progressive city hasn't gotten further in developing ordinances that would protect steep slopes, woodland and wetland.
I believe that the city of Rogers got several steps ahead of us with its recently passed storm-water regulations, which require a bit more than ours.
The wonderful thing is that Fayetteville still has many creeks, while Rogers and Springdale have ditched and paved many of theirs. Rogers is trying to restore a portion of the Osage Creek through the city to something similar to the meandering stream it was originally, after many years as a giant, paved ditch.
The situation reminds me of the rush in the 1980s and 90s to channelize a magnificent bayou through Little Rock!
I read that some portion of that cypress-lined stream is now under public protection. I floated and waded much of it before the Gazette closed in 1991. I caught a lot of bass but ate none of them!
Springdale has a plan to UNCOVER a portion of Spring Creek downtown to become a part of its revitalized downtown. Those cities recognize their mistakes and are trying to re-create part of what was destroyed at great cost. Basically, we need to provide stronger regulation of stream riparian zones and the adjacent wetland areas.
This brings us back to the topic at hand. The Tree and Trail Task Force decided in the fall of 2003 to try to buy the 2.46 acres of wetland prairie off S. Duncan Ave. An appraisal came in lower than the developer expected, but the task force was under the impression that public money could be used only to pay the appraised price, thus the members suggested that Mayor Coody try to negotiate. Negotiation stalled because the developer needed more than the appraised price to cover his losses.
At the developer's request, I met with the mayor in his office and invited him to walk the Town Branch watershed with me. He was busy in March but said he would come out later in the spring.
Dan finally spent 45 minutes or so with me in the Town Branch watershed Aug. 23, 2004, but I wasn't able to share with him all the reasons that this prairie wetland deserves city protection.
The nice thing was that the mayor got to see a DRY wetland prairie, something that would have been impossible in spring or early this summer. Some of the wettest land had dried and cracked in the few places where the vegetation was exposed.\
There was a small spot where one of the neighbors had mowed a path into the 2-acre wetland prairie off S. Duncan between 11th and 12th streets and knocked over three or four chimneys created by Ozark burrowing crayfish. I tried to explain that these are not the stream or swamp crawdads of the south that I knew in Louisiana or Dan knew growing up in southeast Texas.
These are crawdads that live in the aquifers under the prairies and partially wooded wetland areas paralleling the streams in many places in the Ozarks. They are also known as Osage burrowing crayfish, if one searches online.
Yes, some are big enough to eat! If you toss them into the creek they will try to find their way back to the prairie!
Such prairies as the acreage around our home, including our yard, absorb water and allow it to drain into the aquifer.
When the ground dries out as it finally did in mid-August this year, that land is ready to soak up several inches of rain when it comes. That was what I was trying to explain to Dan Coody. The floods of late April and early July occurred after the wetland prairie areas in Fayetteville, especially in the watershed of the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River, were holding all the water they could because of almost daily rain.
The failure of stormwater detention ponds designed to slow runoff from newly roofed and paved areas contributed to the worst muddying of Beaver Lake since the dam was built in the 1060s. Smallmouth bass can be expected to fail to reproduce in the streams affected by the siltation. Many less well-known species will be in the same situation. Life thrives in clear water running over clean rock.
Engineering can't replace that natural storm-water protection. Protecting every vegetated acre that can be protected is the only key to keeping a bit of Northwest Arkansas as it was when I first lived here in the '60s.
There will be grant money to help restore such areas not only to protect people such as some of my neighbors whose home flooded three different nights in 2004 but also to provide habitat for birds and other wildlife and to offer wildflowers and other natural beauty.
Anyone who has studied our Web site, http://www.aubunique.com , can imagine how many hours Lauren and I spent last year documenting just a few species of native flowering plants and typical prairie grass on the 2 acres behind our home, the part of the 2.46 acres that was approved by the city planning commission for 36 apartment units in May 2003. In June 2003, the Corps of Engineers issued the developer a permit for the site.\
However, James Mathias, the developer, agreed to delay development to give our neighborhood's Town Branch Neighborhood Association time to buy the land for preservation. In May 2004, his development permit was renewed for another year and he agreed again to delay work on the project to give us more time.
With the few wooded and prairie acres to the north between 11th and 6th streets along the Town Branch west of Hill Avenue slated for development and the many acres being developed on the west arm of the Town Branch west of Razorback Road, such small parcels of prairie wetland become increasingly important in storm-water protection along the Town Branch and in preventing further siltation of Beaver Lake.
I can't possibly share a lifetime outdoors with others well enough to make them understand why I care about these things. But Stormwater II regulations spell out the federal rules. Links to those rules may be found on this Web site.
Over and over, I have been told by employees of the Corps of Engineers and national and state environmental agencies that "your city can make stronger rules."

They KNOW that the federal rules are a weak compromise.

The bulk of the Wilson Spring prairie wetland is doomed to be developed. The part that remains can help educate the public about the value of such places in the Illinois River watershed.
Our neighborhood wetland prairie offers similar value as a demonstration area for owners of parcels small and large in the White River watershed. It was never plowed by the farmers in the first half of the 20th century and it was never built upon when the land was subdivided in the 1950s. The reasons are obvious.
Aubrey James Shepherd
Fayetteville, AR © 2003, 2004, 2005

Site design by Lauren Hawkins' LDHdesign

A new proposal by the Bush/Cheney Administration would gut the law that protects polar bears, wolves and other endangered species

CREDO Action from Working Assets is proud to bring you an urgent alert from our friends at Defenders of Wildlife.

The Bush administration has announced a new proposal that would gut the Endangered Species Act — one of America's most important environmental laws. Now Defenders of Wildlife needs our help to preserve the vital checks and balances that protect our polar bears, wolves and other imperiled animals.

I urge you to read the message below from Defenders of Wildlife's president, Rodger Schlickeisen, and take action today to save our endangered species.

Michael Kieschnick
President, CREDO Mobile
Emergency Action
A new proposal by the Bush/Cheney Administration would gut the law that protects polar bears, wolves and other endangered species.
Urge your Representative and Senators to help stop the Bush/Cheney plan to gut the Endangered Species Act.
Dear Wildlife Supporter,
With less than 160 days left in power, the Bush/Cheney Administration has launched an unprecedented backdoor assault on America's endangered species!
Don't let them get away with it. Urge your Representative and Senators to do everything in their power to stop the Bush/Cheney Administration's eleventh-hour assault on America's wildlife.
For more than 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has protected wildlife at risk of extinction. Now the Bush/Cheney Administration wants to eliminate vital checks and balances that are crucial to protect our polar bears, wolves and other imperiled wildlife.
Please help protect endangered animals from the Bush/Cheney Administration's attack. Take action now.
Announced earlier this week, the Bush/Cheney proposal would severely limit scientific review by the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service of projects that could harm imperiled wildlife. And it would explicitly limit the ability of these expert agencies to consider how greenhouse gas emissions from such projects could impact polar bears, wolverines and other wildlife that may go extinct due to global warming.
Instead, agencies proposing projects such as highways, dams, mines, oil or gas drilling and virtually any other activity would be allowed to decide for themselves whether a project is likely to impact any of the nearly 1,400 species currently protected by the Endangered Species Act — without the crucial independent review now provided by scientific experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Many of these agencies do not even have biologists or other qualified staff to make such a determination.
Even worse, the new regulations would impose a brief 60-day review period for agencies, making it even less likely that anyone involved in the process will have the time or expertise to fully evaluate the potential harmful effects of a given project on sensitive wildlife or the habitat it needs to survive.
Help stop the Bush/Cheney Administration's assault on protections for our endangered species. Please take action now.
There are less than 160 days left in the Bush/Cheney Administration — and even less time for your Members of Congress to act. Please take action now to help stop the Bush/Cheney Administration's last-minute attempt to eliminate effective protections for the wildlife that you and I love.
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. Two years ago, Defenders of Wildlife led the fight that stopped Congressional legislation that would have gutted the Endangered Species Act. Now we need your help to stop the Bush Administration from trying to do the same thing. Please take action now!

Young bird practices flying skill on back deck of senior center

Please click on Image to ENLARGE photo of bird.

Links to learn about and discuss Jim McGinty's candidacy for Fayetteville board of education at-large seat

James McGinty's campaign for school board Web site
A site for discussion of James McGinty's campaign for school board Web site

Monarch butterflies visit World Peace Wetland Prairie to lay eggs on milkweed so that caterpillars can eat and grow

Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of monarch butterfly August 10, 2008, on World Peace Wetland Prairie.


Please click on link to ENLARGE tall-green milkweed, Asclepias hirtella, at World Peace Wetland Prairie on August 10, 2008.

Fayetteville representatives on regional-transportation committee ignored and beltway study was approved

The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas
COST of STUDY $755,912
Whose money will pay for that?

Beltway Feasibility Study Proceeds
By THE MORNING NEWS
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/08/07/news/080808azbeltway.txt
SPRINGDALE - Northwest Arkansas moved a step closer to realizing a western bypass today that would allow traffic to go from southern Washington County to northern Benton County without taking Interstate 540.
A feasibility study for the proposed western beltway received needed approval Thursday despite a request for delay from Fayetteville representatives.
The $755,912 feasibility study is of a proposed highway from the unbuilt Bella Vista bypass in the north through western Benton and Washington counties to join I-540 south of Fayetteville.

Dan Coody's campaign includes long lunch with his wife, Debbie, at the senior center

Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of Dan Coody with two regular senior center clients.

Mayor scheduled for lunch at center on Thursday August 7, 2008

Please click on image to ENLARGE menu and activity calendar for August 2008. Lunch is served only between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., even if serving starts late. Likely to need to be on hand earlier to hear what the mayor has to say. He announced in fall 2007 that he would not be running again for mayor. In July 2008, he announced that he had changed his mind and now is again on the campaign trail.
This information was not available at the front desk until Wednesday.
Please click on image to ENLARGE activity schedule for easy reading.





















Please click on image below to Enlarge and read the menu:

Build a rain barrel, help reduce erosion downstream and water plants free

Beaver Water District To Conduct Rain Barrel Building
Workshops July 26th at Fayetteville Farmers Market

For immediate release: July 15, 2008
Beaver Water District will conduct three rain barrel building workshops at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 26th, at the Fayetteville Farmer's Market on the downtown square in Fayetteville. Those participating will learn how to build a rain barrel and leave with step-by-step instructions. Additionally, barrels built that day will be given away in a drawing to those who attend. Rain barrels are a water conservation tool. Positioned under a gutter of a home, a rain barrel will capture runoff during rain events. Water may then be used to water the lawn and flowers. For more information, e-mail Amy Wilson, Director of Public Affairs for Beaver Water District at awilson@bwdh2o.org.
Audubon Arkansas also will be on the Fayetteville Square that day with a stream table conducting demonstrations showing how erosion occurs in a watershed setting and how this impacts the watershed and receiving streams and lakes. Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Beaver Water District’ s mission is to serve our customers in the Benton and Washington County area by providing high quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all federal and state regulatory requirements in such quantities as meets their demands and is economically priced consistent with our quality standards. For more information, visit www.bwdh2o.org.


Amy L. Wilson, Director of Public Affairs
Beaver Water District, P.O. Box 400, Lowell, AR 72745
awilson@bwdh2o.org; 479-756-3651

“Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes – one for peace and one for science.” -- John F. Kennedy

Letters supporting grants to build trails in Arkansas needed NOW!

From: Terry Eastin teastin@lynks.com
Date: July 23, 2008 7:43:08 PM CDT

Subject: Arkansas Trail Fund - last request for letters

Everyone -

Thank you so much for your support of the trail legislation initiative! We are 87 letters strong as of today, July 23rd. A significant number of the mayors of Arkansas' largest cities and many smaller towns have sent well-crafted letters indicating their support for economic, health, and conservation reasons. Many organizations, including those one might not expect (economic and health arenas), have also given this initiative their support. Even more of you individually took the time to share your thoughts and send your letters.

This is the last post I will send requesting letters. The deadline was extended to August 1st last week, but, if letters come in shortly after the deadline, they will be accepted until the packet is finalized. I am expecting the count to extend 100 letters.

Once the project is completed, I send a report to all who helped.

Thank you very much, and please forward this last message. Again, if you have questions, please feel free to contact me at teastin@lynks.com, or by phone at 479-236-0938.
Regards,

Terry Eastin
Co-Chair, 2008 National Trails Symposium

All,

Please distribute the letter below and both attachments to every organization news outlet, email network, agency, mayor, city council, county judge, and trail enthusiast you know. If trail enthusiasts want to see an Arkansas Trails Fund established in the 2009 legislative season, NOW is the time to act! The response date has been extended to August 1, so, please help move this project forward with your letters to me either by email or regular mail. If you have questions, please feel free to contact. We are over half way to our goal of 100+ letters.

Attached is a letter from me explaining the project, a report prepared for the Legislative Committee on Agriculture, Economics, and Forestry, as well as, an Arkansas trail funding summary that illustrates the strong demand for our current minimal trail grant resources.

Even if you have already sent a letter yourself, please forward this request to other trail friends and enthusiasts. Your voices will be heard.

My address is

858 N. Jackson Drive
Fayetteville, AR 72701
teastin@lynks.com
terry@mississippirivertrail.org

Best Regards,
Terry Eastin

Senior Center bootscoot tonight!

Please click on IMAGE to ENLARGE.

American basket flower (Centaurea Americana) blooming on World Peace Wetland Prairie and other unmowed places throughout northwest Arkansas

Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of American basketflower made on July 10, 2008.

American basketflower photos and description˜

Downtown General zone? Why not Neighborhood Conservation?

Please click on image of native-stone house and giant catalpa trees uphill from Spout Spring Branch in south Fayetteville, Arkansas. This lot and adjacent blocks in the area would be zoned Downtown General rather than Neighborhood Conservation if the Walker Park Neighborhood Master Plan is not revised.

When I advocated closer study of geography and existing homes in the Walker Park neighborhood before the rezoning plan is approved, I was thinking of many places.
Here is the intersection at the far northeast corner of the Walker Park master plan and it is in blue on the concept plan as "downtown general." I was wrong about that being Mary Carr's house, which is a block north on Huntsville.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO PROTECT In this photo:
Riparian zone of Spout Spring Branch starts part way down this lot this corner lot or it certainly starts in the adjoining lot. Any disruption of soil or anything else on this property would be within what should be the no-build zone to protect the Beaver Lake Watershed and would imperial the quality of the stream.

GIANT catalpa trees are pretty common in this part of town but are being taken down regularly. Here here are examples worth saving.

Native stone houses are disappearing rapidly in this part of town and here is an example worth saving. I know, it isn't of as high quality as the one removed from the land of the late Ray Adams on S. School Ave. to make way for Advance Auto, but it is a wonderful dwelling and of historic value.

Mill Ave., of course, is the extension of E. South Street leading northeastward from the narrow block that was discussed by Tony Wappel in the council meeting this past Tuesday.

Enjoy the holiday!

Walker Park neighborhood rezoning plan to be considered by City Council tonight

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

Senior Center open house draws big crowd for music, free lunch

Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of Northwest Arkansas Times photographer Andy Shupe photographing Frankie Kelly playing his fiddle at the Fayetteville Senior Activity Center on Sunday, June 29, 2008.

 
People crowd open house
BY DUSTIN TRACY Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/66673

Gospel music played and tables were full at the Fayetteville Senior Center open house Sunday afternoon.
It was exactly what Director Sherri Napier was aiming for when she decided to have the center’s secondever open house.
“It’s awareness,” she said. “A lot of people think the senior center is a nursing home or for the poor. They don’t really know much about it.”
Napier and her staff spent weeks outside local Wal-Marts advertising the open house, hoping to attract more seniors who might become regular attendees. The more people who become members, the more funding the center can get from the government and the more opportunities it can provide to seniors, she said.
“In Washington County we have the numbers; we just need to get them here,” she said. “There are people here today that have never been here before.”
About 200 people filled the room, eating cake and enjoying the music.
Napier said she’d like to host more open houses to spark the community’s interest.
Across the county, senior centers are making cuts.
Kaye Curtis, the director of senior services for the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District, which oversees senior centers in the county, said earlier this month that the Farmington and Prairie Grove centers are cutting their operating hours and reworking their director’s positions. Gas prices, along with the fact that centers have to supply 51 percent of their own funding with donations and fund-raisers, are taking their toll.
The open house Sunday also provided some positive publicity for the center.

Lately, Napier said, she had been experiencing difficulties with members who had their own ideas of how they wanted to spend the center’s money. She said the ideas were good, but there just wasn’t any money to be spent. The center is operating with a $14, 000 deficit each month, she said, and she hopes to avoid the funding problems by tapping what she said was “ money there for the taking.”
“We’ve just got to get seniors in the door,” she said.
The center had its last open house on June 17, when about 110 people attended. Napier wants to keep the idea rolling and start working in unique twists to attract more people, like having a 1950s style dance.
The center is at 945 S. College Ave., north of Walker Park. For more information about the services it offers, call 571-2920.
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com

Free lunch and concert today at Fayetteville Senior Center in Walker Park

Please click on Image to ENLARGE and READ invitation to free lunch at Fayetteville's city-owned senior center building in Walker Park.

Association for Beaver Lake Environment growing!

From: President@able-ark.org
Sent: Sat 6/28/08 12:51 PM
To: aubreyshepherd@hotmail.com
This is an e-mail from 'Able-Ark.org - Association for Beaver Lake Environment '

Message:
Hello ABLE members,

I wanted to let you know that ABLE hosted a special Town Hall Meeting for Beaver Lake Dock Owners on Monday, June 23, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to sell ABLE to Beaver Lake property owners, identify/discuss issues affecting and threatening the lake, and to increase ABLE membership. This meeting was very successful! We have signed up many new members, the meeting was standing room only, over 110 people attended!

We also had two guest speakers:
Thad Cheaney from the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers - discussed dock and shoreline issues.
Nathan Jones, VP of Power Source Solar - discussed solar applications on boat docks.

I have posted the program on the website (www.able-ark.org). Login, click on "Information Library" page, and then click on Town Hall Meetings. You will see the "Dock Owners Meeting". You will need Adobe Acrobat in order to view the program.

Thanks for supporting ABLE!

Doug Timmons
President, ABLE

Ozark Highlands Group of Sierra Club to meet with James Burke to discuss fight against dirty coal burning in Arkansas at Smiling Jack's at 7 p.m. Wed.

Our June monthly meeting will be this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Smiling Jack's just off Dixon Street behind the Dixon Street book shop.

James Burke will be joining us to talk about the coal campaign and the progress we are making in that area. It will be very informal; this is a great opportunity to learn more about what we can do to make sure Arkansas doesn't build any new coal fired power plants. Bring your coal questions for James to answer!

Our Arkansas Chapter chair, Adrienne, will be bringing some yard signs protesting dirty coal if you would like one.

As always, please forward this email along to others you think might be interested.

Molly Rawn
Sierra Club, Ozark Headwaters Group
Intern
(479) 879-1620

Free lunch for all from 11:30 to 12:30 today at Senior Center

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Senior Center dandelions in March 2006

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Guests invited to Senior Center for free lunch between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Thursday June 19, 2008

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Free meals supposed to be for people over 60. But that isn't on the "certificate." I believe the idea would be to offer free lunch to someone regardless of age who brings a senior-qualifier to visit the center that day.
Also, membership is free to people 60 and older. Younger people are visitors or guests.

Reservations are requested by 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 17, 2008, so that the right amount of food will be prepared without excess waste.


"New exercise center" correctly would read "several new walking machines in exercise area."

Senior restroom remains too cluttered for the frail or handicapped to use

PLEASE click on image to ENLARGE west-end senior center restroom photo from June 9, 2008.

Times: Senior centers pay bills at expense of staff

Senior centers pay for swelling prices with their staff
BY DUSTIN TRACY Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Monday, June 9, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/66028
washco senior center layoffs coming ˜




Amber Berry can feel an impending layoff breathing down her neck.

The director of the Prairie Grove Senior Center said budget cuts have rendered her position expendable and the center will become a satellite facility for the Lincoln Senior Center.

“ According to (the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District and the Area Agency on Aging ), we’re not bringing enough money to support my salary, ” Berry said.

She said she is expected to raise $ 12, 000 a month through various fundraisers to support the center, an almost impossible task with gas prices pushing up the price of everything else.

“ We had three fundraisers in April, ” she said. “ The best fundraiser we’ve had was a Mother’s Day breakfast. ”

It netted $ 350.

Alongside multiple fundraisers to pull money out of a community also paying high prices, Berry said, the center is also asking senior citizens to whom it serves lunch to make a $ 2 donation.

“ We average $ 1. 84 for each meal, ” she said. “ The home-delivered meals get even less. ”

Kaye Curtis, the director of senior services for the economic development district, said the group has no other choice than to make staffing adjustments. Aside from putting the Prairie Grove center in the Lincoln center director’s hands, the district has also cut the Farmington Senior Center director’s hours from eight hours a day to six, she said.

“ Those locations are not bringing in enough people or money to support a fulltime director, ” she said.

Prairie Grove averages 15-20 people and Farmington about 20-30 people on a good day.

Curtis said the state and federal governments only supply the county with 49 percent of the money required to run the seven centers in its boundaries. The centers are responsible for the other 51 percent.

It doesn’t help that gas is flirting with a $ 4 a gallon level, which is also driving up the cost of food.

“ Minimum wage keeps going up as well, ” Curtis said.

Combine that with the high percentage of elderly people in Washington County and something Curtis dubbed as “ the baby boomer effect” (that generation is reaching retirement age ), the funding is not keeping up with the growth.

Curtis said the district must do what it can to keep its costs in line.

Jackie Lonon is the Washington County coordinator for senior services. She’s currently operating the Farmington Senior Center until a permanent part-time director can be hired.

Lonon said dance fundraisers and meal donations help, but raising money in an area with two other centers (Prairie Grove and Lincoln ) is difficult.

“ It’s almost impossible, ” she said.

Sally Metcalf, director of the Lincoln center, said that even though her center is expanding its kitchen, it is still cutting back like every other center.

“(The kitchen funding ) comes from a Community Block Grant and several other grants, ” she said.

She said there may not be an end to the crunch in sight, but she hopes the government ups the funding it’s sending.

“ That would be wonderful, ” she said.

Curtis said there’s nothing definite in the works, but the district is in the process of working with local governments to obtain some funding.

Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact: webmaster@nwanews.com

Internet access lines in place; Monday's sign gone on Thursday

Please see photos taken on Monday June2, 2008, (two posts below this one) and appreciate the improvement!

Times, Democrat/Gazette both offer opinion on Telecom oversight

George Arnold column on Telecom takeover


NWAT edit on Telecom Silly Talk


NW Arkansas Times article, Jim Bemis plea to city council

Senior restroom cluttered, Internet access censored

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Access to the restroom on the west end of the building has been limited by storage of a rolling serving tray device for more than a week. Vacant space is available all over the building is for parking that piece of equipment. How can a person in a wheelchair or using a walker get to the toilet or the sink without help here?
Seniors must walk more than 100 feet to the office at the opposite end of the building and ASK for a connection wire before using computer online. Good exercise for some, but a bit of a hassle for those in wheelchairs, using walkers or carrying their oxygen bottles. Plugging the phone wire into the wall and into the appropriate orifice in the computer can be difficult for many people. For a person with a handicap of any kind, this can make use of the computer impossible. What possible excuse for this can anyone make?

Good editorial on Senior Center in Northwest Arkansas Times on May 31, 2008

http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/65739
Times Editorial : Senior moments
Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Saturday, May 31, 2008
Email this story | Printer-friendly version
Senior citizens often get a bad rap in America. Popular sitcoms like "Seinfeld "or "The Simpsons"portray old folks as feeble, and maybe even a little crazy. Sure, we titter - but the truth is that we're looking at ourselves a couple of decades down the line (if we're lucky enough to get there at all ). Laugh at your own expense.

Which is a way of saying that our elders deserve our respect. They are, after all, the folks who came before us. Everything today's 20-, 30-, 40- and 50-somethings believe to be so, so important, the older generation was taking care of years ago. The folks who today reside in nursing homes and retirement villages helped make the United States into the superpower it is today. Everywhere we turn, we owe them. So it behooves us to listen to them. Regardless of being polite, doing so is the right thing to do.

Having said all that, the strife apparent at the Fayetteville Senior Center has us scratching our heads. A May 6 get-together between clients at the center and officials charged with operating the facility nearly brought some key figures to blows. Next came reports that the Fayetteville Senior Center's "site council"was being reorganized, which only frustrated some elderly clients further still. And then we hear a couple weeks ago that a handful of regular visitors just might be banned unless they promise not to gossip and engage in other disruptive behavior.

Just take a look at this incomplete list of complaints to get an idea of what's being alleged these days: slamming doors, rattling windows, pettiness, rudeness, lying, being pushed around, being ignored, being spied on, staff treating seniors like kindergartners, seniors'objections to supplying tea and coffee, white boards instead of bulletin boards, questions over who gets to open the suggestion box...

Besides the war of words that's broken out between Kaye Curtis, director of senior services for the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District Inc., and a handful of elderly who resent her "meddling," one wonders what's going on at the Fayetteville Senior Center that's leading to so many hurt feelings and so much disruption.

Fayetteville's Stella Farrar - one of the individuals receiving letters regarding their supposed disruptive behavior - had this to say to the Northwest Arkansas Times: "It's a beautiful center, but we don't feel like it's a friendly home environment with all the harassment, abuse and stalking we have to encounter. "Strong language. Perhaps too strong. But indicative of some ongoing issues.

Listen, in a world of an Iraq war and debates over new high schools and peace in the Middle East, what happens at one senior center doesn't seem to amount to much. But for a lot of the people in the sunset of their lives, these senior centers become vitally important links to their community, to their continued physical and mental health, and to their need to socialize.

And the folks who run the senior centers should (and we believe do ) want the senior citizens to feel exactly that way about their senior center.

What has bothered us is the amount of blame paid staff members have appeared to lay at the feet of disgruntled senior citizens for the disruptions at the Fayetteville center. That, it seems, is to be an expected part of dealing with elderly folks, and it seems the folks contracted to operate senior centers would be better prepared to effectively engage their clients in productive discourse.

To be sure, some pettiness can be expected, but our senior citizens deserve to be treated with the utmost care and respect. That doesn't mean their complaints have to be accepted at face value - some are clearly personal conflicts - but it does mean the people hired to make the senior centers work must find ways to make them work for the senior citizens who come through the door.

The job of working together with the seniors to find solutions and smooth relations belongs to the center director, staff and the leadership of the organization hired to administer the programs. They must take responsibility for taking care of these concerns.

FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Copyright © 2001-2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact Us

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Donor provides new exercise machines for senior center

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Senior Center visitors trying to solve problems


Senior Center strife between seniors, new management


Times investigates disbanding of senior site council

Senior Center, Meals on Wheels suffer weak economy woes

Senior Center visitors trying to solve problems

Northwest Arkansas Times reports management problems at Senior Center

Times investigates disbanding of senior site council

Five aldermen attend Town Branch Neighborhood Association meeting

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To read The Morning News story click on
Town Branch neighbors review student-housing project

Council members attending the Ward One Town Branch meeting with developers on May 15, 2008, were Adella Gray and Brenda Thiel of Ward One, Nancy Allen of Ward Four and Lioneld Jordan and Shirley Lucas of Ward Four. The proposed Hill Place student-apartment development on the failed Aspen Ridge townhouse project site south of Sixth Street, North of Eleventh Street and west of Hill Avenue in inside Ward one, but is separated from Ward Four to the north only by Sixth Street and from Ward Four only by the railroad.

Everyone will be welcomed!

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Meals on wheels fund-raiser on Government Channel Cox Cable Channel 16 several times this week

TUESDAY, May 13
1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Message Board
5:00 a.m. Fire Training Video
6:00 a.m. Washington/Madison County Drug Court
7:00 a.m. Westside Waste Water Treatment Plant Tour
8:23 a.m. Library: "A Good Night's Sleep"
9:00 a.m. Quorum Court: May 8
Recycling
SENIOR CENTER Benefit Concert & Silent Auction For Fayetteville Meals On Wheels
E Waste
Animals That Need Homes Now!
Compost Facility
Cars, Kids, and Sun: A Deadly Combination
Free Bulky Waste Pick Up
Library: Stories Under the Big Top with Cassandra Barnett
Recycling Drop Off
Fayetteville's Unique Televised Forums: How They Work & Who Can Use Them
Trash Cart Program
Partners For Environmental Sustainability
WSIP: Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant Update
Farmers Market
Green Building Roundtable Discussion
USGBC Low Impact Development In A LEED Neighborhood Development Project
6:30 p.m. Planning Commission: May 12
SENIOR CENTER Benefit Concert & Silent Auction For Fayetteville Meals OnWheels
Trash Cart Program
Animals That Need Homes Now!
Compost Facility
Advertising & Promotion Commission: May 12
Recycling Drop Off
Cars, Kids, and Sun: A Deadly Combination
Free Bulky Waste Pick Up
USGBC Energy Efficiency: The Starting Point For A Strong America
E Waste
WSIP: Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant Update
Recycling
Farmers Market
Partners For Environmental Sustainability

WEDNESDAY, May 14
1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Message Board
5:00 a.m. Fire Training Video
6:00 a.m. Washington/Madison County Drug Court
7:00 a.m. Harry & The Potters @ FPL
7:49 a.m. WSIP: Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant Update
8:30 a.m. Animals That Need Homes Now!
Farmers Market
9:00 a.m. Planning Commission: May 12
Compost Facility
Historic District Commission: May 8
Free Bulky Waste Pick Up
Advertising & Promotion Commission: May 12
Recycling Drop Off
Green Building Roundtable Discussion
Trash Cart Program
Children's Library This Week
Recycling
SENIOR CENTER: Benefit Concert & Silent Auction For Fayetteville Meals On Wheels
E Waste
Farmers Market
Green Or Too Green
Kessler Mountain: Conservation Elements
4:30 p.m. Fire Training Video
5:30 p.m. Trails & Greenways: The National Perspective
6:00 p.m. Animals That Need Homes Now!
Farmers Market
6:30 p.m. City Council Agenda: May 13
Recycling
Water & Sewer Committee: May 13
Compost Facility
PEG Center Equipment Committee: May 7
Benefit Concert & Silent Auction For Fayetteville Meals On Wheels
Partners For Environmental Sustainability
Cars, Kids, and Sun: A Deadly Combination
Free Bulky Waste Pick Up
USGBC Low Impact Development In A LEED Neighborhood Development Project
E Waste
FPL In Focus Series: Artist Tony Tiger
Recycling Drop Off
Farmers Market
Trash Cart Program

THURSDAY, May 15
1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Message Board
5:00 a.m. Fire Training Video
6:00 a.m. Washington/Madison County Drug Court
7:00 a.m. Fayetteville's Unique Televised Forums: How They Work & Who Can Use Them
8:26 a.m. Clabber Creek Trail Ribbon Cutting
8:40 a.m. FPL: Gathering Of The Groups
9:00 a.m. City Council Agenda: May 13
Trash Cart Program
Water & Sewer Committee: May 13
E Waste
PEG Center Equipment Committee: May 7
SENIOR CENTER Benefit Concert & Silent Auction For Fayetteville Meals On Wheels

FEMA floodplain map of Aspen Ridge/Hill Place and streets downstream

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Please attend meeting Thursday

Apologies to Pete Seeger: Where have all the fine coats gone? Long time paassing. Where have all the fine coats gone? Long time ago

To the Salvaaaation Arrramy
Senior residents of Fayetteville might have been able to listen to Pete Seeger's song online a few weeks ago
Listen live: Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago
but not likely again anytime soon.
No one knew who owned the coats left over from winter in the pool room; so the Senior Center staff allegedly donated them to the Salvation Army after putting up a warning note a few days earlier, according to some of the pool players. The guy who owned the only one hanging there on Friday saw people looking at his and said, "please don't take my coat."

Where have all the Internet phone cords gone? Into the director's office to be checked out and plugged in "at the director's discretion," according to a woman who asked the director about them.


Strife builds between seniors, center officials
Where has the only computer less than 10 years old gone? To be locked down to keep people from "looking at porn," according to a part-time staff member.
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The inability to get online was discovered by two women who were wanting to see this Web log online.
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One assumes that the staff members have time to check out and plug in computer cords whenever requested. They don't need to be out raising money or spinning their side of their recent bullying tactics that have resulted in the volunteer advisory council being told they meet only at the discretion of the director.
So far, the result of bringing their rudeness to the seniors to the attenton of higher officials and the media has resulted only in more intimidating tactics.
When will they ever learn? When will they every learn? Listen here:

Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago
Anybody been told who rented the center for a wedding or something of the sort this weekend?
The only reason for the director putting so much effort into moving furniture and tossing out things that had been kept and used in the center for years is the desire to make it desirable to young men who want the wonderful city-owned facility for a wedding.
The only excuse for the way things have gone lately is that the pressure on the director to raise money has created anxiety and stress that has made her main focus — the comfort and convenience of the senior users of the center — difficult to maintain.
She is caught in a difficult position. It appears to be the responsibility of the seniors — many of whom survived World War II and the Great Depression — to understand and forgive her impatience. She has had some recent tough times.
The people she has seemingly come to fear and distrust are some of the most loving and caring people she'll ever know.
Let's try to show her that.

Times reports on meeting at Senior Activity Center

Strife builds between seniors, center officials

Mike Norton and Jerry Mitchell address news media and people at senior center

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Seniors to meet with Jerry Mitchell of the Area Agency on Aging at 11 a.m. Wednesday May 7, 2008. Everyone welcome

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Computer missing two weeks from center. Fayetteville City Council visited Town Branch Neighborhood development sites at 4 p.m. April 5

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The mayor and members of the Fayetteville City Council are to gather at the failed Aspen Ridge town-house construction site near W. Sixth Street and S. Hill Avenue at 4:30 p.m. today (Monday, May 5, 2008 ) to view the 30-acre parcel from which nearly all the trees and topsoil have been removed. The rich, fertile, stormwater-absorbing, water-purifying soil has been either dredged out and hauled away or buried under tons of less-absorbent rocky soil.

Tuesday at 6 p.m., the council is to evaluate a plan that has been brought forward by Hank Broyles, who sold his share of the Aspen Ridge property to his partner in that venture, Hal Forsyth, soon after it was approved in 2005, but who bought the whole parcel after Forsyth's development ended with hundreds of low-income residents displaced but nothing built on the property.

Slimy, yellow silt-laden muddy water has overflowed from the failed Aspen Ridge site onto the north end of World Peace Wetland Prairie ever since that 30 acres' vegetation was removed and the soil replaced with non-absorbent soil. The Hill Place student apartment plan and the Summit Place plan must manage silt and stormwater properly or both WPWP and the Town Branch will be further damaged.

Broyles' new plan is to sell the property to
Place Properties, limited partnership, which develops and manages apartment complexes for college students in several states. The sale, apparently, is contingent on Broyles' getting the student-apartment plan approved by the council.

Please see
Summit Place, Hill Place maps and photos with first plans for Summit Place that were submitted to the Fayetteville planning department early this year.

Please see
Hill Place/Aspen Ridge plans, maps and photos with concept drawing from January 2008.

Town Branch neighbors are asking that the Summit Place plan be evaluated by the council before the council approves the Hill Place plan. Water from the eastern slope of Summit Place on Rochier Hill will increase erosion and further exacerbate the stormwater problems created by the Aspen Ridge land clearing and now the problem of the Hill Place project. Appian Design Center
Hill Place/Summit Place plan designers is planning both projects. Hank Broyles and John Nock reportedly own the Summit Place property.

The Summit Place project west of the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad is in Ward Four, while the Hill Place project is in Ward One.
As in the case of many adjacent projects, these are separate but the upstream work will have a bearing on the downstream project's success in protecting people further downstream on the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River from flooding as well as an effect on the quality of water entering Beaver Lake, the water supply for most of Northwest Arkansas.
For details, please call 479-444-6072.