Sunday, November 29, 2009

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2009
6:00 AM

I went to Starkville yesterday to watch Mississippi State play Ole Miss. I met Pat's brother in Tupelo and he went to the game with me. The weather was excellent and the crowd was very good.

At the game I met a man from Iuka. He graduated one year before I graduated. I have probably not seen him in forty years.

Mike (Pat's brother) asked me if it bothered me if he cheered for Ole Miss. I told him to cheer for whomever he pleased, I was glad that he was able to go to the game with me. He cheered for Ole Miss during the game. That did not bother me. I went to cheer for Mississippi State and enjoy the game, which I did.

When we got back to Tupelo after the game we ate dinner at Cracker Barrel. I enjoyed having someone to talk to and watch the game with.

OH-----BY THE WAY MISSISSIPPI STATE BEAT OLE MISS 41 TO 27. THEY WON THE 2009 EGG BOWL.


On the way home from Tupelo I listened to the LSU - Arkansas game. It was a very exciting game. I got home and was able to watch the last part of the game with Pat. Bad news is that Arkansas lost 33 to 30 in overtime.


I have enjoyed watching Mississippi State play football games this year. Just about all of the games were very competitive and MSU had a chance to win most of them, but in the end MSU only won five games. The attendance at MSU was excellent this year. They announced yesterday that the home attendance was up over previous years by a large amount.

I am already looking forward to next season.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2009
3:10 PM

I spent the morning cleaning up garage and picking up the leaves in the back yard. I have the leaves in one big pile. Tomorrow I will get them out of the yard. I also plan to pick up the leaves in the rest of the yard.

Pat and I went to Kelley's for Thanksgiving for lunch. The food was very good and there in no leftovers to eat for the next several days.

After lunch I took a nap and at the present time Pat is taking a nap. I have watched a little of the football game after lunch. It is kinda of a tradition. Eat turkey and watch football on Thanksgiving.

Monday, November 23, 2009

MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2009
5:45 PM

The city took delivery of a new fire truck this afternoon. We ordered this truck several months ago. I am glad that we have managed our funds and were able to purchase this new equipment for the men to use fighting fires in the city.

I went to the fire department this afternoon and go a look at the new truck. The men were excited to have this new equipment to aid them as they do their work.

The fire truck was build on a 2010 Kenworth truck.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2009
6:05 AM

Arkansas took care of Mississippi State yesterday in Little Rock. The final score was Arkansas 42 and Mississippi State 21.

I took a friend of mine to the game. (E.T. Daniels) We had a good time and enjoyed the game. I saw several people from Wynne at the game and I also ran in to a number of my former students from around the state that I taught during my teaching days. The weather was good and the trip to Little Rock is much easier than going to Starkville. I have enjoyed going to the Mississippi State games this year. It has been a good diversion from the business of the city to get away and watch some football games.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

NOVEMBER 21, 2009
6:15 AM

I am going to go to Little Rock this morning to attend the Mississippi State and Arkansas football game. I look forward to the game. The down side is that it is supposed to be raining. I am not looking forward to the rain, but I am glad that I will get to see my bulldogs play and not have to make a long trip.

I am taking an old friend of mine with me to the game. I have invited E. T. Daniels to go to the game with me. When I asked him yesterday, he was excited and said that he would love to go to the game with me. He asked me if I had and extra Mississippi State cap. I told him that I did, but since he is a razorback fan he should wear his Arkansas cap. We will be sitting with the fans from Mississippi State. I bought my tickets through Mississippi State, so we will be sitting in the section of seats that were made available for Mississippi State. I have attended every game between Mississippi State and Arkansas since Arkansas got in the SEC a number of years ago. It still seems strange to be in the stands in Arkansas and cheering for another team. I am a Mississippi State and an Arkansas fan, but for this game I am totally a Mississippi State fan.

On Tuesday of this week I attended a ribbon cutting and ground breaking ceremony in West Memphis. The ribbon cutting was for the new Workforce center and the ground breaking was for a new building that will work on developing fuel from a number of products. That work is a program that will involve five community colleges in east Arkansas. I attended these ceremonies because I am on the elected officials board of Workforce in eastern Arkansas.

On Thursday I traveled to North Little Rock to attend the Executive Committee meeting for the Arkansas Municipal League. We had a very productive meeting taking care of the business of the league. It was also good to visit with my friends from around the state.

Thursday night I attended the Crossroads Coalition banquet in Wynne. The program was very good and there was an excellent attendance. This group does very good work for the eastern Arkansas area.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2009
2:25 PM

I went to the Mississippi State and Alabama football game at Mississippi State last night. State played well for three quarters, but Alabama blew State out in the fourth quarter. The final score was 31 to 3.

The attendance at the game set a record for State. After the game it took me two hours to get out of the parking lot. I spent the night in Tupelo. I got to the hotel about 12:45 AM. I was glad that I did not have to drive all the way home.

This morning I took a little side trip and made a surprise visit to mothers in Iuka. She was surprised to see me and I was glad that I took the time to go visit with her. I stayed about one hour and then came home. I was tired and after I ate lunch I took a short nap. I feel much better now.

Mississippi State plays Arkansas next week. The game is in Little Rock and the kick off is about 11:30 AM. I look forward to going to the game and not have to drive so long.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2009
3:15 PM

I think that there is a movie---Two weddings and a funeral. Well today has been just opposite for me.

I have had two funeral and a wedding.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2009
10:00 AM

I am at the office working. I have to take care of some cemetery business. I am waiting on a call from the funeral home with the details of the service and the deceased.

We have had several beautiful days of weather in Wynne. The temperature has been in the middle seventies.

The Wynne City Council met last night for their regular meeting. The following actions were taken:


1. Granted a request to a citizen to place a manufactured home in a R2 zone.

IT IS NOW 3:00 PM


I spent several hours working on the cemetery request. I even had to call Theda to to office to help me deal with the request. I had to make several calls to Little Rock and several to West Memphis, but I was able to get the request taken care of and then I marked the grave for the service to be held tomorrow. We now have two services at the cemetery tomorrow and we had one today.

CONTINUING ACTIONS OF THE CITY COUNCIL

2. The council passed a resolution allowing me to apply for a grant. The grant that I am applying for is for tables and benches for the mini parks and for a stage to be built at the Wynne Sports Complex. The grant request is for $80,000,00.

3. I presented my proposed budgets for the city for 2010. The major changes in the 2010 budgets are the following;

A 3% salary increase for city employees

An increase of $25,000.00 in the police budget to purchase cars. We have totaled three cars this year. I plan to purchase three new cars and pay for them over the next three years.

Added $15,000.00 to the animal control budget. This money will go directly to the Wynne Friends of Animals to help them operate the shelter.

Added $100,000.00 to the parks and recreation budget to purchase new playground equipment for the city parks.

Added $30,000.00 to the parks and recreation budget to help this department to help them add some help and purchase supplies for the parks.

Added $6,000.00 to the parks and recreation budget to mow all of the mini parks in the city. I plan to contract this service to a lawn care service and allow the parks and recreation staff to spend all of their time on the sports complex.

Added money to the street department for the payment of street lights in the city.

Added $180,000.00 to the street department budget to install a new bridge on Martin Luther King Street.

The above are the major changes to the budget compared with the 2009 budgets.


4. Approved regulations for the placement of traffic control devices throughout the city.

5. Agreed to apply for membership with HGAC Buy. This will allow the city to purchase equipment at a reduced cost to the city. (The membership is free)

6. I appointed a committee of city council members to study the relationship of the city and the Wynne Water Utilities Commission. Over the years there has been some who have suggested that the commission should be abolished and the water company should be operated as a city department. This committee will study this question and and make a recommendation to the full city council for possible action.

7. Approved a contract with Cross County Veterinarian Clinic that allow them to sell city dog tags for the city.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2009
9:00 AM

I had two very successful meetings yesterday. I met with the budget committee yesterday morning and I met with the committee studying the placement of stop signs in the city.

I went over every line of every budget with the budget committee. There were a few questions and comments about some of the items. Overall they seemed pleased with my proposed budgets and the revenue projections. I asked them to study the budget and if they have any questions contact me for information. I will present the budget to the full council next Tuesday at the November meeting. I will ask them to study the budget and ask me or the budget committee questions. The budget committee will meet again before the December meeting and make a recommendation to the full council for action at the December meeting.

The stop sign committee met last evening and developed rules for the placement of stop signs in the city. Their recommendation will be presented to the full council for action at the November meeting.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2009
4:45 PM

NEWS FLASH----------- IT HAS NOT RAINED IN WYNNE FOR TWO DAYS--------TWO DAYS OF SUNSHINE

Pat and I went to Jonesboro last night. We ate and Pat did a little shopping. This is an annual trip for us. We do this on Halloween night to not be at home for the trick or treat children. We started doing this a few years ago. We feel like that we were good citizens for a number of years and stayed home and passed out candy. Several of those years we had over 400 children visit our home.

I have two important meeting tomorrow. I will meet with the budget committee in the morning at 10:00 AM and present my proposed budget. The committee and I will discuss the various budgets and they will made a recommendation on the budget to the full city council at the November meeting. The council will have a month to study the budgets and ask questions. They will vote on the budgets in the December council meeting.

Tomorrow afternoon I will meet with the committee looking at the placement of stop signs in the city. I expect them to make a recommendation to the full council at the November meeting. I plan to ask them to adopt the regulations and then the street department will have in place the rules the council chooses. This will save some confusion about the placement of stop signs in the city.

Pat, Oscar, and I made a trip to VCSP this afternoon. Oscar enjoyed walking in the woods and Pat made about one hundred pictures. The fall foliage was beautiful.

Mississippi State had an away game last night, which they won. I listened to the final half on our way back from Jonesboro last night. State has an open date next week. They then play Alabama and in two weeks play Arkansas in Little and the final home game is against Ole Miss in Starkville .