WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2010
7:45 PM

I have not been very busy this week. I have been dealing mostly with routine items relating to city government.

Today we had to take one of our backhoes to Memphis for repair work. Our employees have been working on it for a few days, but could not seem to get the problem solved. We carried it to the dealer we bought it. They called about 4:00 PM and said that they had it repaired.

We took delivery of our new track hoe last week. We did not buy a new mop out bucket. We decided to keep the bucket from our old machine. We had to purchase some parts and have them attached to our old bucket. This option saved us several dollars. Our employees did not feel comfortable completing this task. We took the bucket and track hoe to a local welder to have this work completed. He should have it completed tomorrow.

The city has been awarded a grant to purchase a new wood chipper. We will take bids and should take delivery of the new chipper some time next month. We decided to not trade our old chipper and sell it once we take delivery of our new chipper. Our old chipper has a little repair work completed before we sell the machine. The dealer in Searcy picked up our old machine and will make the necessary repairs.

Yesterday the local vet clinic called and informed me that they will no longer put down animals for the city. I thanked them for their service to the city over the years.

This afternoon the Wynne Friends of Animals called and told me that they had picked up a dog that had been in a fight and needed to be put down. They had carried the animal to the local clinic and were told that they no longer performed that service for the city. (This is my fault because I forgot to call the shelter and inform them of this new policy) We discussed this situation and we agreed that the animal would be taken to Forrest City to a vet and be put down. The dog had to be put down because it would not have been able to make it and this was the only solution to properly take care of this injured dog.

I attended the meeting of the Community Relations Board for the Federal Prison today. I have been a member of this board since I became mayor. We had a very informative meeting and as always had an excellent meal provided by the staff. It was also good to visit with other members of the board before the meeting and while eating lunch.

This week on of my fellow mayors son was murdered. He was only 30 years old. I read in today's paper that an arrest had been made in the murder. The suspect is only 23 years old. This mayor and I both have been mayor for 11 plus years and we both have been very active in the Arkansas Municipal League activities. We both now serve on the Executive Committee and every time we meet we are seated next to each other. It is hard to think of dealing with the loss of a child.

I talked with Amy and Pat today. Pat had Amy's Internet repaired today. I think that she felt lost without access to the Internet. Amy had unusual job today. She said that she did fine and the employer was pleased with her work.

Amy should hear soon about going to work full time. She thought that she would know last week, but the weather prevented some of the management from traveling and a decision was not able to be made. I hope that she is able to work full time very soon.