WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29, 2010
7:30 PM

I spent most of the morning in Birdeye. I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new veterans cemetery. The event was very well attended by local citizens. The main speaker was the governor of Arkansas.

Later I went to a lunch at the home of Martin Smith. He was involved in the design of the cemetery. The lunch was by invitation only.

I then attended a meeting with several people about Town Creek. There is still hope that this project will be funded and built. I have been working on this project during my entire term a mayor.

Our phone system at the city has not been repaired and upgraded yet. This process started in June. There was a technician from Little Rock who spent the day in Wynne working on the system. He left about four this afternoon and told us that the system should be fully operational tomorrow. We have heard this before from other phone company employees.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2010
6:30 PM

I went to Mississippi State on Saturday and attended the football game with Georgia. The game was very good and there was an excellent crowd. Mississippi State won the game 24 to 12.

After the game I went to Mothers house in Iuka. We had a good visit this morning and I also visited with my brother David and my Aunt Ginny. On the way home I stopped in Alcorn county and looked at the land the family owns. The land has some beans growing on it and there is also some timber on the property.

The weather has cooled down quite a bit. So far I like the cooler weather. The temperature is supposed to me much cooler for the next several days.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
9:30 PM

The city council held a special meeting tonight. The council voted to accept the settlement reached at the mediation hearing in federal court reached on Tuesday.

They also voted to accept a bid for the new walking trail at the sports complex. We were a little short of grant money to complete the project. The council voted to make up the difference and have the project completed this year.

I also presented master plan developed for the city parks by Martin Smith. The plan covers five years in detail and goals for the fifteen. The city earlier in the year employed Martin to develop this plan. The plan as presented is a draft copy. The city council will study the plans and then they will make changes to reflect the goals of the city. Once the final copy is completed the city will use this plan as we apply for grants to make improvements in the city.

I was very busy all day today. I did take a small break this afternoon and performed a wedding.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2010
6:35 PM

I spent the entire day in Little Rock yesterday. The city was involved in a lawsuit. The lawsuit has been going on for about two years. The city council and I went to a settlement conference at the federal courthouse in Little Rock yesterday. The conference was successful. The city and the other three parties agreed on a settlement. This resolution is much better and cheaper than going to a trial. I think all parties felt good about the settlement reached yesterday.

I was very busy today taking care of city business. I did not have any major decisions, but I was busy all day.

In June of this year the city purchased new phones for the city hall complex. We also purchased voice mail and caller ID for the phones. As of today we have no voicemail, no caller ID. We did get the new phones about six weeks after the order was placed. We purchased these items from AT&T. They have been working to get our other services operable but as of today they have not been successful.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2010
8:15 AM

The Wynne City Council met last night and took the following actions:

1. Heard a report from our mosquito contractor

2. Passed a resolution in support of two amendments to the Arkansas constitution

3. Passed an ordinance that abandoned a platted street in the city

4. Approved the appointment of Julius Hill to the housing authority board

5. Placed a cleanup lien on a piece of property on Airpark

6. Approved the appointment of Vance Lawson to the Wynne Water Utilities Commission

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
5:10 PM

I met a young man with an unusual job at the Mississippi State game on Thursday night. He work for the company that provides the sky cam for athletic events. His company has a contract with ESPN to provide the cameras for athletic events. He said that his job requires constant travel. He was at Mississippi State on Thursday night and early the next morning he was leaving to go to the northeast for his next job. He said that he enjoyed his job, but there was a lot of travel. He said that during the football season that he would be on the road for three straight months.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2010
10:00 PM

I went to the Mississippi State/Auburn football game at Mississippi State last night. I left Wynne about noon. The game was a very good game. State lost 17 to 14. There was a large crowd at the game. After the game I went to Iuka to mothers. I got to Iuka about 1:30 AM. I got up early this morning and took care of some business in Iuka. I also visited with mother for a while and visited David. I talked to Aunt Ginny but I did not see her. I got to Wynne this afternoon about three thirty.

The city council meets on Tuesday night. We have several items of business to take care of at the meeting. I will report here on the blog next week.

I have been called for jury duty for circuit court next week. I will have to call on Sunday night to see if I have to report on Monday. The notice said that I may have to serve for ten days. I have only been called for jury duty one other time. That time I never actually served on a jury, but I had to go to the court for several days and go through the selection process.

I do not think that I will have to do very much yard work tomorrow. I will probably watch some football games on TV. There are several good games tomorrow.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2010
12:57 PM

I went to the Mississippi State football game on Saturday. Mississippi State played the University of Memphis. State won the game 49 to 7. There was a huge crowd. There were over 56, 000. I enjoyed the game and I got to renew my friendship with the fans who have the seats next to mine.

After the game I went to spend the night with mother. I got to Iuka and in bed about 1:30 AM. We had a good visit Sunday morning. I also talked to David and my aunt while I was in Iuka. Everybody was doing fine.

This morning I did some yard work and spent some time working on my old truck. I plan to take it easy the rest of the day.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
9:20 PM

This has been a busy week for me at work. I am looking forward to a three day weekend. There were not any major decisions to be made this week, but I have been very busy taking care of mostly routine business.

I attended the Wynne High School football game tonight. I left after the half time was complete. I enjoyed watching the high school team compete. There was a very good crowd at the game. I enjoyed seeing a number of old friends from school and former students. The Wynne team played a very good first half. In fact they were leading. At the present time in the fourth quarter Wynne is still leading. Go Jackets...............

I have a busy day tomorrow. I will be going to Mississippi State for their game with the University of Memphis. After the game tomorrow night I will go to Mothers in Iuka and spend the night. I will visit with her and other family in Iuka and return to Wynne Sunday afternoon.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
7:08 PM

I sent a good deal of time today dealing with the cemetery. I had some letters made and put on the new garbage cans at the cemetery. The cans look very good and the letters add a lot to the cans.

I had a wedding yesterday afternoon at K Tops in Colt. The couple work there and and met while working so they wanted to get married at the plant. This was my first wedding ceremony at a manufacturing plant.

I had another wedding this morning in my office. I think that one of the attraction to me to perform weddings is my fee. (I do not charge a fee) Most of the couples ask my fee and they usually are happy that I do not charge.

I made two residents of Wynne happy today. They each had a problem and contacted me. I was able to solve their problems and they were both very grateful. Situations like this is one of the good things about being mayor. There are some problems that I can be of no help and sometimes the citizens are not happy with me.

The solid waste board meets tomorrow and we have a couple of interesting items to take action on. There will be some unhappy members when we reach a decision, regardless of the decision.