SUNDAY APRIL 24, 2011
5:10 PM

Pat and I have just returned from a weekend trip to Iuka.  I did yard work and Pat continued to work inside the house.  We visited mother several times over the weekend.  She is not doing well.  Today she to be upset.  We could not determine why she appeared to be upset.  That is not normal for mother.  She is always reserved.

Pat , my aunt and  I had supper with one of my brothers and his family.  We had a good meal and got to visit with  the family.  They had a sick goat and on our way home my brother called and said that the goat did not make it.  The goat was born on Christmas day and died on Easter.

Pat and I joined my other brother and his family and attended church with our aunt.  We all had a very good time and it was good to visit for a few minutes with my brother and his family.

Pat and I have decided to move to Iuka.  Our home in Wynne is now for sale.  If the home sells, Pat will move to Iuka as soon as we can move.  If it does not sell, we will move sometime after July 15th.  That is my last day as mayor.

That is a major decision and will be life changing.  Since mother's health has changed, I have assumed all of the bills for the home in Iuka.  We can not afford to keep up two homes.

I look forward to serving out the rest of my time as mayor.  I have enjoyed serving as mayor, but it is time for me to move on and let someone else serve as mayor.

MONDAY APRIL 18, 2011
1:05 PM

The city had the exit conference for the 2010 audit this morning.  The conference went well.  There were a few problems that we will have to address.  In fact we have already corrected the most of the items.  There are a few that will take council action.  I see no problem with the council approving the necessary changes.   We will probably have to purchase a new software system to comply with one of the necessary changes.

SUNDAY APRIL 17, 2011
8:00 AM

I took it easy yesterday.  I felt much better than I did on Friday.  Pat and I had our picture made for the new church directory yesterday morning.  I did take a few minutes and mow the front yard.  It was too cold for me to mow the back yard and I did not feel like being out in the cold. 

Yesterday afternoon I performed a wedding for some friends of mine. The wedding was held outside at the home of the groom.  The wedding was well attended and was a very impressive function.   The wedding was held at 4:00 pm and by that time the weather was much better.  Over the years I have performed a number of weddings.  I wish I had kept a record of the weddings that I have performed.

Amy had a very good week of work.  She worked yesterday in Memphis and in Forrest City.  She worked more this past week than she has in several weeks.  I wish she could find a permanent job.

SATURDAY APRIL 16, 2011
6:30 AM

I had an upset stomach yesterday.  I went to the office for a few minutes yesterday morning.  I had an appointment that I needed to keep.  After the appointment I returned home and went to bed.  I had another appointment yesterday afternoon.  I got up and went to the city hall.  When I arrived Theda told me that the people I was to have a meeting with had called and canceled the appointment.  That made another appointment in a few days.

Late yesterday I went to a meeting for a wedding I will perform this afternoon.  The meeting went well.  The wedding will be outside.  It is going to be cool this afternoon, but there is not any rain predicted.  I hope it all goes well.

I am feeling much better this morning.

THURSDAY APRIL 14, 2011
1:50 PM

I have just returned from Jonesboro.  I attended a board meeting of the EAPDD.  The full board meet today and voted on our recommendation for the new executive director.  The vote was unanimous.  The new director is Melissa Rivers.  I think that Melissa will do a good job in the job.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, 2011 2:50 PM Jerry and I went to Jonesboro this morning. We stopped on the way and visited with the low bidder for our asphalt work this summer. We then went to an equipment dealer in Jonesboro and purchased a saw to cut concrete and asphalt. The street department will use this saw when making patches on the streets. The last two days have been very busy at city hall. I had to deal with a number of stressful and difficult problems. It was good to get out of the city for a period of time this morning.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, AM

The city council met last night and took the following actions:

1. Heard a proposal from a citizen to have a clean up period in the city. There will be prizes for the groups who participate in the clean up.

2. Accepted a bid for asphalt to overlay streets this summer. We plan to spend $200,000.00 on this project this summer.

3. Approved a request to destroy old city records.

4. Passed an ordinance to amend the 2010 city budgets.

5. Passed a resolution to have an election to take a piece of property out of the city limits.

GUEST WRITER & A SURPRISE

I put a new counter on your site. Mine had stopped working, too. Maybe they reach a limit...

WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, 2011 9:40 PM I am back in Wynne. I have enjoyed my time away from the duties as mayor. I went to Iuka. I visited with relatives and spent most of my time working in the yard of the home I own there. It was good to be outside with no problems to deal with and enjoy making my property look better. I will be back in the office tomorrow. There are several meetings that I must attend over the next few days. The city council will meet next Tuesday night. I will make a report about the meeting on this blog next week.