Greetings

The wife and I decided to take a quick trip to Texas. Yes, I am in a hotel room with a nice brunette woman.
We should be back in a day or two and ill get back to updating the site an all.
There is city commission next week. Work session is Monday and the regular meeting is Tuesday.
I should have some pictures soon.
We drove through the snow Monday night. Snowing hard in Dallas, was something they dont see too often here.
Now we are in San Antonio. Ill try to get some more pictures posted tomorrow.
We saw the Alamo and the river walk today.
not sure whats up tomorrow.
Ill let you know if anything develops down here.

This is usually about the deadest week of the year in AC. Anything interesting going on?
What do you think were the top stories of the year for AC?

Tuesday already

Amazing that its Tuesday already.
Cop notes are posted on the site.
Ive got to go out of town today, for a previously planned visit, should be back tomorrow.
Hope everyone is having a nice holiday.

Outrageous snow

We went to see some friends near Winfield. The now blowing in the daylight was interesting, but after dark it was treacherous.
You could only see a few feet, so we had to go real slow. The now was blowing so hard you could hardly see. Then there were drifts now and then and they would come up suddenly because you could not see.
I saw some cars getting stuck.
Im not sure which was worse. Driving on a backroad and not being able to see much at all, but not having to worry about traffic, or being on 77, and being able to see a little better but having to deal with traffic.
Either way, it was blizzard like conditions even though there was not all that much snow.
Should clear up Christmas Day. Dont go out before then if you can avoid it.

Christmas eve services

Here are the Christmas Eve. services for Arkansas City. Im sure there are more than these, but these are the ones I know of.  Might be fun to go to one that you have never been to before. :)


First Presbyterian, 7 p.m.
First Baptist, 6 pm.
First Southern Baptist 6 p.m.
Calvary Chapel, 6 p.m.
Mount Zion, 6 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 7 p.m.
Central Christian Church, 6 p.m.

Milestone

Last night this blog had its 100,000 th page view. That is a little different than individual visits. I think its the number of posts that have been clicked on. We have had about 30,000 individual visits to this blog since it started back in May.
The site does not have as many visitors, but it is growing. The blog is slowly shrinking and the site is slowly growing. I think that is one way readers can make their preference known.
Anyways, I do appreciate yall reading. It is kinda cool to reach a milestone like that.
So tell your friends about the site and the blog,
Thank you for your support.

Breaking stories

City Commissioner Mell Kuhn is in the ICU at the hospital in Arkansas City. He had sugery.
He is expected to make a full recovery.

In other breaking city news, the purchase of a new ambulance has been put on hold. Commissioner Dotty Smith said she wants to do some more research and see if the old one can be repaired.
More on both stories on the web site.
www.arkcityrevived.com

Christmas story

The nativity scene is real popular this time of year. I like seeing all the variations. They are to some extent, based on the play that tells the Christmas story.
Its a great story. But the author has to take certain liberties with history and the bliblical account..
The classic story is interesting, but what may have actually happened is an interesting story too.
This is a more academic approach to the story, taking the biblical accounts into consideration, along with what is known about first-century life around Israel.
Anyways, here is the story. I wrote it several years ago for a publication, and it was in two parts, which is why it says "last week" a couple times. 
.
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cop notes

Cop notes have been posted for awhile. I thought I had posted about that already this morning. Strange things happen on the computer at times.
Christmas is just a few days away, so Ill probably be doing lots of holiday type things. (I dont mind using "Christmas" and "Holidays" interchangeably. I am not being politically correct. :) )

winter solstice

Today is winter solstice
shortest "day" of the year.
big among pagans. (pagan being a modern day religion based on an ancient religion, not meant to be derogatory.)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091221-winter-solstice-2009-first-day-winter-shortest-day-year.html

morning, cop notes and amazing cleaning

The morning is slipping away on me.
Cop reports are posted, and I now have Winfield and County Sheriff notes as well. So you can get all your cop notes here, and get them earlier than you might other places.
Ok, enough shameless self promotion.
Well the wife is home, on break from school, and is in a cleaning frenzy of mythical proportions. And I cant help but get caught up in that a bit.
She had me washing the back of the stove. I didn't even know that was legal in most states. Then we had to move the refrigerator out so she could sweep under it, or where it had been. Ok, ill admit there was some dust under there, and some other unidentifiable small objects, but ... under the refrigerator????
Then we had to empty out the cabinets and she had me cleaning off containers and pots and pans that were in there. These are items that are in the back and have not been used in years. But we got them out, cleaned them off, and put them back in the nice clean shelves and cabinets.
Oh well, the place is almost clean enough.
It has to be. Our son is coming home from Holland for Christmas. He is in school there working on his doctorate in computer engineering. He is bringing his girlfriend with him - so this might be serious.
I may move the refrigerator out while she is here so she can see that it has been swept. Well for the effort it took, someone should see it don't you think?

Link to another blog

Here is a blogpost about Tiger Woods. I liked this guy's writing. Be warned though, the language is pretty rough. If you don't like seeing lots of "4-letter" words, don't click on it.
Just thought id throw that disclaimer in there.
There are other posts of his that are also pretty good.
http://deadspin.com/5416948/chaos-in-tigerland-a-deadspin-investigation-into-the-sexual-habits-of-pro-athletes?skyline=true&s=i

Cop notes and more commentary coming soon.
.

Saturday,

Christmas is just less than a week away.
I have a couple pages that might help with shopping. You cant always find what you want here, and it is a hassle to go to Wichita.
It isnt too late to shop via the internet.
Here is a page that is loaded with Christmas shopping ideas and places.
http://arkcityrevived.com/christmas-shopping.html

And here is the new classified ad page.
Also, you may advertise your stuff for sale for free here.
http://www.arkcityrevived.com/classifieds/New-CLASSIFIED-Shoppint.html


Also I just got Dean Hall's latest column, Thinking like a therapist. Ill have that posted on the site soon.
While im on the electronic subject. I recently found a site where you can convert files. It is www.zamzar.com You can convert your files right there on their site, of course they want you get the "pro" version, but the free version seems to work fine.

Friday morning

Ill try to get the cop notes posted a little later. Do you all like seeing the winfield and the county cop notes as well?
hopefully that will continue.
I have this idea of maybe pulling together a concert in late February. Our main band Remedy Drive, is looking for gigs in February. I guess the economy has had an impact on them to some extent as well.
But they are still an up and coming band, making noise on the national level.
Hope to reach a decision on that by the first of the year,
If anyone wants to get involved, let me know. I ll need people to help with fund raising, promotion and general set up.
But it will be indoors, so there will not be nearly as many logistical issues.
Also, I am thinking of charging admission. Be interesting to see what people might think of that. There is the idea that if it is free, it can't be that good.
Our free concerts had great music though.
Let me know what you think.

More politics, more parties

Cop notes are posted, as well as cop notes from Winfield and the County Sheriff.
I was thinking some more about political parties and the need for more choices.
The national media is a major cause of the idea that only two parties can be successful. It's just a con job, and of course the main two parties go along for the ride. Its in their best interest to have the continual war going on between right and left. That battle distracts us from the fact that nothing much is being accomplished.
The health care con - er debate - is a great example. Lofty ideas, ferociously opposed by the other side. Charges and counter charges and finally we have something that will likely pass. The only beneficiaries will be the insurance companies and the drug companies - which is what they were trying to reign in at the start. Just another day of politics as usual.

I did a bit of research.
Her is a link to a wikipedia article that has some history of political parties to put it in perspective. We have not always had a two party system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_the_United_States

Here is a link to a guide to the parties that currently exist.

http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm

And another link about the parties

http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/January/20070109140913HMnietsua0.1988794.html

New stuff posted

Greetings all
Late night posting. Kansas coach Mark Mangino is getting $3 million as his severance package. And he got fired. What a deal eh.
Anyways, part of the deal is that the material Kansas found out about him will not be made public. Some of it is even to be destroyed. Only a court order can make it public.
He was accused of being abusive toward players. Times have changed indeed. Used to be coaches were supposed to yell.

Another NEW FEATURES is cop reports from Winfield and from the County Sheriff, thanks to our friends over at Newscow. I hope this will be a regular feature.
Been fighting with the computer most of the day. I think it needs an exorcist.
Or maybe a sledge hammer.

More Christmas shopping

There is still time to do some online shopping for Christmas. Below are a couple links.
Also here is a link to my Christmas shopping page --
http://arkcityrevived.com/christmas-shopping.html

Create Your Own Custom Box of 64 Crayola Crayons Exclusively at Crayolastore.com

Senate healthcare bill advances with rejection of imported drugs -- latimes.com

Senate healthcare bill advances with rejection of imported drugs -- latimes.com

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City Commission gives nod to ambulance

 City commissioners gave tentative approval to ordering a new ambulance, at their regular meeting Tuesday night.

The ambulance, replacing a 13-year-old model  had been budgeted already for the 2010 budget to come out of the equipment reserve fund.

Fire Chief Randy Leach suggested ordering it now because he believes the chassis they want may not be available next year. Because of tougher emissions standards, Leach said dealers had told him Ford would not be making the chassis available for ambulances next year, and so only those that are currently produced will be available.

Ordering now would save the city a substantial amount, Leach said. The city had budgeted $180,000 for the ambulance but by ordering now they could get what they want for $153,000.

Some commissioners questioned whether the chassis was really going to be discontinued, and wanted to wait and find out how many would be available after the end of the year.

No money would be spent until 2010 anyway, and would not affect the current year’s budget, City manager Steve Archer said.

The ambulance being replaced has transmission trouble and is not taken out of town unless absolutely necessary, Leach said. The cost of replacing the transmission would be more than the value of the ambulance, he added.

Leach said if the chassis they want is not available, they would have to go with a gasoline powered ambulance, or with an International which would also cost more.

Leach said he would “just trying to get ahead of the situation,” by wanting to order the ambulance this year. He said his vendors have told him a lot of cities are doing the same thing, and they could possibly run out of the chassis they want to get.

Commissioner Jean Snell originally questioned whether the chassis would still be available, but later said there was nothing to be gained by waiting until the next meeting.

“I just want to be sure the information we have is accurate,” he said.

Commissioners approved ordering the ambulance with the stipulation that Archer check and see exactly how many of the chassis are still available. If it looks like there will be plenty available after the first of the year, they may wait until then to place the order.

See the rest of the commission story here

http://arkcityrevived.com/city.html

 

Tuesday morning

Good morning.
Cop notes are posted. I have also updated the site a bit. Someone sent me a really cool video, so I posted that.
Tonight is city commission. Ive been pretty busy last few days, but I will have a more detailed story tonight from the meeting.
Also I updated the Christmas shopping page. Ill continue to add a few to that every day for a few more days. There is still time to order stuff for Christmas. Online shopping is good.
There has been some interest in the Christmas shopping page, but not all that much on the previous shopping pages I had going, so I would appreciate any feedback on that. I can get connected to a lot more companies and post their ads - and ill get a small commission - but I want to know if there is interest.
What about Christmas shopping in general?
Is the economy making you spend less? Are you spending less?






I got some comments yesterday after I trashed the casinos a bit. I just thought it would be good to be a little opinionated, and it did stir up interest. I also gave an opinion on the new Kansas football coach - which is not based in fact at all but just on a hunch.
The blog is for opinion, so I may start offering even more opinions.
The site is for news. Not as much opinion there.

Monday morning, cop reports, casinos

Good morning
Cop notes are posted.
Something struck me Saturday.I was at a convenience store and the girl in front of me was talking to her friend about her trip to the casino. She was all excited about all the fun she had. Finally came down to it she only lost two dollars and felt that was a great trip to the casino.
I just dont get gambling I guess. I have my own vices but that isnt one of them.
The odds are so against winning there. At least with a horse or dog track, there is some skill involved and somewhat of a chance of winning. I have done OK at the dog track at times, but not enough to make me really want to go a lot.
Im not so sure that the casinos are a good thing. Has there been any benefit to Kay County or Cowley County?
The narrow road by them is also more dangerous than it used to be because of the additional traffic.
The local relief agencies are also more burdened than they were before the casinos opened.
With the economy, you would think that people would not gamble as much, but any time I go down past that area, the parking lots are still full.
I remember a couple years ago, I had to go out of town because of a family emergency on Christmas day. There on Christmas morning, there were a lot of people at the casinos.
I Just thought that was sad.
Dont mean to judge people here, but ... what good are the casinos?
But on the other hand. Is there some way we could take advantage of the traffic, Get some of that money circulating in Arkansas City before its lost south of the border.?

KU names Gill football coach

The U of Kansas has issued a press release saying that Turner Gill will be the new football coach. Press conference to be held tomorrow to make the announcement official.
The full release is on the web site. www.arkcityrevived.com

Kansas said to be naming Gill FB coach

Yahoo sports is reporting that Turner Gill will be named the new football coach at KU.
Gill had a losing record at Buffalo for crying out loud. Buffalo has been a team that makes the list of the worst 10 teams in the nation most seasons.
Gill may be a great coach, I dont know. But, a losing record in the mid-armerican conference doesn't seem to translate to Big-12 football. Maybe the Jayhawks are going to just be a basketball school.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news;_ylt=Ai30CuspGi3z4nYtH9M_3b05nYcB?slug=jn-gill121209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Racially insensitive shopping ?

New York Times published a christmas shopping guide for "people of color."
Its creating a tempest in a  teacup in some media circles, but, it does seem rather racist to me. It is stereotyping people. Why would you get a different kind of gift for a "person of color" than for ... ummmmm .... someone else?
Here is a link to the story.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1028

Footnote, song by DC-Talk, "We are all colored people."
Its just that we all have different levels of melanin in our skin. Still, i thought it was insensitive and or offensive.
What do you think?

Here is a Christmas shopping page that I have assembled. It is not aimed at any race of people.
http://arkcityrevived.com/christmas-shopping.html

Meteor shower this weekend

The best meteor shower of the year is just getting underway – The Geminids.  The Geminids first appeared shortly before the Civil War and have grown in intensity ever since.  The debris we see shooting across the sky comes from a strange object called 3200 Phaethon.  At one time 3200 Phaethon was thought to be an asteroid, but now it is believed to be the rocky core of an extinct comet that was trapped by Jupiter’s gravity and has made so many trips around the sun that it has no material left to make a comet tail.

This year offers very good observing conditions because we are nearing a new moon, which means even the faintest meteors will be visible.  The constellation Gemini where the meteors originate will rises in the East around 9:00pm.  This means the meteors will be visible all night long.  This year’s peak is forecast to occur at 11:10p.m. CDT on Sunday evening.  Meteor forecasts call for rates as high as 100 per hour!!  The rates will vary throughout the course of the evening.  No special equipment is needed  - simply dress warm, find a dark sky and look up.

If you are out earlier in the evening, you will notice a bright star in the southwestern sky.  This is the planet Jupiter.  Look at it through a small telescope or binoculars and you will easily see it’s four largest moons in orbit around the planet.

Then turn and look at the southeastern sky and you will see a very bright star named Sirius or the Dog Star.  It is called the Dog Star because it is located in the constellation Canis Major or the big dog.  This star is prominent in our winter sky but during summer it is high in the sky during the day.  This is why the days of late summer are called the “dog days of summer.”

Happy Skies!!

Todd Shepherd

Instructor/Chair, Social Science Department

City Commission update

City commissioners want to see a little more action from the chamber of commerce. They told director Janet Seibert, at the worksession Thursday, that they wanted to see a plan of action with measurable items on it.
She was at the meeting representing the chamber as the chamber seeks a renewal of a three-year agreement. That agreement calls for the city to give $60,000 to the chamber to help in its efforts to promote the downtown.
Commissioner Patrick McDonald said he has been "discouraged" that there has not been anything going on downtown this Christmas season as a general promotion.
He said there needs to be some benchmarks so that progress can be more clearly seen.
Commissioner Jean Snell echoed those sentiments. He said he was not ready to pull the plug on the chamber, but he said he would like to see more definite things on the chamber's list.
He questioned the importance of trips to Topeka to lobby Legislators, or even to testify to try to keep an agency from being shut down.
Commissioner Mell Kuhn suggested that perhaps there were too many goals.
Seibert said she would give the commissioners more defined goals.

Festival of Treees

Festival of trees is going on today and tomorrow from noon until 6 or so at the Wright Room at Cowley College.
It is a Habitat for Humanity event. There are more than 30 trees decorated by various clubs and organizations - and a few individuals.
There will be musical performers.
Trees will be auctioned off Saturday in a silent auction.
$5 for adult, $3 for senior, $2 student , $10 for a family of up to six.

Kansas Christmas shopping

Kansas Christmas shopping

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breaking news

Here is a breaking news story that I copied and pasted from Newscow.
(I think im going to start wearing that as a badge of honor.)
There was an Ark City man charged with soliciting children over the internet a week or so ago. Those charges came mostly from Wichita. Cowley County charges have now been added.
You can read the story at Newscow, or on my site.
By Shane Farley
WWW.Newscow.net

Thomas L. Pennycuff – a man already charged in Sedgwick County with soliciting sex from young teen girls on the Internet – was arrested Wednesday on nine Cowley County charges.
Pennycuff, 25, of Ark City, was booked into the county jail just after 7:40 p.m. His bond is set at $100,000 and he remained incarcerated Thursday morning, according to a jail spokesperson.
He faces five counts of electronic solicitation of a child, two counts of attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child, one count of attempted criminal sodomy and a count of furnishing acohol to a minor for ilicit purposes.
Two of the five solicitation charges are level 1 felonies, making them the most severe charges that Pennycuff faces, county attorney Chris Smith said.

Christmas shopping

I put up a last minute christmas shopping page.
Some places to find stuff that you might not find here, or is hard to find.
http://www.arkcityrevived.com/christmas-shopping.html

City Commission

City commission worksession is Thursday at 5:30, at city hall. All meetings are open to the public.
As Ive said before, the workesssions are usually more interesting than the regular meetings. The worksession is where issues are talked about, and sometimes things are talked about that never get to a meeting.
Here is what is on the agenda:
1. Resolution adopting beautification advisory board policy on plaque donations on city property.
2. Changing the date or time of the next worksession, which would fall on Dec. 31.
3. Resolution renewing cereal malt beverage (beer) licenses.
4. Consider renewing the agreement with Reaching Out Consulting Services.
5. Review bids and consider a contract for replacing roofs on Senior Center and waste water building.
6. Consider using equipment reserve fund to purchase a new ambulance.
7. Renewal of three year chamber partnership contract for helping the chamber in its efforts to improve the downtown.
8. Loan agreement between the city and KDHE for construction of a redundant water line to the Bryant standpipe and water mains to Patterson park Subdivision.
9. Mayors appointments.

Wednesday morning

Good morning.
Cop notes are posted, as well as a couple cop stories on the web site.
Also "stole" a story from newscow, about the new cowley first director, which is also on the site.
I have the latest hunting column, as well as the latest food column, and they are related again. Ill have those posted later in the morning.
Lots of Christmas type stuff going on now. Hope everyone is getting out and enjoying some of it. When its cold I tend to not want to get out, but still do sometimes.
The festival of trees is this weekend at the wright room at Cowley.
My wife is coordinating the event.
She is making sure every detail is worked out, and even her details have details.
We really dont work together on projects - but we do help each other out. But as far as working on the same project, we would make each other crazy if we did.
More to come on the tree festival.

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Big news today on health care

Here is a piece of breaking national news.
Senators have dropped public option from health care reform in order to get it passed.
Seems like it keeps getting watered down.
anyways
here is the link

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_health_care_overhaul;_ylt=AqfNU1XCnZ9wenuq6.NnIvKtOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTNjbXFwOXU2BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMjA5L3VzX2hlYWx0aF9jYXJlX292ZXJoYXVsBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA2Fwc291cmNlc2RlbQ--

Politics spending

Obama said this ... "spend our way out of this recession"
which is what republicans have been accusing him of all along.
Its an interesting debate ..
im not sure who is right, but I guess we will find out eh
here is a link to the article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_jobs

Getting car worked on, meandering thoughts

Im sitting in the service waiting room at Eddys Toyota in Wichita. We always take our car to the dealership for major maintenance. Ok, im not shopping ark city, so sue me. :)
but my toyota has 160,000 miles on it and runs as good as it did when it was new. Just uses a little oil now.
We still do routine stuff like oil changes in Ark City. Love Rakies. I wouldnt let my dog go to jiffy lube.
But they do have a nice setup here at Eddys. Waiting room, with a side room for an area to work on your computer. They have wifi so you can hook up your laptop, or they have computers that are available too.
Free coffee and cookies.
The people make you feel like you actually matter.
I know its gonna cost more, but you cant beat the quality of workmanship.
Thats customer service.
There might be some businesses in Ark City that could take a lesson from that.
The roads were fine coming up. Just hope the weather holds out.



One thing I noticed on the way up. On Highway before I got to winfield, there were three deer beside the road in a pile. Guess they got run over. Hopefully not at the same time.
Just made me wonder. when people hit deer, do they ever just take them home and have them butchered?
Would you have to have a hunting license to take a deer that you accidentally hit on the road?
Maybe our hunting and fishing writer can answer that.
I hope to get his new column posted tonight, or tomorrow morning.
I also have a food column to post.

Here's a link that might get you going

A senator compares republicans dragging their feet on health reform, to those who opposed civil rights and womens rights. Heating up on capitol hill :) Here is the link.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/3372955

Also, lots of updates on the web site, cops, cowley, sports and more 

Road conditions

Here is a link to road conditions
http://511.ksdot.org/KanRoadPublic_VE/Default.aspx

A vision of a TIF

The idea of a TIF district is coming back to Arkansas City. It was talked about briefly at meetings last week, and should come up again.
Im sure everyone remembers a couple years ago, when the TIF was shot down, that could have brought a Lowes. (I wonder if we can get past the Lowe's deal of the past and talk about a TIF on its own merits?)
Anyways, a TIF is a Tax Increment Finance deal. This means usually, that the taxes collected are used to pay for infrastructure.
The property taxes are collected, and put into a fund used to pay for things like water, sewer, streets, parking lots etc., The sales taxes are still paid and that is revenue coming into the city.
Im still trying to think of how this could be a bad deal.
In theory, the deal could go bad and the taxpayers would be left holding the bag. But even if that happened, worst case scenario you end up with an empty building.

There is opposition in general, just as there was during the Lowes deal. But now is the time for leadership. Good leadership sees what needs to be done and does it even if it is not popular.
Now is that time.
I hope we can have the forward-type thinking that will bring development and progress to Arkansas City. That is the type vision and leadership we need.

The city wants to create a TIF district, and have it ready to go so that can be used as a reruiting tool.
The idea that we should not give incentives is ridiculous. Evey town in the world is bending over backwards with incenitives. WHy should a company bother to listen to a town with no incentives when there are 20 others that are? The answer is .. they have no reason to and they won't.
Some of the commissioners oppose a TIF for retail, but I believe nearly all of them support a TIF for industry.
personally, I don't care what kind it is.
We need growth, development and vision.
I am not even sure industry is the best thing, or what we need most. Before the economy tanked, the industries we had could not find enough employees. So new industry would too I guess.
The argument then becomes that we need people and housing.
The answer is not in any one thing.
The answer is .. we need to be trying as many things as possible at the same time.
We need to make the city more attractive.
We need to recruit people as well.
We need better housing, more businesses, more people, more employers.
You can argue for one until the cows come home and nothing will get done.
The answer is to get the ball rolling in any way you can.

The commission has put a new TIF in progress. This is the beginning of vision and leadership. I would encourage them to stay the course and get it done.

Monday

Had trouble logging in today. Blogger decided there was something wrong with my password and wanted me to put in a new one. Then it wanted me to upgrade. Fought this a couple hours.
Maybe I can find a new place to host my blog.
Anyways, cop notes are posted.
Also, on the web site, ive got the online store going again. This could be a good place to do some christmas shopping.
What;s on your mind?
Lots of things I would like to talk about, but thought I would see what you all want.

Christmas story

Here is a Christmas story I wrote some years back ...

As Christmas approaches, we celebrate the coming of Christ into the world. As Christians, we have also had Christ “born” in our hearts when we received a relationship with Him. Even today, we may have many “receptions” of Christ as he comes to us. How will you react when Jesus comes to you, regardless of the method, to have a closer relationship with you?

In Luke Chapter 1, we see how two people reacted when Jesus came to them.

The Angel Gabriel was sent to a priest named Zechariah, and to a peasant girl named Mary, and he announced the coming of Jesus to both of them.

Zechariah was a priest, and according to the text a righteous man. He was a faithful follower of God, and as a Priest had a certain rank. If anyone would be expected to have faith, it would be Zechariah.

He was chosen to burn incense before the alter of God, which was done yearly. This was a very high honor as the priest was standing in front of the alter in the presence of God. The priest would actually enter the Holy of Holies, which was done only at this time each year.

This was how it had been done since the time of Moses as the priest made atonement for the sins of the nation of Israel.

According to Jewish legend, when priests went to the altar for this duty, a rope was tied around their leg just in case they were struck dead by the Sprit. If any sin was found in them, this could likely happen.

The text tells us he was a righteous man and had been praying fervently for years, asking God to give him and his wife a son.

Now, in his old age, he sees an angel, Gabriel, who is bringing him news that he will indeed have a son. That son is to be John the Baptist.

But even so, Zechariah doubts. He asks the angel how he can know for sure. In essence, he was asking for a sign that the angel’s words were true. The Jewish leaders all had this problem … a basic lack of faith in God. When Jesus ministered on the earth, the Jewish leadership constantly hounded Him for a sign.

Gabriel was no common angel. He is the one that stands before God, implying a special relationship. He had been sent to both of them with a specific message.

It is interesting to note that Zechariah was standing before God at the moment. By offering the incense, he was doing on an earthly level what Gabriel was doing on a heavenly level.

Even so, he asked for a sign as though he really did not believe.

Zechariah would still receive the promise even though he had not believed, but he would not be able to speak until the child was born.

Later in the chapter, we see a much different scenario as Gabriel appears to Mary, to tell her that she will bear the Christ child.

Mary was probably a basic peasant girl without much education. Many people probably would not have considered her a spiritual giant. And as you might expect, she was terrified at seeing an angel.

Here response is much different than Zechariah’s response though. After just a little questioning, she believes the angel.

“I am the Lord’s Servant. May it be as you have said,” she told him.

Her faith was simple but effective.

While Zechariah had all the education and connections, he failed in the crunch, to have simple faith.

If we compare the two people, we can see that perhaps religious position does not necessarily translate to being truly close to God.

Santa sighting

iThe North Pole, a christmas place at the old Bryants Hardware store at Summit and Central, is open this weekend, and the next two weekends. It will be open Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.. 

Check out the holiday calendar on the web site, www.arkcityrevived.com

Send me an email to add your event to the list, or post it here.

 

Humorous cartoon in my email

Discover Hominy's murals

Discover Hominy's murals

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travel blog

Here is my latest post on my travel blog.
I would appreciate it if you would check it out. Combines travel with Christmas shopping.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-26717-Wichita-Day-Trips-Examiner~y2009m12d4-Christmas-shopping-trips

KU Coach Mark Mangino just resigned

  This is the press release from KU

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Mark Mangino has resigned his position as head football coach at the University of Kansas , effective immediately.

“We appreciate the eight years that Mark has given to rebuilding our football program,” Kansas Athletics Director Lew Perkins said.  “He and I have reached a mutually satisfactory agreement that reflects the appreciation we have for his efforts on behalf of Kansas Football. 

“As you know we have recently completed an internal review of the football program.  I have been instructed by legal counsel that we cannot release any documents related to this investigation, nor any details regarding our settlement agreement.  The investigation and settlement agreement will remain part of Mark’s personnel records.

“Mark has brought much success to the football program at KU,” Perkins continued.  “He can leave with confidence that he has turned the football program around and set it on a path to even greater future success.

“As always, our principal concern remains our student-athletes.  Coaches David Beaty, Clint Bowen and Bill Miller will share interim head-coaching duties.  I have the utmost confidence in their abilities and dedication.”

Perkins said his focus is now the search for a new head coach.  “I know people will float a number of names out there,” he said, “but I will not comment on any potential candidates.  I can only tell you I am certain that great things lie ahead for our Kansas football program. There’s a great buzz surrounding Kansas Football; we have great fans and facilities, and we’ve demonstrated a strong commitment to the success of our program.”

 

Wednesday updates

Good morning.
Cop notes are posted.
Also hunting and food pages are updated on the site. Gun deer season opened yesterday, and we have a column about that on the outdoors page. On the food page we have some ideas on how to cook what you have killed.
I saw no one has commented on the murals on Summit coming down.
Perhaps an unintended consequence, they had to come down to get the building in compliance with the city window ordinance.
I think these murals need to be saved somehow. I am currently negotiating with the building owner to see what we can do. If you would like to help out, send me an email. There will be some cost involved and I am still working on what to do with them once I have them.
Send me your ideas. A bonfire is not a good idea.
Is there anyone out there who was involved in painting the murals in the first place?
I would like to talk with you..
The murals are listed in a book in Murals of Kansas.

Murals coming down

Murals that have been in Icons of downtown Arkansas city for over 20 years are coming down this week.
The murals, painted on four-foot-by-eight-foot sheets, were painted by Cowley College students.
The murals are being replaced this week by standard windows.
City Commissioner Patrick McDonald said the change is being made to comply with city window ordinance passed last year.
McDonald's business is located below the murals, but he does not own the building.
The murals are listed in a book that details all - or most of - the murals in Kansas.
The murals should be down by next week, the building owner said.
There are 30 of the murals. Some are in very deteriorated condition, while others are salvagable.
ARK CITY REVIVED is currently trying to preserve the paintings. Check back for details.

city software, and TIF

Cop notes are posted.
City commissioners spent a lot of time Monday night with a representative of the company that provides their record keeping software. Employees say the software is too complicated to use and is not modern. They would like to switch companies, but that has a price tag of about $300,000.
City staff is meeting with the software guy today to see if something can be worked out to keep the current system and save a lot of money.
The TIF issue came up again, and could happen.
Some want to create a TIF - Tax Increment Fiance - district and have it ready to go in case a developer shows up with a good plan. The commission would still have to approve any plan.
That could come up at a future meeting.
You can read all about it on the web site. www.arkcityrevived.com