inside city hall, 8-5-09

Our Farmer’s Market is catching on. Five vendors gathered in the Down Town Park Saturday morning with a variety of things to sell: peaches, green apples, black-eyed peas, squash, okra, peppers, doggie treats, chow-chow, barbecue sauce and World War Two jeeps.

More and more folks are coming down to see what is available, even before the vendors get there. We’re gonna get these starting times coordinated, so hang in there with us, please. Everyone who comes out has a good time. Sweat may be tickling the end of their noses, but folks enjoy the market scene.

No one expects to get rich doing this, but one can make a few dollars. But more than anything everyone is taking part in the future of Munday. We are all going to make this Farmer’s Market work. We need buyers, sellers, encouragers, helpers, it is a community enterprise and it will take all of us working together.

This week we expect to have more of the same but some of other things. I’m going out on a limb and promise there will be more black-eye peas, okra and tomatoes. So vendors, please don’t make a liar of me.

The community garden idea is not dead, even though not much has been said about it lately. The council has met for the last time until January, but we are all going to be planning, preparing our garden spots, and just getting ready to plant next spring. When we locate lots we can use for gardens, people who want to use them need to start as early as late fall to clean and get the ground ready for planting. I’m told by experienced gardeners to begin soon. So, there is no time to waste.

From the produce that has come in to market we have a good idea what to encourage gardeners to grow next spring. We can say, “Grow everything, just more of it.” Some like to grow some things and not others. Hopefully we will have everything imaginable growing with the market in mind. Somehow we need melons in our market. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Munday could furnish the melons for Knox City’s festival? It would indeed!

If you are interested at all in our garden quest, please don’t forget to get started on your preparations. I will try to keep reminding everyone to be working.

The most important decision we make is the attitude we choose to live each day when dealing with people and circumstances. That’s right. You purposefully choose your attitude. Choosing a positive state of mind will lead to success in your career and life. A negative attitude will lead to unhappiness, poor relationships, difficulty at work and ultimately, poor health.

Aren’t we born with our attitudes? We may be genetically predisposed in that direction, but our attitude comes from within: We determine our own attitude. Of course we blame others, circumstances or events for our situation: but the key is our response to those things or people. As we go about our daily routine we usually have a series of encounters with things and people we think causes a reaction in us. In reality we choose that reaction.

Misery loves company: negative people will search out others and attempt to bring them down to their level. Their negative influence feels powerful and they use it as a self-esteem boost: They do this to feel better about themselves. Avoid negative people, they will drag you down.

In my work as a manager, I have found there are basically two kinds of people -- those who take responsibility for their lives and those who blame others. People who take responsibility for their situations are positive people who see the world as a good place. They have made a conscious decision to be this way.

Market Munday yourself, don’t wait for someone else to do it. Think garage sale in September and Christmas in December. Share with someone what you think.

This is the way my lot looks to me, Blue Bonnets and blue skys.

Inside city hall, 7-29-09

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. Plus I have had a lot to do. Now a lot is a lot to do. Not everyone has such a lot to do. But some of us have a big lot to do. And some of us will do a lot. It’s our lot in life to do our big lot. If you have a lot, but not a lot to do, consider yourself fortunate just to have a lot. (Everyone who can figure out the puzzle gets a lifetime subscription to “Inside City Hall.”)

Munday Farmer’s Market continues to grow. Grow is all we can do since we started with nothing. Saturday morning there were three tables of vegetables set up in the Downtown Park. Every week more people come out to see what is on the tables. Saturday everyone wanted black-eyed peas, but were disappointed to find none. Where are the black-eyed peas? There’s bound to be black-eyed peas in the area. Some of these folks are driving in from surrounding towns because they heard we had a Farmer’s Market. Don’t you laugh at that. We do have a Farmer’s Market. It will grow into something we will be proud of.

The Munday Community Garden-Farmer’s Market Council will meet this Thursday, July 30 at the Church of Christ Fellowship Hall at 7 p.m.

Memorial Garden is all but finished. When you look at it please be kind: don’t comment on the smallness of the whole thing. And don’t ask, “Where is the grass?” Hey, we got seven trees and several shrubs. The granite will be here in several weeks, hopefully along with the two flag poles. But don’t ask, “Where are the flags?” Heck, by the time Keep Munday Beautiful Volunteers seed it, or sod it, and water it, WE will have a beautiful memorial garden. Oh, one other thing, don’t ask, “Where are the benches?” Yeah, we will want benches so we can sit and watch the flags flapping in the breeze. And a mosquito repellent dispenser, we’ll certainly need on of those. All negativity aside, the garden will be beautiful, I am a little disappointed in what we didn’t get for a lot of money. Someone said, “Maybe if there is any left over. . .”

Pudd n Pie will close its doors August 1. I hate to see it happen, but of course we understand the reasons why. This neat little place has become a favorite of so many of Munday’s important people, as well as all others. Big plans have been concocted around Rita’s round table. And Bill Crawford had a voice in all of it. At least we could hear him complain, “How you going to pay for it?”

It took a lot of courage, as well as money, for Rita to open the store. And she has tried hard to have a good menu and delicious food. I’ve not heard one complaint about her food.

So, as mayor and friend I’m proclaiming Friday, August 1, as Rita Day in Munday. I’m asking everyone to go by and extend their heartfelt thanks to Rita and the girls. Let her know you appreciate her courage.

Now I want to say something about the reasons why. I have heard several Munday merchants say, “Munday people do not support their local businesses.” After about the third time to hear this I began to look around to see who is shopping in Munday.
A lot of strangers come to Munday to eat, shop, rent videos, get haircuts, pay their fines. I won’t embarrass store owners by naming them, but a lot of them said, “I have a few regulars from Munday, but a lot of first timers from out-of-town.” A lot of these folks are just passing through and see a store sign that intrigued them, so they decided to stop and browse, and even buy.

Lately I’ve gone to Seymour and Knox City to check out restaurants. No, it didn’t take long, but I learned a lot. Munday folks frequent two eating places in Seymour and two in Knox City. Okay, maybe the menu is better and maybe even the food. But that is why restaurants don’t make it in Munday.

The facts are: not enough out-of-town people shop here to support our merchants. But if Munday folks would stay home more and support our merchants, Munday might survive. Support them all, or watch them close their doors. This is not the entertainment section folks, so let’s get serious.

Make an opportunity to Market Munday. Don’t forget, stay home the fourth of July. (How many times does the word “lot” appear in this column?)

Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt is facing criticism for telling the truth.





The congressman's recent comments targeted tax-funded abortions, arguing such services would encourage single moms living below the poverty level to abort their unborn children. Tiahrt then made this supposition: "If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in those similar circumstances. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it?"

Some in the liberal press and Congress are demanding an apology from Tiahrt for his comments. Troy Newman of Operation Rescue makes note of the congressman's statement, and offers this supporting explanation:

"The African-American population actually experiences a much higher rate of abortions than white people do," explains the pro-life leader. "And...if taxpayer-funded abortions were available back when Judge Clarence Thomas was conceived, or even Barack Obama was conceived, there's a high probability that they would have been aborted."

A documentary called Maafa 21 documents what many African-American pastors are now calling "genocide" directed at the black population. "The African-American population only makes up 13 percent of the population of America," Newman points out, "but they account for 36 percent of all abortions." In addition, statistics show the abortion rate among black women is five times higher than that for white women.

In a press release, Operation Rescue says Tiahrt's comments "were exactly on point, and actually did not go far enough."

As for the calls for an apology for citing statistics that show black women are disproportionately targeted for abortion? "It is a legitimate question that needs to be asked," says Newman. "[But] the last thing abortion promoters want is dialog on this subject."

Presented as the program for the Lion's Club Today

Some of you knew me before...before I had to leave Munday to find a job and before I became Buddy.

I was born here in Munday, mainly to be close to my parents. I just can’t imagine what my early life would have been like without having my parents around. I thank God today that I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a home with both parents around.

I was the eighth child in my family. Three died at child birth. Both my parents were middle age of course when I was born. To me they looked a lot older than the parents of my classmates. That’s because they were. My oldest sister, Bertie Mae was 20 years older than me. Her oldest daughter was only two years younger tham me.

My folks were poor, but in those days it didn’t seem to matter. It didn’t make any difference to us. We did well in school, particpated in everything, especially sports. If it hadn’t been for sports I could have dropped out of school and toughed it out, like so many did in those days.

All said and done, I had a happy childhood growing up here in Munday. I don’t think a child could have had a better place to grow up. Munday was a lively place in those days, with a business in every building in town. There were three drugstores in downtown Munday. Three car dealerships. Two variety stores. Two or three barber shops. Several grocery stores. A couple of gins and several elevators. I don’t know how many service stations, not just a filling station either.

And a depot. I remember when there were railroad tracks dividing the town. At one time there was a doodle bug that traveled from Wichita Falls to Abilene. That was when I was very young.

Stores stayed open late in those days, especially on Saturdays. There would be more people in town on Saturday night than at any other time. There were two picture shows here then: the Roxy and the Roy. English and Spanish.

I could go on and one about what was here and all the things we did as kids. I remember one experience in particular that brings a smile whenever I think of it. I had just bought my first bicycle. I had saved up $10 to buy it. I was riding toward Munday Lumber Company where my dad was working on a job. It used to be behind where Phillips Bait shop is now. I was riding along north of the court house when I had a blowout. It was summer and hot and the guys were playing dominoes on the lawn, just a few feet where I was riding. It was a loud blowout, sounded like a gunshot. And everyone of those guys jumped like they had been shot. Dominoes went everywhere.

We had no idea that things could or would change. Things hadn’t changed in Munday very much in the last 50 years. But these last 50 years have seen unbelievable change.

It’s demoralizing to dwell on the changes that have happened to every small town in America, and to the country itself.

When I left Munday the first time it was to go to college in Abilene. I had been further away from Munday, like to Lubbock and Waco. Like all kids who go away to school, it was an experience to latch on to responsibility. Moma couldn’t get me out-be-bed anymore. I didn’t have her fresh biscuits for breakfast anymore. I had to look after myself for the first time: it’s a cruel world out there.

When I applied to Hardin Simmons I used the only name I had then, Bunny. The form didn’t ask if I was male for female. So when I got to HSU to move in and all they had put me in Behrens Hall. Well, that’s the freshman girls dorm. When I showed up ready to move in they had a problem. Well, it was really my problem, but they were not going to let me move into Behren’s Hall. Well, where am I going to live? They didn’t know and didn’t care, but I was not moving into Behren’s Hall. That chapter in my life was closed as far as they were concerned.

Later that year the girls at Behren's Hall selected me as the Behren's Hall Beau. So, in one respect I did move in after all.

After a year and a half I dropped out to work and save some money. But the United States was involved in an undeclared war in Vietnam and the draft board was recruiting for the Army. When I reached 21 I would be drated into the Army, which meant I would soon be on my way to Vietnam. I joined the Air Force instead.

When I filled out the papers to join I used the only name I had, Bunny. To make sure Bunny had been born the Air Force looked at my birth certificate. I had
never seen it, didn’t know it existed. When I started to school I guess people knew I had been born and who to, and all that, so I didn’t need a birth certificate.

Bunny Norville didn’t exist. I walked and talked and breathed like everyone else but that recruiting sargeant told me I didn’t exist. But it just so happened that there was a child born to my parents on my birthday, the same day same year, same parents, but it wasn’t Bunny. It was Buddy. Can you imagine what a shock it was to learn you had been using the wrong name your whole life?

Doc Smith must have heard it wrong, but he was the one that filled out the birth certifcate. He probably just couldn’t believe what he heard so he ablibbed a little bit.

However, it was probably a blessing at that particular time in my life. What if I had gone to boot camp as a Bunny? The drill sargeants would have had a time with that. It was bad enough being a “Buddy”.

When I came home on leave before shipping out to Japan everyone in town wanted to know why the FBI was asking so many questions about me. They were concerned that maybe I was in some kind of trouble. The work I was going into required a Top Secret clearance, so that’s why the FBI agents were around asking questions. When I got to Japan there was this guy in the squadron who wasn’t allowed “upstairs” where all the secret stuff took place. He was waiting on the FBI to come get him and take him to prison. It seems he had driven the gettaway car during a bank heist in Mississippi. The background check found him out.

They called by branch of the service “The Security Service.” Some folks think right away that was the APs. Not by a long shot. We were really spys: we spied on Russia, China, North Korea and even on ourselves. It wasn’t as fun as the 007s and guys from Langly. We were really communications spys. My training thus far had been in morse code. I was taught how to read morse code. I was sent to Japan to be an airborn radio intercept operator. Some of our guys went to school for two years to learn Russian, Chinese and other languages.

We flew c-130s out of Japan, to spy on Russia and China, sometimes North Korea. These planes were loaded with the latest communications technology. We had receivers tuned into every frequency that our cold-war enemies operated on. All of this traffic was recorded and sent back to the squadron to be transcribed, translated and codes broken.

Sometimes the flights got a little rough, like when Russia would pick us up on radar and scramble their MIGS. That’s when our pilot got on his radio and requested, “Mother hen scramble chicks.” The F-102s would come to our aid and escort us out of Russia. However, sometimes they didn’t get there soon enough, and the MIGS opened fire on our craft. We didn’t lose any of the 130s, although one of our U2s wasn’t so lucky. We weren’t supposed to have U2s in Japan, under the agreement with the Japanese government. But we had them. They didn’t usually fly day time, but sometimes they got delayed and couldn’t get back under the cover of night. One such time a Tokyo television camerman saw a U2 landing just after daybreak.

We always knew when a U2 took off: they made a lot of noise.

I would love to take our present Commander-in-Chief up on one of those missions and see what he would say when the plane got caught over Russia. What would he say then about our “wornout ways”? I think he would be on his knees quicker than any of us. I’ll tell you one thing, there were no athiests on those missions.

After two years of all this excitement I was cross-trained into another career field. Sometimes too many people are assigned to any organization and they have to get rid of some of them. For awhile I was parked at a desk doing computations for bombing strikes. I was with the First Shoran Beacon Squadron, Yokota Air Base. Our squadron flew B-57s, a light, short-ranged bomber. Each aircraft had a pilot and a navigator. Shoran is short for short range, so we computed information for short range bomb runs. Everything we did was just for practice.

Then someone in Washington had the bright idea that the B-57 would work great in Vietnam. Before long my boss and I were on our way to Vietnam. Our orders said we were going on a surveying mission. We were to survey the whole country and be ready to do bombing computations for the B-57s. Would you believe I was excited about going. We packed all kinds of equipment and rations, but no weapons. At this time our guys were only advisors and not allowed to shoot back. So, somebody thought we wouldn’t need weapons, since we weren’t allowed to use them anyway.

While we were enroute our orders changed. No surveys would be done. We came home. Soon the B-57s were on their way to Vietnam to be used as support aircraft for short range missions. The rest of us were sent back to the states to other assignments. Before the planes could be used in Vietnam they were all destroyed during one raid of the Viet Cong on Da Nang Air Base.

These planes had seen some combat in the Korean conflict, now they were all gone. What a sad ending that was.

It was sad too to leave the squadron, which was now defunct. It was a small outfit and we got to know each other and enjoyed doing things with each other. We had a basketball team, which never won a game but we had a good time. I played football on the base team, which had a better record. We only lost to the Army team from Korea. Those teams had drafted professional players on the field. That’s all those guys did was play.

I’m going to stop here for today. Maybe the next time I’ll finish out my Air Force career and begin with the next life-changing phase of my life.

Presented at the Lion's Club: as the program for the day.

Some of you knew me before...before I had to leave Munday to find a job and before I became Buddy.

I was born here in Munday, mainly to be close to my parents. I just can’t imagine what my early life would have been like without having my parents around. I thank God today that I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a home with both parents around.

I was the eighth child in my family. Three died at child birth. Both my parents were middle age of course when I was born. To me they looked a lot older than the parents of my classmates. That’s because they were. My oldest sister, Bertie Mae was 20 years older than me. Her oldest daughter was only two years younger tham me.

My folks were poor, but in those days it didn’t seem to matter. It didn’t make any difference to us. We did well in school, particpated in everything, especially sports. If it hadn’t been for sports I could have dropped out of school and toughed it out, like so many did in those days.

All said and done, I had a happy childhood growing up here in Munday. I don’t think a child could have had a better place to grow up. Munday was a lively place in those days, with a business in every building in town. There were three drugstores in downtown Munday. Three car dealerships. Two variety stores. Two or three barber shops. Several grocery stores. A couple of gins and several elevators. I don’t know how many service stations, not just a filling station either.

And a depot. I remember when there were railroad tracks dividing the town. At one time there was a doodle bug that traveled from Wichita Falls to Abilene. That was when I was very young.

Stores stayed open late in those days, especially on Saturdays. There would be more people in town on Saturday night than at any other time. There were two picture shows here then: the Roxy and the Roy. English and Spanish.

I could go on and one about what was here and all the things we did as kids. I remember one experience in particular that brings a smile whenever I think of it. I had just bought my first bicycle. I had saved up $10 to buy it. I was riding toward Munday Lumber Company where my dad was working on a job. It used to be behind where Phillips Bait shop is now. I was riding along north of the court house when I had a blowout. It was summer and hot and the guys were playing dominoes on the lawn, just a few feet where I was riding. It was a loud blowout, sounded like a gunshot. And everyone of those guys jumped like they had been shot. Dominoes went everywhere.

We had no idea that things could or would change. Things hadn’t changed in Munday very much in the last 50 years. But these last 50 years have seen unbelievable change.

It’s demoralizing to dwell on the changes that have happened to every small town in America, and to the country itself.

When I left Munday the first time it was to go to college in Abilene. I had been further away from Munday, like to Lubbock and Waco. Like all kids who go away to school, it was an experience to latch on to responsibility. Moma couldn’t get me out-be-bed anymore. I didn’t have her fresh biscuits for breakfast anymore. I had to look after myself for the first time: it’s a cruel world out there.

When I applied to Hardin Simmons I used the only name I had then, Bunny. The form didn’t ask if I was male for female. So when I got to HSU to move in and all they had put me in Behrens Hall. Well, that’s the freshman girls dorm. When I showed up ready to move in they had a problem. Well, it was really my problem, but they were not going to let me move into Behren’s Hall. Well, where am I going to live? They didn’t know and didn’t care, but I was not moving into Behren’s Hall. That chapter in my life was closed as far as they were concerned.

After a year and a half I dropped out to work and save some money. But the United States was involved in an undeclared war in Vietnam and the draft board was recruiting for the Army. When I reached 21 I would be drated into the Army, which meant I would soon be on my way to Vietnam. I joined the Air Force instead.

When I filled out the papers to join I used the only name I had, Bunny. To make sure Bunny had been born the Air Force looked at my birth certificate. I had

Inside City Hall, 7-22-09

The Farmer’s Market is still alive. Thank you Robin Leija for taking the time to pack up your tomatoes and other veggies and go to market with them. We are proud of you for braving the unknown and stepping out like that. Hope to see you there again Saturday, and that you will have a lot of customers. There should be plenty of black-eyed peas around, won’t someone pick a few and bring them to market so some of us who don’t have a garden can buy some.

The East Side Park is here, or there, across from Dollar General. Contractors began working on the site last Friday. Work on the grounds and sidewalks will go forward soon. However, the etching of the photos on the large piece of granite will take about two months to complete. Keep your eyes on that spot. The powers that be say it’s okay for anyone to cut weeds and grass around the area where the park will be. So if that is what you have been waiting for to volunteer your time and equipment, well, go for it. Your destiny awaits you on east main street.

Talk about weeds. Do you know what the most populous, not popular, plant in Munday is? We’re not gonna count Bermuda grass. Have you looked around town lately? Careless weeds are everywhere. If we crossed Careless weeds with cotton plants what would we get? Would it become a six-foot plant with small white boles that stack up like careless weed seeds do now? Or a shorter version with ball-like fuzzy green pods? The big question, would it be drought resistant? Would insects go for it?

The way we earthlings allow Careless weeds to take over our yards and all, space travellers would probably think we love them. These hardy ladies line our roadways, squeeze through the cracks in our sidewalks. They grow in our gutters, fill our flower beds, take over our alleys and vacant lots. They have invaded again, hell bent on producing as many seeds as possible.

I’ve noticed a couple of the critters outside Dairy Queen, growing through the crack where the parking lot meets the sidewalk, a few feet from the east door. At first I thought I should pull it, being the Jolly Green Giant that I am. But my sinister side took over, and I decided to wait, to see how tall it would grow, and how long before someone from management removed it. Any wagers? I’m sorry, we can’t do that in Munday.

By now the word should have reached everyone in town about our litter-free community. We at City Hall have accepted the challenge of Keeping Munday Beautiful: Munday is now officially a Litter-Free Community. We, as citizens of Munday have an obligation to help keep Munday clean, or cleaner. I invite everyone in town to become Litter Lifters, your job description is to pick and pitch: pick it up and pitch it in the trash can. Everyone can do it, no special training needed, in most cases. Pretend that litter you see on the ground is a fifty dollar bill. If you really saw a fifty, or even a one, you would pick it up. I even bend over to pick up pennies.

As Litter Lifters, what are our boundaries? Naturally you should do your own yards first, all your yard: lawn, beds, curbs, gutters, alleys, trees and drive ways. Does that leave anything out around your place? If so, use your imagination and come up with a solution. Now it gets tricky. Let’s say you have a neighbor that is out-of-town or out-of-the-country. You would appreciate someone doing your yard for you if you were on an extended stay out-of-town. Right? Then you know where I’m going with this idea. It won’t hurt any of us to do a little extra for someone else. And it will make you feel good about yourself. When you give yourself away, it always makes you feel better.

Munday town is looking good. Take a little drive around town this evening, or this weekend, and you will see the difference. Especially aroun the overpass. You’ll feel proud to be from Munday: there’s no other place on earth like it. Careless weeds or not.

Don’t forget to market Munday every chance you get. And be here the fourth. Start thinking about a Christmas to Remember in Munday. Let’s do something special this year.

Right on, Andy Rooney!

Andy Rooney said on '60 Minutes' a few weeks back:

I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except numbers. The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America; and see what happens...Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.

Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game.

I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, which is why there are no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts! ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion.

I have the right 'NOT' to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off.

When 70% of the people who get arrested are black, in cities where 70% of the population is black, that is not racial profiling; it is the Law of Probability.

I believe that if you are selling me a milkshake, a pack of cigarettes, a newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact, if you want to be an American/Canadian/British citizen, you should have to speak English!

My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.

I think the police should have every right to shoot or arrest you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the above lines.

I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are qualified for any special National Assistance, loan programs, government sponsored bank loans or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, corner store, or any other business.

We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their interpretations.

I don't hate the rich I don't pity the poor

I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't stop you from watching them.

I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it ticks you off, go and invent the next operating system that's better, and put your name on the building.

It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary, and say 'NO!'

I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you serve me French fries!

I am sick of 'Political Correctness.' I know a lot of black people, and not a single one of them was born in Africa ; so how can they be 'African-Americans/Canadian/British'? Besides, Africa is a continent.. I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was fromEurope . I am proud to be fromAmerica and nowhere else

And if you don't like my point of view, tough...

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE CANADIAN FLAG, to the BRITISH FLAG & TO THE FLAG OF THEUNITED STATES OF AMERICA , AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTYAND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I was asked to send this on if I agree, or delete if I don't. It is said that on average 86% of Canadians/ Americans & British believe in God. Therefore I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having 'In God We Trust' on American money and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the 15%+ to BE QUIET!!!

If you agree, pass this on, if not delete.

Okay, who shot off the fireworks?

City Council declares Munday an Anti-Litter Community, will support 2010 Census

The Munday City Council heard an array of different reports, proclamations and presentations Tuesday evening at its July meeting.

Following the invocation by member Adrin Fletcher, Bobby D. Barnett suggested to the council that we need to do something to memorialize those from the past who got us where we are today. He mentioned such things as the airport, the lake, the drainage ditch and the city hall building that we take for granted today. He said a plaque engraved with their names would be a fine gesture on our part. Barnett mentioned Mose Wiggins, Jim Reeves and Walter Hertel, but said there were many more.

David Kuehler, director of the North Central Texas Municipal Water Authority spoke about the importance of exercising water valves to keep them operational. He said mineral deposits can build up inside the valves and if they aren't opened at least twice a year they could freeze up and become inoperable. Kuehler then introduce an electric opener for those stubborn valves that refuse to open. One of these machines can save a crew up to two days off the exercising time. He is making the machine available to the city to use.

Walter Hertel, a retired Munday city administrator, volunteered his time to help the water crew when they begin exercising the valves on the city water lines. He said at one time there was only one valve for the while city, which meant if there was a problem the whole city went without water. Things have improved over the years, but things still need to be kept up. Hertel also suggested that a line needs to be added to the administrator’s job description to include the upkeep of the city’s many valves.

Tammy Copeland and Gerry Brooks from the Community Action Program in Abilene introduced their Weatherization Assistance Program. Copeland said their organization can help with weatherizing homes of low income people to help lower their utility bills. She said it is possible for a couple making $18,000 or less to be funded up to 125 percent of the costs of weatherizing their home. They can be reached at 325-673-5785 extension 109.

Randy Beyers, of Jacobs and Martin Engineering, informed the council that Munday has been awarded three grants. Beyers serves as Munday’s waste water engineer and helps the city with grant applications and all the red tape the city has to process to stay in compliance. Two of the grants will go toward the installation of aerating equipment in all of our sewage ponds. The aerators stir up the water, allowing oxygen to come in which improves the mix and gets the plant in compliance with the state. Munday will receive $419,000 for this project. The City also received a 2010 grant to fund the on-site irrigation project. Under this grant the city can rent or purchase up to 160 acres for irrigation purposes. Another grant will help Munday with its planning for the next ten years.

The city also approved a resolution on grants that covers filing of an application for a grant, another one to cover filing and authorizing a representative and another one for an application affidavit.

A proclamation on partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau for an accurate count passed the council. The proclamation spells out the importance of having an accurate count. More than $300 billion a year is allocated to states and communities based on census data.

The council approved the formation of a Complete Count Committee for the 2010 census. However, the committee was not named.

The council appointed Exa Lee Martinez to be the Census Liaison person for Munday.

A Mayor’s proclamation declaring Munday a Litter Free Community was passed by the council. Persons caught littering in Munday will face stiff fines from now on.

For the second month the appointment of a new city judge was tabled. However, two names were mentioned as prospects. Mayor Norville will contact the two persons to see if either is interested.

City Administrator, Dwayne Bearden, informed the council that the city is losing almost $1,200 a month on its commercial garbage rates. For the 1.5-yard can, one time per week, the rate will be $40per month. A 3-yard can, one pickup a week will be $50 per month, 2 times a week the charge will be $95, and the 3 times a week charge will go to $145 a month. These rates will be effective with next month’s water bill.

The council also discussed noise and litter complaints which came out of the fourth of July celebrations. There is a distinct possibility that the council could over turn the present fireworks ordinance. One possibility would be to legalize the sale of fireworks within the city and designating certain places where fireworks could be used legally. Fireworks litter left in the streets or on the roadways will also the addressed.

Munday is a good place to live. So said some of the folks questioned by members of the city council. Another person likes the way the churches and people in general work together to get things done. A fisherman said he moved to Munday to be closer to Miller Creek Lake. One person said she enjoyed the downtown sidewalks for exercise. Another said the traffic in Munday is nice and no long lines at the grocery store. No one reported a negative comment about Munday, other than we need more people so we could get more stores and restaurants.

Anti-Litter Community

WHEREAS, we are fortunate to live in a City so abundantly blessed with natural assets and we have a continuing responsibility for preserving our environment by keeping it clean, healthy, and beautiful; and

WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Munday believes every citizen should contribute to keeping our environment clean and safe, by working together to preserve clean aire, fresh water and the natural beauty of our surroundings; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of citizens show their concern for the environment and their communities each year by participating in projects to clean up and rejuvenate local neighbourhoods, green spaces, vacant lots, illegal dump sites; and

WHEREAS, City of Munday volunteers believe that maintaining a quality environment and encouraging civic pride is everyone’s responsibility; and

WHEREAS, the City of Munday encourages voluntary action to keep our communitie clean and beautiful and restore and maintain a healthy environment.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, on behalf of the Council of the City of Munday, Texas, I, Mayor Buddy Norville, do hereby proclaim Munday as a Litter-Free Community and call upon the citizens of Munday, the businesses, and other organizations to join and work together to improve and preserve the natural beauty of our city, and to participate throughout the year in beautification and litter prevention efforts.

WHEREAS, Munday being a Litter-Free Community will increase awareness of the need for a cleaner Munday, emphasize the importance of not littering, and encourage recycling of solid wastes; and

WHEREAS, this emphasis on cleanliness will be a part of educating the children of Munday regarding the importance of a clean environment to the quality of life in Munday.

Dated at the City of Munday this 14th day of July, 2009.

Buddy V. Norville
Mayor

Proclamation

Whereas, an accurate census count is vital to our community and residents’ well being by helping planners determine where to locate schools, day-care centers, roads and public transportation, hospitals and other facilities and is used to make decisions concerning business growth and housing need; and,

Whereas, more than $300 billion per year in federal funding is allocated to states and communities based on census data; and

Whereas, census data ensures fair Congressional representation by determining how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as the redistricting of state legislatures, county and city council and voting districts; and

Whereas, the 2010 Census creates jobs that stimulate economic growth and increase employment growth and increase employment opportunities in our community.

Now, therefore, let it be known that:

I, Buddy Norville, by the virtue of the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Munday, Texas, do hereby proclaim that the City of Munday, Texas is committed to partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to help ensure a full and accurate count in 2010 and encourage all citizens to participate in the 2010 Census count.

In testimony whereof, witness my hand and Seal of the City of Munday, Texas this the 14th day of July, 2009

Buddy Norville, Mayor

Inside City Hall, 7-15-09

The invitation for someone, anyone, to bring fresh vegetables to market is still open, although it appears unlikely to happen. I think most people would rather give their produce away than get organized to bring it to market. That is not difficult to understand. Rest assured, we have not given up on the idea of a community garden, even if it is in different yards.

I’ve had a vision for Munday since I was 17. Munday would be the Garden Capital of Texas. The soil in Knox County will grow anything. Our farmers have proved over and over again that they could grow the best vegetables. Growing the produce has never been a problem. Marketing and harvesting have been the culprits in our garden kingdom. All we need is a lot of money to build our own canneries, our own marketing system, and a trucking line to deliver MunTex Produce all over the country. Naturally we would have our own organic gardens as well, there’s a huge market there. Soy beans, same thing.

Instead of giving up why don’t we put our heads together and think our way on top again. This is no time to be giving up, but to over come. There are solutions to every problem, all we need to do is work ‘em out. This country became great because men worked hard to find ways to do things that had never been done before. They found ways to cross wide rivers and deep canyons. They conquered disease and the depths of space. No one ever said we had to get it right the first time.

Thomas Edison was believed to have “invented” the electric light bulb. Actually he improved on a 50-year-old idea, the idea of electric lighting was not new. However, nothing had been developed that was practical for home use. After a year and a half of work Edison succeeded when an incandescent lamp with a filament of carbonized sewing thread burned for thirteen and a half hours. Edison stayed with his vision until the right idea came along.

In addition to inventing the right kind of filament that would make a light bulb work, Edison invented seven system elements that were critical to the practical application of electric lights: the parallel circuit, a durable light bulb, an improved underground conductor network, the devices for maintaining constant voltage, safety fuses and insulating materials, and light sockets with on-off switches.

I don’t know if anyone hasmore patents than Edison, he had 1,093 successful inventions. He also had a few that failed. He was a curious child and taught himself much by reading about things on his own. This belief in self-improvement stayed with him throughout his life.

Munday is loaded with talented, creative, curious people. Much of this talent and creative power has been forced to the back room of our minds while we made a living using our “other” knowledge. It’s time to open the door and let it come out to play and work and dream and build and do those things we have always wanted to do. There will be obstacles in our way. Let’s think our way around them, if we can’t go over them. There is nothing more powerful than the positive thought. But there is no place for negative thoughts like, “we can’t do that.” We may just need to do “it” different.

An inventor by the name of Thomas Adams first tried to change chicle into automobile tires before making it into chewing gum. Post-It Notes came about because of a screwed-up batch of glue that wouldn’t work as a glue. Paper towels came about when a batch of toilet paper came out too thick to use as toilet paper. Who knows what our mistakes could become. There may be another use for cotton that hasn’t been discovered. Or the careless weed, who knows.

It can be done and Munday has the people who can do it. Think it - see it - do it! Let’s find it and do it.

Market Munday every chance you get.

Plan now to be in Munday on July fourth next year, for the second annual Freedom Fest.

Inside City Hall, 7-8-09

No one was disappointed in the First Annual Freedom Fest Parade. And it took a lot longer to line them up than it did to get downtown. I don’t know how many “floats” were in the parade, but quite a few. There were more than we had on the list. I want to thank everyone who found themselves in our parade. The huge tractors couldn’t be missed, but there were many smaller entries as well. We appreciate all those who rode on the various floats: the scouts, the veterans, the Lions, and the Little Miss contestants. If I missed one or some, I apologize.

The Mayor Mobile got too far behind and couldn’t catch up. I reckon the mayor needs to have a little mechanical surgery on his mower before next year, to spiff it up a few m.p.h. faster.

Thank you to all the folks who came out to watch the parade, and clean the streets of all that candy and ice cream. Thank you Lawrence Brother’s manager, Jay Haynie, for the ice cream, and cold drinks at the dance Saturday night. Someone commented that we could have had more people to watch the parade. It’s a trade off actually, considering how many folks were in the parade. Our folks made excellent use of the few shady spots along the route.

A special thanks to our own Police Department, David Petrusaitis and Ed Hunt for setting up the barricades and helping with the parade in general. AND to the Knox County Sheriff’s office for sending all their folks and vehicles, and I do mean ALL their folks. AND to Chief Harry Steen from the Knox City Police Department. AND to TX Dot for the permit and for the barricades. We couldn’t have done without their help, so thank then again when you see them around town, or the county.

Yes, we had a dance Saturday night, at the Downtown Park. And yes, it rained. When I arrived on the scene the broom brigade was removing water from the dance floor. For a few minutes everyone enjoyed a reprieve from the rain while several took to the floor.

Except for the rain, the dance was a success. If it takes scheduling a dance to get some rain around here, we will do that more often. But we Baptists don’t believe in rain dancing. But if what we did fits the bill....do it again.

Before I forget, the Little Miss Pageant was a great night of fun for a lot of folks and several little girls. These nine girls gained a lot of experience in their first quest for the crown. The pageant was another first for Munday. We will do it again, maybe a little different though. Next time we will open it up to the grandmothers as well. Why? Well, why not?

The Munday fire boys had barbecue sandwiches and hot dogs at the park for lunch. Quite a few people gathered under the pavilion to chat and chomp.

The Farmer’s Market was absent, again. However, there were two venders in the Downtown Park: selling burritos and Doggy Treats. Mary Ann’s burritos are always good, but I didn’t try one of Cynthia’s dog cookies. On the City Hall lawn was the Church of Christ women with cold tea and lemonade. For all the nay-sayers and non-goers, these three venders drew quite a crowd. Correction: four venders, well not exactly venders. Todd Wilson had some kittens, well, he was offering anyone a dollar to take them off his hands. Sorry Todd, you just never know when you’re gonna make the news.

As I was saying, if three venders could attract 50 people, how many could 50 venders attract. No algebra here, this is a myth-a-matical question. Everyone within 100 miles of Munday is starved for entertainment. But we all think there is no entertainment. Television certainly isn’t entertainment anymore. We still end up at home, where we complain at our spouses, or our pets. If we have neither, we howl at the moon. That presents us with an idea: a Moon Howling contest, on the nights of every full moon. Or, if you live near water, you can go on a moonlight swim.

Everyone who doesn’t get out on Saturady morning to set up a table of vegetables, or bakeware, or anything, is missing out on a lot of fun and blessings. Of course its hot, this is Texas in July, it’s supposed to be hot. Just never mind the heat, put on a straw hat and come on out.

The fourth of July weekend was great. We can’t have a parade every week, but we can make every week a good time. Work with me please, and let’s dream up creative and exciting things to do on our weekends in Munday. I’m suggesting a domino tournament to start with. Whose time is to shuffle?

We’ve got something started, let’s keep it going. And don’t forget to Market Munday.