A person on the radio that I listen to has a little saying. It goes like this: "you don't want to look out your window and see Jim Cantore standing on your front lawn." Well on March 2nd of last year, that's exactly what we all got. Storm chasers and meteorologist from all across the country converged on our area for what was expected to be one of the worst tornado outbreaks in history. Not only was there a great certainty that there would be many tornadoes, but they would be the large and most powerful ones.
I'll spare you the nerd terms and just say that there were winds at different heights blowing very fast in different directions. And unusually warm weather was going to form storms that would tap into that wind. The result was probably one of the scariest days we've been through.
It was a day I think most of us just wanted to be home. We all knew something bad was going to happen. And it did.
Henryville was hit by two tornadoes. The first was a powerful EF-4 tornado. So strong that didn't just move a school bus. But picked up a school bus and threw it with enough force to crash it through a building. Marysville was wiped off the map. And a pay stub ended up on a journey that took it to Cincinnati.
The second was a weaker tornado, but with damage done by the first, it had many projectiles to toss about leading to more damage.
It was a day we all feared. We knew something bad was going to happen. We held out hope against hope that at the end of the day we would all get to say "well the weathermen were wrong again." But they weren't. And things will never be the same because of it.
-Now onto the Wrap Up:
-The biggest story of the week occurred Friday (don't they know you're supposed to release "bad" news on Friday) when the city and county reached a tentative agreement on payment from the county to the city for use of the Ogle Animal Shelter. The county will pay the city $150,000 and waive a rental fee on a storage space the city uses in the county building. And Tom Galligan gets to keep his job on the air board. It's WIN WIN!
In all seriousness I understand the commissioners feeling some bitterness over a debt to the city that the current mayor helped bring on. But the simple matter of the fact is that the shelter could really use that money and it is good for all involved that a deal has been reached.
-Going back for just a second, I do have a question regarding a story on the disagreement that was in the N&T here. In it is the following quote:
"Merkley pointed to a provision that Stephenson said existed regarding the removal of former Mayor Tom Galligan from his position as president of the Clark County Board of Aviation Commissioners as part of the previous deal regarding county payments for the shelter.
Moore denied it was ever part of any of the previous negotiations with the commissioners.
“I have no issue with your appointments to the Clark County Airport Board and frankly, [I] have no desire to do the county’s business,” he wrote in the letter.
With that provision no longer in play, Merkley said Stephenson had claimed he was OK with everything else in the agreement to pay the county $125,000. Stephenson said he was OK with the payment, if the $125,000 would include the money owed for this year."
Okay, now either Merkley to the N&T or the N&T itself seems to indicate that there was at one point a provision that included Galligan's ouster. If that is the case, then what we have here is someone in Moore's own administration admitting that Moore lied to the whole city by way of the media about the Galligan provision.
As I've stated before, I believe Rick Stephenson and am glad Galligan will remain on the air board. And I find it highly unethical and petty that Moore would use a debt he helped create to further try and bury a former political adversary. But at no point did I say that would surprise me.
-The mayor and redevelopment commission are trying to give 50 year leases for $1 year to some arts museum people. These are taking place in the proposed canal area.
Oh, where do I start with this.
First, these things will not draw much more than diddly squat to downtown. It would be a waste of space and possible taxes.
Oh sure, they would be nice supplementary attractions that would be great to along with or in addition to a big attraction. The primary problem being here is that we don't have a big attraction yet. And I've heard of nothing that is in the works that would remotely qualify as a big attraction. Until that has been found and identified, we should not be adding any of these small attractions unless we know that they will compliment the main attraction.
Second, I don't think that Moore or Waiz personally care about how either of these perform. It is my belief that the 50 year $1 leases are just a way to make sure that no future administration can pursue the canal. Again this is petty. If you two stooges do a good enough job then you wont have to worry about another administration until most people have forgotten that a canal idea even existed. And what does it say that you are willing to throw this property and the potential tax revenue away for nothing but pay for the full amount of the tenth street project? It says that your priorities are completely out of whack and the only clear vision of the future you have presented for Jeffersonville is your attempt to try and erase the memory of the previous administration.
-Keep an eye on the weather for Tuesday and Wednesday. There is a possibility of some light snow (might be our last chance of the season). At this point it appears to be very light. But there still remains a slim chance that we could get a few inches. I'll keep an eye on it and post any information right here on the blog.
-Finally, I said my heart felt condolences to Kelley and her family.
I won't even pretend that the two of us are even cordial to one another any longer, but the hurt they all must be feeling right now is more than I can imagine and something that no one should have to go through. You and your family are in my family's thoughts and prayers.
-That should do it for tonight. As always feel free to comment below and to like the Facebook Page. I'll be back later in the week with another blog post and a new poll. Until then, have a good week everyone!
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