Friday, August 8, 2008
News Tribune Looks At Ruston's Ballot Measure
Scott Fontaine of the News Tribune is working on a story about our upcoming vote to change the form of government in Ruston. You can read a preview of some of his contacts on his blog here... The editorial board has weighed in on the issue, too. You can read their opinion here...
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23 comments:
What Ruston needs is not a ballot measure.
Listen carefully:
You need somebody who can take your town and turn it into the gem that it really is.
Forget the "town manager" position. Forget Pudlo. Forget Transue. Forget Wheeler. Forget Everding-dong.
Ruston has good people. The problem is that sometimes Ruston government gets the wrong people. Let's have an example or two...
The Wombachers...
Wild Scooter Bill...
Everding-dong...
That one mayor who was shot years ago in the south part of Ruston...
That one blonde-haired idiot who was running for Council Postition #2 back in the late 90's...
Ok, so you guys want a plan? You guys want something newsworthy? Keep reading and drool, because this is some hot stuff.
RUSTON DOES NOT NEED A MAYOR OR A MANAGER. THEY NEED A DICTATOR. I hereby volunteer for the job.
The following items need to be taken care of and adhered to upon my taking over of the town:
1.) Ruston will be made grand again.
2.) Ruston's portion of "Pearl Street" will be the best part of "Pearl Street" and it will be glorified and dressed up to impress anyone and everyone.
3.) 51st Street and the tunnel leading to the waterfront will be turned into an avenue.
4.) Ruston will re-zone various places to accomodate future growth.
5.) The population of Ruston will increase from 500 citizens to over 2,000 or more.
6.) Ruston will be able to open up pre-existing areas to more retail and commercial job opportunities, including possible business/office buildings and medium to high class dining.
7.) The old Ruston squabbling will be done away with.
8.) A competant police chief (not Reinhold or Wheeler) will be employed.
9.) Salaries of the police and volunteer fire departments will be increased to improve their motivation for doing a good job.
10.) The casino (formerly known as the "Showboat" when I was a youngster) will be made into something grand and dignified that will attract visitors from afar to visit Ruston's unique Casino. If that fails, we'll turn it into a used car dealership lot.
11.) Ruston park will be improved. The area of land on the east side of the park will be utilized for something--perhaps trails or a dog park. Ruston park is hardly used these days and if improved, it would encorage more residents to take the short 5 minute walk to the park and relax. Perhaps the addtion of barbecue grills will do the trick.
12.) Fireworks will be available from June 28th through July 6th WITHOUT a bloody permit. They will also be available from December 31st through January 1st. Fireworks sales will be permitted and no more than three stands shall be allowed in Ruston providing the stands pay no less than 20% in tax to Ruston for fireworks sales. This tax shall go to the Police and Fire departments.
13.) A new garbage truck will be purchased and Steve the garbage man will receive retirement pension.
14.) Two new firetrucks will be purchased and will replace the aging Ruston firetruck that was commissioned back in 1926. That firetruck will go to the Boeing Museum of Flight where it will be on display as a hunk of junk.
15.) A new town hall will be constructed, which will be seperate from the current location. The current town hall will be converted into official police and fire headquarters (as what it is usually during the day) and the new town hall will be located either off of Pearl Street for all to see or in the parking lot of that bank near 51st street that is never open anyways.
16.) That lake between 51st street and the tunnel shall be drained and the water from that lake sent back to the Hanford site near Moses Lake where it came from in the first place. The surrounding area should be filled in with clay and dirt and more condos should be built there.
17.) I would apply for a loan and give the money to Don and Beth to turn their market into something a bit more modern. Don't get me wrong--I grew up eating ice cream with grandma there. They have a great place. I'd give them the money to spiff up the place, maybe change the purple paint back to red and buy new airline seats for their store. I hear Northwest Airlines has upgraded their first class seating, maybe they can buy some of their old chairs...
18.) I would light a fire underneath Tacoma and Sound Transit to do this:
(and this is IMPORTANT)
BUILD a SUBWAY LINE from Ruston through central and downtown Tacoma that would turn into a light rail line that would link the whole bloody Pacific Northwest with itself. I would use Ruston as a starting point for the trains (even if they were electric) to bring back the "small town industry" feel that we once had to make us important again. Trains would either start the trip from Ruston/Pt. Defiance (with a train station at the ferry terminal, one at 51st and Pearl, and the next one at 46th and Pearl, then at Truman & Pearl, etc...) or they would end in Ruston for the night and we would have a train yard (we could get rid of that stupid Pt. Defiance go-cart lot) where people would work to maintain the trains on liveable wages. Trains would get people off of the road and to school and work and to the mall with NO GAS usage and it would reduce the traffic, especially for those trying to clamor onto 16 or 5 in the afternoons...
19.) I would try to have some company come into Ruston with a clinic (like Healthworks) so we'll have some kind of medical assistance available without having to either go to Allenmore or at least to that stupid FirstCare clinic up at Westgate.
20.) Finally, I would do this: I would bring tradition and pride to Ruston. I would introduce new festivals and events, I would bring back the "BIG" Christmas Tree that we once knew and loved, we would have parades as often as possible, and the citizens would all wear "I love Ruston" T-shirts. It won't matter if your name is Mary or Connie or Bradley or Michael or Kim...all will be welcome, and all will share in what small town glory that we have. Come one, come all, but enjoy yourself in the process. Ruston will have the same small town atmosphere as downtown Edmonds or Westport--there will be shops to explore, a library, a proud town hall and a firm police department, as well as a parade and a true spirit that those who live here really want to be here--they don't live here because they have no choice, they want to because they take pride in their town.
When I was a kid in Ruston, I remember the stack being the only thing that made sense. Sure, I went to Pt. Defiance instead of the old Ruston School, but that's because the old Ruston School had closed down. Our paperboy was Mic Day, and our mailman was a petite guy with black hair. We lived near Dorothy and Mrs. Heinz and we used to watch the old "Sailor" guy and his buddy walk down to the liquor store every afternoon. The Bartles' were good friends, and I remember playing with a neighbor named Mary before they sold their house and a crazy old dude moved in. That same lot now sports two houses instead of one. Shaffer's gas station started to sell posh wine and other wierd things a few years ago which was hard to get used to. The antique store lady is still there, smoking away. Don is renting kayaks and selling hot dogs in the park while Beth still sells Vanilla Coke's to the local regulars. I still remember sitting in that bench in front of their store with grandma eating an ice cream while looking at that old tree that has since been cut down. Kim has his big brown truck and is not afraid to pitch in when a local neighbor's tree falls over in a storm. Bradley is proud of his cars. Steve stil picks up your garbage and trims the trees that line the streets in town.
So what do you say? Is this not the Ruston that you want to live in?
Wow, there are some good ideas here. The idea of enhancing the Pearl Street business core was talked about at length a few years ago, the planning commission recommended some improvements to encourage smart development and the council (Everding, Mary Joyce and Stebner) took most of the enhancement out when they passed the final zoning code changes.
I don't get the issue with the Wombachers, though. I think they have contributed great things on a volunteer level for years around here.
But I love your last paragraph with all your memories. These are indeed the threads that make up the fabric of our community. We take the good with the bad, but in the end its all part of who we are.
Thanks for sharing - I still don't want a dictator, but input from folks like you keep it interesting around here!
I say you are close to being on track. Not so smart on profiling people though. Lots of ideas..some would work & others might not. So you want the store painted back to red huh? It's just paint and if that would heal this community I'm on it!
It is your generation that needs to step up and make yourselves visable and "show" us what you've got. I was your age when we bought the store and took a chance.
You go ahead and apply for that loan to help Don & Beth make the place more modern...better yet take the loan out for yourself to step up and take over!
I am listening carefully and I haven't heard your name.
Beth
you go Beth!
Yeah, you go Beth; go straight out of Ruston. And take the Wombachers with you. Great idea, anonymous.
That last comment is indicative of what sick demented people belong to the Tacoma cabal. I volunteer for dictator.
Running people out of town based on personal grudges is a lousy way to make Ruston better (the supposed goal of this ballot measure). Your valid thoughts get lost in the negative reaction to your grudges. If you really wanted to make this community better, you wouldn't joke about being a dictator or try to use your comments here to hurt people. My mantra is needed again; address the issue, not the person. We have enough leaders with grudges in Ruston as it is.
Perhaps you should take your own 'mantra' more seriously, Karen, and start practicing it instead of continuously making libelous accusations about others and allowing your friends to do likewise. Your other mantra, 'civility' could use some practice on your part, too. It just sits on your shelf somewhere gathering dust.
A quick lesson here - being nasty isn't going to get you elected, the residents are too smart to go for that. Councilmembers - what are you going to do when you're not on the council? Do you want us to treat you the way you treated us?
I agree with the previous Anonymous. Look where being nasty got Karen in the last primary. She got a whopping 41 votes, yet she still insists she represents the majority. Being delusional doesn't get one elected, either.
The current debates are not about me. Throwing all this in is a typical distraction rather than address the issues. I don't claim to represent the majority, nor am I the author of the "nasty" comments on this blog (including the infamous Nazi picture). I do allow generally free discussion though, some of which is well beyond my personal comfort level. I think it is important to the civic discourse to allow not only other points of view, but allow some difference in how those views are delievered. Some folks come across much stronger than I'd like, but I think they should be allowed to speak out. If you really want to know my personal views (and manner), read the front page posts and comments under my name. I have always been upfront with my opinions. And open discourse is more important than any single voice, which is why even the negative, personal distractions like the last post are here.
Aren't you the blog administrator? And don't you say on your blog that you have the final word as to what qualifies as acceptable 'civic discourse' in both content and style on your blog? You say that you are not the author of the nasty swastika on Council member Bradley Huson's shirt but surely you approved of it as a piece of 'civic discourse' by letting it stay on your blog for weeks for full effect. You called it political freedom of speech. Why did you finally remove it?
Mr Dictator.If put into power,Will you help me get my stapler back?
I'm mostly for this dictator except for who I would like to run out of town. When you have made all the positive changes in the town, what then?
Will you quit? Leave? Or do we adopt the Nicolae Ceaucesceau solution? You could then hang around with the present council, if they are still there.
Craig
Mrs Blog administrator - you did not answer my question. Why did you take away the picture of Bradley Huson with a swastika on his shirt, after defending it hot and heavy at a public council meeting as 'political free speech'?
While I'm here, here's another question: Why did you remove your own address that was printed in some post away's back 'in the interests of protecting my family's privacy' but you did not remove Ruston Connection website administrator Sarah Everding's address to protect her privacy?
I haven't had time to respond to your questions. I did not remove the picture of Bradley. It is posted on a different blog called Ruston Truth, where several authors have free access. Ruston Truth is clearly labeled as a "no-holds barred" political commentary, where there is more license to vent than is allowed here (even in comments). The picture was posted right after Bradley led the charge to remove all public comment at all meetings.
I don't believe I post Ms. Everding's home address anywhere on this blog. Please let me know where you see it and I'll consider removing it. Bear in mind that Mr. Everding is a public official and subject to a higher level of scrutiny.
Thanks for the questions. I'm happy to answer them and try to keep distractions from the real issues (like these) from spreading too much...
The "original" dictator of this post has returned to post again.
Someone asked if I will get them their stapler back. Yes, I will. In fact, not only will they get their original stapler back, but they will get a secondary stapler in case this ever occurs again.
Another person asked what I would do after all of the changes have been made. I would continue to improve Ruston according to that very same original plan that I proposed. I would allow the Fire Department and the Police Department prosper and upgrade their equipment and incrase the quality of service that we provide to our citizens.
It will be my goal to turn Ruston into the 21st century's version of a "model town" with a small town feel, yet modern look and real class.
I really think that Ruston needs some fresh, young blood to revitalize it. Yes, the Point Ruston projects are great, but we need more than that.
What say you?
You posted Ms. Everding's personal information on the Aug 4 Council Meeting post that has the agenda on it. I find it hard to believe you are unaware of this, as it is obvious by the number of deletions you make that you go over every inch of your blog regularly.
By the way, Ms. Everding is not Mr. Everding, so what does your comment that he has to be held to a higher standard have anything to do with printing her personal information?
Thanks for letting me know the specific place. It's been corrected.
Blogger Karen, You've taken off the personal information about Ms Everding. Good.
You haven't answered the other question. Ms Everding is not a public official, so now that it's been pointed out, why did you threw in a comment about Mr Everding being held to a higher level of scrutiny?
Come on, Karen, get your head on straight. The subject was Ms Everding and your printing personal information about her. You've had time to think about it. Your public wants to hear your answer.
How tiresome… such minor details that get blown up into wasted mountains of text. I don’t think this answer will satisfy you, but the bottom line is I’m not perfect. I allowed Ms. Everding's address to get posted (not by me). I believe the address was publicly available (by Ms. Everding’s choice as the host of the Ruston Connection web site). There was no reason for me to bring up Sally’s husband. You may now stand tall on your soapbox – you caught me. It’s really time to move on to a new subject now, really…
Gosh, golly darn, you're able to make such fascinating leaps of logic, Karen. Why did you believe Ms Everding's address was publicly available by 'Ms. Everding’s choice as the host of the Ruston Connection web site'? You gave exactly the opposite reason - your desire for privacy and for your family's privacy - when you removed your own address from your website.
I'm not standing tall on my soapbox; I'm rolling in the aisles laughing. Keep it up. You amuse so many.
When you register a .com website domain name and choose to not register as private, then anyone can look up your information and find out who you are and where you are. www.whois.sc is a good example of this. So it's not Karen's fault.
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