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Connie Wilson - Sat 23 Aug 2008 06:31 PM CDT
altheakims - Tue 19 Aug 2008 04:28 AM CDT
Richard - Sun 17 Aug 2008 06:57 PM CDT
sspl05 - Sat 02 Aug 2008 07:21 AM CDT
ihatehogconfinements - Mon 21 Jul 2008 06:45 PM CDT
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Tuesday, May 31
John Drury: Legislative Session Nothing to Boast About
by
John Drury
on Tue 31 May 2005 03:25 PM CDT
 Legislative Session Nothing to Boast About
by John Drury
Iowa
Senate Democratic leader and potential gubernatorial candidate Mike
Gronstal was in Mason City the other day. He apparently is on a tour of
the state looking for press and support of his possible run for the
governor’s office.
He is
calling the recent legislative session “historic”, pointing out that
the divided senate forced both parties to listen to the other side. He
boasted about some of the accomplishments of the session such as more
money for schools and the legislation to reduce the number of meth labs
in the state.
First
off, it’s a sad day in Iowa when simply listening to the other party is
considered historic. And if you talk to school boards and
superintendents, they will tell you that giving them 4% allowable
growth after years of under-funding doesn’t come close to enough money
to properly fund public education. And if your school’s enrollment is
on the decline as a lot of them are, there is no new money. The meth
lab legislation is something I would have voted for but since 85% of
the meth problem comes from out of state, I would realize that we
probably haven’t even scratched the surface of the problem.
What he
can’t boast about is how the state legislature has failed to address
the “brain drain” problem. Sure, the senate Republicans got a lot of
press when they announced their no tax under 30 plan; but after being
mocked in the Op-Ed page of the New York Times they more or less
admitted it was nothing more than a gimmick and dropped the idea.
What he can’t boast about is how the state has failed to help thousands of working Iowans by raising the minimum wage. We
even heard the senate Republican leader say that he didn’t see that it
was an issue because he doesn’t know anyone working for minimum wage,
almost at the same time one legislator called the state’s workers
“bottom feeders.” Not
only did we not raise it, we sat idly by while Minnesota did the
responsible thing and raised it by a dollar to $6.15. Quite frankly,
it’s almost embarrassing to sit here and argue for a $6.15 minimum
wage. Even that falls piteously shy of a living wage.
What he
can’t boast about is that according to a recent Des Moines Register
article, the state has dropped to 49th in the nation when it comes to
public land for recreation. And even though recreation is essential to
keeping residents in the state and attracting tourists, just 2
percent of Iowa is public recreation land. According to the article,
years ago state lawmakers set a goal to have ten percent of Iowa in
publicly controlled lands. I think we have a ways to go. Only the state
of Kansas has less land for public recreation than we do. On a lighter
note, we may now have a new state slogan ... “Thank God for Kansas!”
What he
can’t boast about is how the legislature failed to listen to the
concerns of organic growers in the state before they passed the
infamous seed de-regulation bill. The legislature enacted pre-emptive
legislation that prevents local governments from regulating the types
of seeds grown in their communities or counties. Essentially, they are
now regulating de-regulation. So in retrospect, I guess that is kind of
“historic.”
What he
can’t boast about is that even though we are in a difficult budget
crisis, we somehow found money for a pay increase for state legislators.
What he
can’t boast about is how the state has failed to make it easier for
Iowans to get affordable prescription drugs from Canada. Currently,
there are only four U.S. states that openly encourage their citizens to
buy prescription drugs from Canada: Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and
Wisconsin. Maybe the senate Republican leader doesn’t know anyone that
can’t afford to buy their prescription drugs.
If this session was truly historic, then let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.
Tuesday, May 10
John Drury: "Well, as long as you're OK."
by
John Drury
on Tue 10 May 2005 03:38 PM CDT
"Well, as long as you're OK."
by John Drury
I
want to take a break from the politics for a week and dedicate this
column to my mother in honor of Mother’s Day. My mother passed away on
March 18, 1999 after a brief bout with lung cancer.
My
mother taught me that in order to get anywhere in life, you couldn’t be
afraid of hard work. I don’t recall her ever specifically sitting me
down and teaching me this lesson, instead she taught by example.
As long
as I can remember, she worked as hard as she could and if something
needed to get done, she would be the one to do it. My mother had a
strong work ethic and whether she knew it or not, she passed that on to
all of her children as well.
My
parents were divorced when I was a teenager and after my older brothers
and sister had either gone off to college or moved away, it was just
the two of us.
She
worked for years at the hardware store here in Swaledale. G.A.
Eddy & Sons TrueValue hardware was a full scale hardware store,
complete with lumber yard and LP gas business. I would venture to say
that my mother probably knew the product line better than anyone there.
If you needed a particular piece of hardware, she knew exactly where it
was. I can remember going into the store after school. I remember
watching her help customers find what they were looking for. I have one
of her nametags that she wore while she worked there. It has the
TrueValue logo, underneath that is her name Marcelle, and under that it
says Happy To Serve You.
I can’t
imagine a more appropriate slogan for my mother to work by. She truly
was happy to serve people. Later in life she took a job at Easter Seals
in Mason City. She enjoyed that job as well and worked there until her
retirement.
When she
retired, she found that she perhaps had too much time on her hands. She
would never come right out and say it, but I think she missed going to
work every day and helping people. What she did come out and say was
how proud she was of her children and grandchildren. She took great
pride in watching us do well.
I want
to share a story. The year was 1998 and I was living in Rhode Island at
the time, but my wife and I were in Swaledale for a visit. It was the
end of June and time for the town’s annual 4th of July celebration.
Almost every town has some annual event where they have a parade, town
picnic, games for the kids, perhaps a street dance, and Swaledale was
no exception. Swaledale Big Day is held the last Saturday in June. We
have all of the required elements for a town celebration and we top it
off with a street dance at night. We close off main street, hire a band
or a disc jockey and literally dance in the street.
This
particular Big Day was probably the hottest it’s ever been in
Swaledale. The day’s events were pulled off without a hitch until it
was time for the street dance. As my wife and I were waiting for the
dance to begin, the Swaledale Fire Dept. went through town advising
everyone that there was a tornado coming right towards Swaledale and we
were to take cover. We happened to be outside the old hardware store
which is now an industrial door business called Doors, Inc. We quickly
took cover in the basement thinking that our lives could quite possibly
be over. As I sat there waiting for the tornado to either hit or miss
us, I remember thinking about the old pop machine the hardware store
used to have. I could get a bottle of pop for a dime after school and I
often did. I wondered if it was still there.
The
tornado missed Swaledale by about a mile and we were relieved. Not only
because we were spared the devastation, but also because now we had a
legitimate reason to dance in the street. I called my mother after the
all clear was issued and told her we were OK. She asked me where we
were. I told her we were “in Doors.” She said, “but where are you?” I
said, “we are in Doors.” There was a slight pause and she said, “well,
as long as you’re OK.” At that point I realized she thought I was
telling her that we were indoors but didn’t want to be specific. We
shared a good laugh and I still chuckle about it today.
Saturday’s
storm brought beautiful weather on Sunday. Celeste and I were supposed
to leave in the afternoon for Rhode Island. I remember the family
sitting in the grass in the shaded front yard and discussing calling
the airline to postpone our flight another day. I am glad we did. It
was our last visit before she got sick.
My
mother gave me my love for public service. There is a certain amount of
sacrifice and when done well, a lot of work involved in being a mayor
of a small town. I believe that a love for public service coupled with
a strong work ethic were very important traits for me to have.
Everything
I set out to accomplish as mayor, I worked as hard as I could to get
the job done. My mother wouldn’t have it any other way. And I am very
grateful to her.
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