JULY GOSSIP PAGES

Rumor has it that the work on the boat has been delayed this week as it is rumored that the fire chief presented the workers with a bunch of papers regarding open burning. I guess that after the talk with the local big farmer on the South about his little fire, the chief thought he should make things right and stop the fires on the boat property.

It also has been rumored that the reason the fire equipment is setting out side downtown rather than in the new building is the chief has made it clear that the equipment will not be put in the new building until he is finished working on it. Now, he needs the money to finish the building.

Another rumor has it that the Mayor has rented a storage shed for some Mayoral papers. Question is now, what is being hidden. Some Councilmen don't know that there is another account at the bank. they were told only of one bank account. Question is, are there others. Why is that what some Councilmen say at the council meetings is published in the minutes and others aren't? Why can't any Councilman talk about other things except what is on his committee? I thought a Councilman represented everyone on every part of the City. I guess two Councilmen have other rules for the other councilmen.

Rumor has that the following are going to run for Mayor next term. So much for loyalty to the present Mayor. 

Ralph (pave my drive free) Martin thinks he is smart enough to manage a $1.5 million budget.

Fred (no prayer here) Wiewel thinks he is smart enough to do it too.

Jim (locker room) Ellison thinks he has the macho to manage the City. The boys in the locker room at Highland will like this.

Patty (City Clerk) Spindler is rumored to put her hat in the ring also.

So, folks, send me email on the one you think has the expertise to manage a $1.5 million dollar City budget.

For all you people who are pissed off about the road closing, what did you expect from your Mayor and City Council. Any idiot could have seen that once the City Council GAVE YOUR CITY STREETS to the gambling boat that the boat would take immediate possession. Oh, and about the NEW street, there wasn't any clause that says the Gambling boat has to build it any time soon. You people of La Grange are just shit out luck when it comes to the gambling boat. It is now just starting to be built and already people of the town are being affected.

It didn't bother most of the people when the property owners were being horsed around. BUT NOW, the boat people are starting on the rest of you people. You think you are being inconvenienced now, you ain't seen nothing yet. You just wait until the clauses in the contract the City and the Gambling boat drew up BEFORE Ralph (pave my drive free) Martin made the motion to pick Dean Phillips over Catfish Bend take effect. See below.

Figures change daily with this boat. First $24 mil, then $8-$10 mil, now we are back up to $18 mil. Patronage went from 1/2 million people to over 1.3 million people. Jobs went from over 500 to somewhere between 200 - 300 and now 400+-. 

1.3 million people are year. That's over 3000 people each and every day. That's over 2000 cars a day. Wait till you decide to go to Quincy. All this and no one has any idea who these people are and where they come from. 

 Does anyone actually believe that you, the people who have lived in La Grange all your lives will see any benefit to them in the end? You can bet that the Mayor will benefit, that Ralph (pave my drive free) Martin and Fred (no prayer here) will benefit. You know the old banker (who has helped us all over the 45 years and who just wanted to create jobs for you) will benefit. And of course the new president of the Chamber, who really doesn't take office until August will benefit. I wonder what the now president of the chamber felt when the new one took his place at the ground breaking.

With the $1 to $1.3 million to the City from the boarding fees, and the 2% of the gross which is supposed to be over $1.5 million, you would think the Mayor and City Council would enact an Ordinance doing away with the property tax on the people of La Grange and maybe do away with any water bills. With millions of dollars rolling in every year, that little bit of income won't be missed. Why not Mayor and Council?

I agree with Bill Grace, as he says, "Without what's-her-name, the ground breaking would not have happened". I wonder how the restaurants now are handling all those 200 workers, or is it just two workers? By the looks so far, I could have taken my ole dragline and Ted Sturhaun's dozer, and Bobby Cottrell's loader and had all that work done years ago. I am just tickled to death for the Mayor.

Let's see now, the LRO had their groundbreaking and it took them two years to start building, after they cleaned the property, will the same happen here with the boat?

Is the City going to bill Mr. Neer for all those flats tires the backhoe got cleaning up Neers property for him? Seems the super didn't want to take off the flat and run it flat to get it repaired and caused extra holes.

It's too bad for Ernie Tasco, he fought the battle a long time and finally died the other day.

Since the fire chief has a business (he bought the liquor store in Canton, I hear) and property in Canton, will he be fire chief there too?

Today, AmerenUE gave Betty Bronstine a check for $10,000.00 for the new La Grange Community Youth Center. There were a lot of people there interested in the youth of La Grange. Below is a picture of Betty receiving the check.

There is a lot more about the Youth Center and how anyone can help make this new center a reality. They have a website at www.lagrangeyouthcenter.homestead.com. You can go to this site and see how you can help and also see what the Youth Center is all about. One thing to keep in mind is the facts that this youth center has been going for a long time, a lot longer than many other youth centers and a lot of kids have been helped. This is one of the very few accomplishments that have been made in La Grange that the people of La Grange can be proud of.

CONGRATULATIONS BETTY ON A GREAT START.

I believe the gambling boat people had a ground breaking today. I was a few minutes late getting there and everyone was gone. An old man on a mobile scooter was there and he said that everyone went to a party at City Hall. So I went by City Hall and everyone was gone. I guess it doesn't take long to dedicate a gambling boat. If I was doing it, we would have had a free hog roast and a few kegs of beer and a band to celebrate with. And, it would have lasted a lot longer than a few minutes.

FRONT PAGE OF     "THE QUINCY HERALD WHIG"

"THE GAMBLING BOAT IS COMING"

Mayor Harold Ludwig, the pride of 187 voters stated in the paper that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held Monday for the gambling boat. Exactly where is still unknown. Exactly what time is still unknown. If you want to be a the groundbreaking ceremony, get there at 7am and stay til it happens.

OK, everyone, last column of the article. How big will the boat be? again!, now how much will it cost? again!, now how many people will it employ? again!, How many slot machines will it have? again!, how many crap tables will it have? again!, And will it have a restaurant? a lounge? (oh boy), and a retail shop? I am just tickled to death!

I heard that if you are driving a little white car on the four lane, you have to watch out for those Iowa drivers as the tend to bump into slow Missouri cars. Maybe the Youth Center can take up classes on defensive driving techniques.  

Normally, when any City has some kind of dedication, there are signs around, notices in the paper and such. Even when we dedicated the new flag pole at the Riverfront Park, it was noticed with posters around town and a notice in the local PNJ.

Now, I hear we are going to have a ground breaking for the gambling boat. Probably the most important ground breaking in the history of La Grange and you see it here first. Absolutely astonishing. Well, I hear the groundbreaking will be Monday. sometime.  Then powers-that-be will treat themselves to a hearty meal and party at the Lions Club. Oh, sorry, you are not invited.

The rest of the coffee shop still say, they will believe it when they see it. Like everyone else.

I have had several emails by people doing searches on Bill Grace and Ward Sauvage. I'll wait till later and put them altogether to see what they come up with. I received two letters that weren't sent to me directly. Interesting.

When you go down to the ground breaking, stop by the old 61 lunch and look how high the water was in 1993. Then try to visualize how high the casino will be in the air. That is if they want to be higher than the '93 flood.

The gambling boat people are in town today "looking over their property with maps". Is this the sign we have been waiting for? Stay tuned.

Upon driving North on 5th street from Route C, In a glance I noticed that the street from 4th to 5th was paved. I had to go around the block to take a closer look. After close inspection, I am sure that the street super had Sam do that street. It was paved completely from side to side AND the corners were married in. Now we all know that the street super does not get off a machine with a steering wheel, so it had to be done by Sam.

Rumor has it that the Mayor has a new City program for the people of La Grange and even those who don't live in town. It seems to go like this. All a person has to do is buy a lot of ice cream and the Mayor will send the street super AND a backhoe to your property for as long as you need them and use it to clean up your property for you AT NO COST. OR, maybe only the past dentist gets the special treatment from the Mayor.

Well, it looks like the LRO is finally getting the front of their building done. Rumor has it that Susies offices is a lot bigger than the past bank VP. Now, if we can only get all the kitchen stuff installed before the boat construction starts. They better hurry, the boat will be built before they are ready.

Did we vote in the wrong councilmen? Seems like old times at the Council Meetings.

I received an email from a former citizen of La Grange. Even though do not live here anymore, they are interested in what goes on here as they do come back once in awhile and have relatives here. There are several who live away and email me questions but this one ask some serious ones.

They know me and my family, the Mayor and his family and some of the Councilmen and their families, but, they went on to say, what do you know about the man putting the gambling boat here? All they know, or you and I know is what is presented to use in the paper. For all they know, he could be another Pomeroy, or worse. Or he could be the shining star of La Grange. Where does he come from? What has he done in the past? Where did he go to school? Who are and where does his parents live? Does he have any brothers or sisters? What is his financial status? What has he done for the other towns he has a boat or business? Does he go to church?  Does the Mayor know any of these answers? Or the City Council? Did they even ask?

These were some of the questions that were presented to me. So I am presenting them here. Does anyone know the answers to the questions about the man who is about to become the most important person in town. Do your own searching. Go to all of the search engines like Yahoo and put in the name Bill Grace or William Grace and see what you find. Then put in the name Ward Sauvage as he is a partner in this boat. But, what if you don't like what you find?

I have a couple of emails regarding the two new Councilmen. One stated that if they had know that the one they voted for was going to just go along with the crowd, they would have voted for Ed. One wrote that he knows for a fact that his Councilman didn't read the new contract presented to the Council for passage.

One other email was questioning why the fire chief hasn't ordered the fire trucks and equipment be moved to the new building. Yes, why not? Why leave all the equipment out in the elements?

Had to add another x on the super. Another day off. Sorry about the picture above, didn't realize some computers wouldn't see a bmp image.

In the PNJ the other day the gambling boat person stated that either the dirt work would start or the weeds would be mowed. Well, they are mowing weeds.

Another day to cut brush so the street super takes another vacation day. I missed a couple of partial days though. Looks like if all the brush doesn't get cut today, there may be another vacation day tomorrow.

Did you see those lovely ladies in the above picture in the PNJ? 

Mr. Grace explains to the Mayor and Council the reasons for the 5 year delay for the Gambling boat. He didn't mention the many different times they moved the location of the boat. One item I thought that a Councilman would have questioned was this, If the LRO has bought most all the land and the City has given the rest, Where has $1.5 million dollars been spent? He must one expensive engineer and lawyer. There other item would be, how can multimillionaires have problems getting a loan?  But the comment about the weeds is the kicker, so we can only suppose that instead of dirt work in two weeks, someone will be mowing weeds.

When someone wants you to sign a LEGAL document and says, oh, it is just a standard form, the people of La Grange should watch out.

One last comment on the Council meeting. The Mayor made a statement that if the boat comes he doesn't think OUR TAXES WILL GO UP! Good Heavens, I should hope not, after all, The Mayor, The Council, The Boat people, The old bank vice president, All of them have stated over and over and over again. The City Will Get $1.5 MILLION DOLLARS EVERY YEAR. You would think that with that kind of money it would be like Las Vegas, NO TAXES, NO WATER BILLS, NO SEWER BILLS, Nothing, on any resident of La Grange. And the Mayor doesn't think YOUR TAXES WILL GO UP.  DUH!

Well, the street super is getting a little better. Some of the corners are getting rounded out, but the Thousands of Dollars new paver can't seem to reach both sides of the street. One side gets it to the grass, the other likes a bit getting there.

One final thing. If the Mayor and brother think they are alone in furnishing food, they should know that Susie is beating the bushes to find people to turn the new building into a big eating place for the workers. Where will the workers eat. Outside in the heat and dirt near a lunch wagon, or a nice new air conditioned building? Sorry guys, she needs the money BAD.  

The Quincy Herald Whig tonight had another chapter to the Gambling Boat saga, It is going to start. The Mayor really doesn't have to worry about all this making him and the City look stupid. Did you notice the same ole, same ole, stuff about how much money will be made, how many people will be hired, how many tables, how many slot machines. Over and over and over again. Kinda like that wedding and retirement and all those good things. Over and over and over again. I really doubt that million plus figure spent already. A little bit of fudgin there.

What is noticeable is the cost of this big boat, the first told to the people from Boomtown was $24 million, then it went down to $18 mil and now down to $10-$12 mil. Jobs went from over 500 to now down to a couple of hundred. If this boat gets any smaller we can all chip in and build a swimming pool and put a pontoon boat in it.

I hear the boat people are hitting on the last black to own property by the proposed boat. One more and they will have gotten rid of all the blacks on the South end of town. Rumor has it the LRO built their building on someone else's property, even after they surveyed it 19 times. Even though the names this man has been called and all the City has done to him, he showed them he was a better person and traded property. Lucky them. I say again, LUCKY THEM. They could have had to move their building or paid a whole bunch of rent forever. Kinda like making monthly payments.

Did you notice that the street super did the street in front of the City Clerks house? Did you notice that he did HER corners correctly? Goes to show, doesn't it? Now, we can work on getting the asphalt to cover the street completely from side to side.

The next time you are out and about town, drive up he town hill Route C, and just when you turn North on 7th, look at the roof at that house on the North West Corner. It looks like that roof has been divided up into sections. Is that a new art design for roofs?

Take look at our new Cobra Mustang. $40,000+-?? WOW. 

A couple of items today. I received an email from a relative of a City employee chastising me for the awful things I say about the street super. I agree, a person shouldn't pick on someone who is basically lazy, it isn't right. But, the person who is actually being picked on is the Mayor. It is up to the Mayor to see that the street super does his job correctly. Just take a look at the street work on the hill before you get to senior housing. On EVERY street that has any work done on it, the street super makes a pothole in the corners. A very good example is the corner by Wallace House. Go North on Route C and make a sharp turn East at the Baptist Church and see if you don't hit your head on the roof of your car. Any Mayor who allows this kind of shoddy workmanship of the City crew will allow this kind of work in his own business. If you don't care, you don't care.

Sometimes, you sit back and wonder what happened to the good guys who used to be lawmen. Remember Ted Bear of the Highway Patrol, Pearl Hicks, Bob Whitmer?? Just the other night, a father was having a problem with his teenage daughter. She wanted to stay out all night and he thought she should bed. They were on vacation and staying at the Wykonda State Park. It was late and the State Park Person gave them the wrong combination to the lock for late people to get in the park. He was called to open the gate so the two fathers could take their children back to their rented trailers. While he was unlocking the gate for them to get in, one of the teenage girls started to get out of the car and the father pushed her back in. ALERT! The State Park Person went on full alert. Called in the license number, came out of the park and gave the driver of the car a drunk test and question the girls. The one girl stated she didn't want to be there. "She didn't even want to go on this trip anyhow". 

The State Park Person let them in and these people went to their cabins and went to bed. At 3:00 O'clock in the morning a Lewis County Deputy, the State Park Person and a Hiway Patrolman started beating the sides of the cabin ordering everyone out. The father was arrested for assault on his daughter for trying to keep her in the car that she didn't want to be in. What surprised me was that he wasn't arrested for kidnapping too.

But, back to the old lawmen. Pearl or Bob or Ted would have started asking questions of who belonged to who and exactly what was going on. They would have quickly seen a rebellious teenager and a father trying to teach her right from wrong and they would have verbally reprimanded the teenager and left.

BUT NO! The three Barney Fifes had to make something more out of it. They really wanted to throw the two fathers on the ground and yell and handcuff them, but they settled for just arresting one of the fathers for assault. What is more stupid is the Prosecuting Attorney going along with this farce. I guess when it comes to money, and charge will do, even it is wrong.

The City of La Grange has had several Barney Fifes and I am beginning to believe that all this Barney Fife business all started when FOX started running those COPS shows. Instead of quietly going to the person in his car or home or on the street and talking to the person or persons they are after and make the arrest, It is all yelling and screaming and hollering ten different commands. Most people don't know which command to obey, get on your knees, lay down, stand up, sit down. put your hands behind your head, behind our back, outstretched. But, I guess if you confuse the person enough, you can also arrest him for resisting arrest because he failed to put his hands behind his back and behind his head at the same time.

But, this deal at the State park really goes to show you how TV has affected the minds of not only our local or County or State police, but now the State Park People.  

So let this be a warning to you who go to the WYKONDA STATE PARK, BARNEY IS WATCHING YOU.

Truck load after truck load of premixed asphalt has been hauled to the old school house parking lot. You do remember that the Mayor and Council forgot about that part when they bought the lot to put the City shed on backwards and the fire station on. We can only suppose that this will be used to do streets that haven't been done before. BUT!, After 47 years of dedicated service to everyone in La Grange, after all the sacrifices made of 47 years of dedicated service to the community, it is only fitting that her street gets patched first, even if it only needs a little patching from her driveway to the street edge. You know, like how it was done at Councilman Lowe. After all. if one Councilman can get his whole drive paved free, why can't other Councilmen and dedicated people get theirs done too. But, as always, the Street super after 40 years, still cannot figure out how to make asphalt go around a corner without making another pot hole. I guess, if we have a Mayor that doesn't care, so why would the street super care.

Now, take poor ole Bob, who dedicated many years of service to the community, plus a whole lot of free work too, his street is still a washed out rock road. And he has always thought of the street super as a good friend. 

As I stated above, every few months, just like clock work the gambling boat people put out another blurb, usually on a new start date. Today, in the Press News Journal there is an front page article stating there is another wait. Then inside is a letter to the editor telling it like it is about the boat. But, everyone else in town is "we'll believe it, when we see it." 

Well, Maurice Tonnies is now "fully" retired. Most of the breakfast didn't even know he had a job. They all thought all he had to do was take his wife to the gambling boats. Well, that and entertain the Funnel Cake customers.

Rumor has it that another gambling boat supporter has profited handsomely with the sale of a couple of lots. 

Well, if you didn't get to the bar-b-que early enough, you didn't get any. Before I went in to get some, I drove by to see who was cooking, When I saw Danny Logsdon and Brad Davis running the show I felt the chicken was going to be cooked right. And it was good. I noticed that they kept Freddie (no prayer here) out of the way by letting him drive the golf cart to deliver the chicken from the cookers to the kitchen. Good idea. Service inside was very good, a large one was really hustling the tables.

Is it true that in order to keep your job that you have to hire your boss to put a new roof on your home. 7th & Washington.

The question today is, if the City is buying and paying more for premix asphalt, then why is the City crew loading up the oiler?  Maybe they are going to fix the new potholes the made on North 3rd street.

I saw the City truck today with the mosquito fogger in the back today, Wednesday, but somehow it didn't do anything about the mosquitoes last night.

The other day I was driving to town following a logging truck. We had just passed the Chief when one of the smaller logs fell off. The Chief, red lights flashing and siren blasting came flying up to where the log fell off and stopped. He got out of his car and promptly arrested the log for impersonating Al Gore. 

Whereas City business is getting to be a drag, I am setting up other pages for computer users. One will be how to make your computer work better and the other will be about scams.