Update on papers

The paper did finally get printed at about 9 p.m.
It will be delivered with Saturday's which should be on time.

Sorry, but it was unavoidable.

The PAPER'S LATE !!!!!!

Its 5:30 p.m. on Friday and you may be wondering where your paper is.
Well it hasn't even been printed yet. We are having some mechanical problems, but we will get it printed and out as soon as we can.
So your paper will be very late tonight. I don't even know how late.
We appreciate your understanding and apologize for the inconvenience.

The editor.

aimless rambling

I realized I have not blogged since Wednesday, so thought I should write something. I don't really have anything to write about, so here is some pointless rambling.
After re-reading it, it seems to be about various states I've lived in.

The Dog Days of summer are finally here in Arkansas City. I don't know why they are called that. Its the time when not much is going on, its beastly hot, and towards the time when school restarts.
It is good to finally see some hot and relatively dry weather. Lately its felt like South Carolina out there. It's common there for it to be 95 degrees, 90 percent humidity and not a cloud in the sky. On the coast there is a shower about every day at about 3 p.m. that cools things off.
But that kind of humidity is not so usual here in Kansas.
I mention South Carolina because that is where I lived before I moved to Kansas.
There are lots of things I like about Kansas and some things I miss about South Carolina. I also once lived in Arkansas. I really don't care if I ever go back to that state or not.

One big cultural adjustment has been food. In South Carolina there is food at every function you go to, and usually really good Southern food.
Just a difference that I've noticed.

People talk about how bad Arkansas City is, but these people should visit LA (lower Arkansas) sometime and see their small towns. It really is flat. Lots of pine trees and acre after acre of farmland. Lots of cotton, soybeans and rice.
Lots of mosquitoes too.
Yep, Arkansas is a good place to be from ... a long way from.

I like Kansas a lot better, though I'll admit that my favorite state is Tennessee, which is where I grew up.
There are three main reasons, first is University of Tennessee football, second is football as played by the university of Tennessee, and third is big Orange Football.
Im exaggerating a bit, but, it is almost football season and I always get a little excited about that. Tennessee is also very beautiful, and ya gotta love that twangy southern accent.

I did live in Texas for six months, but I don't think I was there long enough to get a good feel for what it was really like.
I was in Marshall, Texas, and worked for a newspaper. The town was kinda cool, but the job was one of those horror tales you hear about.
So I don't have an opinion about living in Texas.

Well I need to get to work.

Drop me a comment sometime.

Selah

James

The music is ... on the river.

Some of you by now have heard that I am starting a music festival.
I have never tried anything like this before, so we shall see. Each day I learn something new.

The show is to be on the levee, near the old meat packing plant off South Summit Street.

Ive already started a blog on it, so click there and you may see details.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

This is a non-profit operation. Hopefully we can break even, and if there is any money left, we will start working on next year.

My vision is to see Arkansas City become a mecca for music.

james

Rodeo at the fair

Here are some pictures from the rodeo at the fair in Winfield.
We had a nice picture page in the Traveler.
Pictures are by James Jordan.

Tired of Negativity

Mark Twain allegedly said "everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it."
I could say the same thing about negativity in Arkansas City.
I guess the nay sayers, and negative people just talk louder than anyone else, but you do hear it all over the place.
Like :
The town isn't what it used to be. (That might actually be good, but thats another column)
Things are going downhill.
The town is drying up.
ad nauseum

I even heard someone Monday blasting the fair because it is in Winfield and not in Arkansas City. Of course there were lots of Arkansas City people there. It is, after all, a county event. I only mention that to show how silly it can get.

Yes, Winfield is a rival. Ive only lived here 4 years, but im on the bandwagon with that.
But to me its a friendly rivalry that doesn't really mean anything.
What is good for one is good for the other. We should support each other by going to festivals and other events.

But back to my point.
For those who rip Arkansas City, I could show you some places that are much worse by comparison. Granted, that doesn't make Arkansas City good, but the point is, things are not that bad here.

It's easy to sit back and complain, moan and groan. I guess I'm just tired of it.

People should also realize that they are part of the town, so if the town is lousy, they are part of the reason for it being lousy. A town is no better or worse than the people who comprise the town. So when you live here and rip the town, realize that when you point that finger, three of them are pointing back at you.

I'd like to publicly call out all the naysayers, all the negative people.

What have you done to make Arkansas City a better place ?
How much money have you contributed ?
How much sweat have you deposited on the streets making them better ?
What projects have you participated in ?
What projects have you started ?

Go do those things for a few months and get back to me.

The old saying is true, if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

sunday rambling

Howdy everyone.
I see that some people are still stopping by the blog now that we have changed to a new sever.
However, no one is leaving comments.
I can't blame you too much though, as city business is not exactly the hottest topic to talk about these days.

This blog does need to be about other things than city government.

I do mean to keep harping on the negativity, and the need for a more positive attitude.

There are some good things happening in Arkansas City.

But even more importantly, there are good people here. If you don't see what you want, there is no reason that you couldn't do it yourself.

With that thought in mind, and somewhat of a desire to practice what I preach, I have come up with an idea.

I want to put together some outdoor music concerts.
There are lots of good musicians in the area, who need a place to play. I am not one of them, but I know several of them.

I am starting to organize, and need help. I don't know what I am doing but that might be good because that also means I don't know what can't be done.

My dream is to have a big music festival right here in river city.

The Walnut Valley Festival is coming up in Winfield soon. That started as a small gathering by another crazy many who didn't know what couldn't be done.

Why couldn't Arkansas City do the same?

Not saying that it would reach the level of the Walnut Valley Festival, or even that I want that to be the case, but I do believe we need music festivals.

This first one will be contemporary Christian rock music.

We could have other types of music in future concerts or festivals.

Why couldn't Arkansas City become a place for music festivals?

Woodstock was in a rural area, on a farm in the middle of nowhere. There isn't even a town there. People still talk about it 40 years later.

What do you all think ?