Spike,

Here's a good fix for Cascade Bridge.

DW

So our public works department is going to prepare the results of their survey of Cascade Bridge. I can't wait. Not to mention the estimates for replacement; "A few million here, a few million there, no problem, it's not real money and Scott Power will get us money back when we get sued." Worden will say.

Why don't we go get a real bridge engineer that has experience with National Historic designated bridges before we go into another council backed never ending hole of debt and stupidity.

We do have our Imperial Wizards of Education to guide this process. So everything should just be big and eye catching though.

Spike

Spike,

To locate Bill Ell, you can check Gator's. He has been sighted there on the last few Wed. nights with the Flim Flam man and the Fire Chief, most recently.

eyes everywhere

A defector from the Sombrero?? That's the quickest way to oblivion yet perpetrated by Lost Keys!

Spike

Spike:

I guess we can safely assume the old lights from the ball park vanished into thin air as our tax dollars have a habit of doing thanks to the sitting Burlington City Buttheads.

They’ve been asked over and over again and yet no one in the city knows where the lights went. It was brought up in one or more of the Butthead meetings but as usual no logical answer was provided and that was six months to a year ago.

Burlington is run by some of the best liars in the State of Iowa and their backed up by the State Senator from Burlington who is second to none of them.

All this goes to show what a one party system is capable of when it comes to corruption and dishonesty. Burlington wins the prize in both categories, hands down. Thanks Burlington voters for aiding and abetting the disgraceful havoc wrought upon us by your Slagleism voting record.

It would seem without a doubt that something dishonest happened to the lights which invariably benefited someone on the city payroll or a friend of someone on the city payroll. We’ll never know because during the Slagle years business was always below board, unrecorded, erased, missing, unknown, forgotten, dishonest or just plain Slagleish.

Revolted

Spike:

How many delegates to the National Political Convention in Denver are availing themselves of this transportation service?

What better environment to contemplate in motion a carbon tax on people driving oil burning wrecks to their two minimum wage jobs back here in Burlington. We should really appreciate all they are doing to help the little people who put them in office.

Mr. Green Jeans

Maybe Brian Tapp could get a premier service started to Columbus Junction.

Spike

Spike,

The mayor of Prairie du Chien has been charged with drunk driving. Mayor Karl Steiner drove his car into a ditch in Iowa last week.

FG

Maybe we could enlist help from NE Iowa to apprehend our local politicians.

Spike

Spike,

Do you have any idea where our mayor is?

FG

I could be sarcastic and state that we didn't he was missing or that no one missed him. But that might be construed as if we care.

Instead, wherever he went he should stay away. No one has missed him except Mini-Me Worden.

Spike

World Peace According to Bob Costas

Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee, when he was essentially asked by that little putz Bob Costas why the IOC didn't single handedly overthrow the Chinese government utilizing the Olympics as the impetus, Rogge shot back to Costas, "How can we do what governments cannot do?"

2008 Drums - An Economic Warning

For those of you that missed the opening ceremonies of the Olympics the Chinese replicated (2,008 times) a ceremonial vessel (a wine jug called a Fou) and made it a drum. Chinese army soldiers became drummers and a legend was born.

The drums seemed more a symbolic war chant; not the welcoming sound of arriving athletes. An omen we should be very concerned about if we don't rectify our stature world wide. China has a myriad of problems facing them in the next years ahead. Keep in mind the Chinese think of victory without regard to the number of calendar years needed to win the war. Feeding 1.5 billion people, 20% of the World's population, could be made easier by calling the debt held by your food producer.

Those drums were called "alarmingly intense" by an NBS pronouncer. Scarey was the word used by a family member. Problematic is another.

Air Pollution

It was interesting to see China meet the challenge of air pollution for the Olympics by shutting down hundreds of factories. Blue skies prevailed. Everyone could breath.

Now it's back to the China we know. Warts and all.

Spike

Spike:

In the summer of 2007 I had supper at the Carthage Lake club with friends
and while there the constant noise from four wheelers was driving everyone
nuts.

It turns out the cause of the noise was the person that lives directly
behind and a little to the north of the club. Seems he, his relatives and
offspring were having a grand old time tearing up the levee with their
muffler less four wheelers.

It was constant for a good couple of hours, up and down the levee at full
bore going north and then back again. Now I don't know where the levee
broke that flooded the entire area but if it was north of the Carthage Lake
club this lack of responsibility by those supposedly in charge of the levee
and pump station more than likely aided in the breach of the levee.

No telling just how much damage this abuse caused over the years since 1965
but I doubt it help and may have played a large part in the eventual breach
north of the Carthage Lake Club. I saw no one going south but it doesn't
mean they weren't going that direction also.

Whatever the reason this person should be reprimanded and probably fired for
his part in the eventual breach of that levee and monetary losses suffered
by many of the local inhabitants.

In my opinion no one has a right to destroy a levee regardless of the
position one holds. I'm not a member of the club but I'm sure many of the
members knew what was and had been going on over there for years and why
nothing was said before the flood is beyond me.

Taxpayer

Spike,

Just seen we the tax payers of Burlington are helping build the dog park. We are moving dirt and using dirt to fill swamp holes at Slagle Manor.

From what I had seen in the past the Little League was going to build it all themselves with lots of volunteers. So from what I see now is that we took from the kids to give to the dogs and now we have payroll to do it for the dog park.

Just one more thought, did we ever decide for sure where the light went that were on the manor ball diamonds. Were they given to Danville, scrapped at Alters or are they still in double secret storage? Will someone actually go account for them please.

Just remember there will be a $5.00 per dog per year fee for using the dog park.

TIRED OF IT ALL

Where are the ball diamond lights? We don't want a Knoke lie. We want someone with integrity to report on this. Don't know where we are going to find that person, but we can hope.

Spike

As far as the Postville meat packing plant Agriprocessors goes - close it down and send the Rubashkin family back to New York without a pile of their ill-gotten money.

We don't want you here. Take Slagle with you. He'll do anything you want - legal or not.

Spike

Spike,

What happens when Winegard vacates Belmont Court behind Winegard. There won't be a road for the residents.

interested

Spike:

This is a scene that should have been in Burlington but for the sake of
greed, it's now in Galesburg. Our city losers made the decision to sue the
railroad in order to fill the city coffers and lied to the citizens saying
their motive was about jobs.

Of course none of this was recorded with the exception of the tapes
destroyed by Slagle, the scum bag city manager who couldn't wait for
the day to arrive when he could legally admit to destroying them.

Through all of Slagle's lying and deceiving the city counsel stood by him
and continued to give him unwarranted raises and benefits as though he was
some kind of a saint and/or savior for the city of Burlington. Just goes to
show how easy it is to hood wink unknowing people and make fools out of
them. Fools like the Democrats make out of the voters in Burlington.

Slagle will go down as the "Flim Flam Man" in Burlington's history books and
to think he still lives here. I hope they took back his gas allotment and
other benefits he never deserved, what fools our elected officials were to
let this guy dough ball them in to thinking he was a manager.

Disgusted

Galesburg 8/17/08

Spike,

I will definitely visit the ship, LST 325 and cherish the early efforts and the later ones also. What a great project !

A ship has its own soul I think and this one has staying power. True history instead of the slightly spinned version. Good old workhorse provided by good old taxpayers.

The men who served on her should be proud, and the men who revived her, and insist she stays in our memory, should be revered.

The original U.S. crew and the restoration crew are indeed my heroes.

LC

Spike,

I wonder if she could clean up the Maple Street hoodlums.

GH

Spike

Call it tabloid trash. Call it sensationalism. The drive by pontiffs of the elitist press deride the National Enquirer.

Unlike the drive by elitists, the Enquirer will report on questionable activities even if your last name is Edwards and you are a leader of the party of the politically correct. This all sounds familiar.

Irresponsible, trashy, etc. is what the Ad Vertiser infers about local alternative media. How dare you make them also report the questionable activities of a leader of the local party of the politically correct with a last name of Edwards.

Enquiring minds want to know. Those in the service of the politically correct wish to keep you ignorant.

Love,
Dad

Spike:

Anyone driving in a city owned SUV should be reprimanded for the first offense and gets a week off for the second offense without pay if driving without a minimum of four people in the vehicle. As a taxpayer I can no longer afford to have city employees wondering around town in known gas guzzlers.

If the city had its citizens welfare in mind they would get rid of all gas hogs currently in the inventory and replace them with nothing less than a vehicle that gets 23 miles a gallon in city traffic. It’s time the city tightened it’s belt since their wards of the taxpayer and stop acting like those big SUV’s are required to do business. Seldom is there a need for such extravagance.

One city employee drives a SUV home every night, out on Sunnyside indicating he or she must drive it back and forth to work every day and anywhere else he or she decides to go.

I’ve had management jobs requiring after hour trips and not once did the company ever provide me with a vehicle; so how can the city afford this luxury for its employees.

Taxed-to-Death

Spike:

The ship will be open for tours:

* Aug. 21 through Aug. 25 at the Hannibal, Mo., downtown river front.

* Aug. 28 through Aug. 2 in Moline, Ill., next to the "Celebration Belle" riverboat.

* Sept. 4 through Sept. 8 in Clinton at the location of the former riverboat casino.

* Sept. 10 to Sept. 14 in Fort Madison at the Catfish Bend riverboat casino dock.

People along the Upper Mississippi have a great opportunity to see true piece of history. Many thanks to the old salts who are restoring this historic vessel. Anchors away and God speed on their tour of the inland waterways.

The online Advertiser has made this ship a prophecy of H. G. Wells. The ship will be in Moline from Aug. 28th to Aug. 2nd. One must assume time will run backwards if this ship will be in Clinton Sept. 4th. No mention is made of wintering over where the Mississippi freezes over.

Will people travel US 34 all the way from Tama, IA to see such a sight? Perhaps this vessel will return and be the first to traverse the hydro electric canal between Henderson Creek and the Keokuk power plant.

Cap'n Ernie

LST325 website to learn more.

Spike

Spike,

City manager, Doug Worden, said "at least we are getting a little money back." I don't believe that is true.

After paying Scott Power and Kevin Pollard, I think we would have been better off to settle with everybody. By the time that those two get through with us, it will probably cost us another six to eight thousand dollars.

Mr. Pollard was brought down to Burlington by Randy Winegard to appraise commercial property. He has only made three appraisals in the city of Burlington, two of which were commercial, and one residential. The residential one must have been the manor.

The city hired him to get the properties as cheap as they could. They said that Ron Kelly was not an excellent appraiser like Mr. Pollard. Mr. Kelly has been an appraiser, a realtor, and a renter of property in Burlington for many years.

District Judge Cynthia Danielson and the jury in Mr. Beik's case must have sided more with Ron Kelly than Mr. Pollard.

As for Doug Worden, to be hired as city manager, I can't understand when a man takes his name off of the list of candidates and you have brought in other candidates for the position why the city spent the money to bring them in anyways. The only reason I can find for this is that maybe Bill Ell got to thinking that if we have a new city manager, how long would it take them to realize how intelligent Ell really is? So let’s go with Doug.

As for the developers for the manor, it's hard to believe that we have two out of town developers looking at this site. Two weeks ago we were going to put a sign up there for sale.

Before this mess is over, nobody is going to have any idea of what the actual cost is on the manor revisited.

Leonard Johnson

Spike,

I see in the paper today the police department is taking bids for a 2009 suv. I guess in these days I don't understand why we would want to spend the money on fuel to run one of these on the city street.

Then again maybe they need them to even make it down some streets.

Just seems like another waste of tax payers money .

Taxpayer

Spike:

The Democrat National Convention coming to Denver has resulted in
expanded local jail capacity. The demand for detention space created by
the party was not advertised. Now it is out in the open.

If Senator Courtney ever gets his way, how much jail space will be
needed to handle you, your readers and assorted critics of the local
single party system? In anticipation of passage of the Senator's
previously defeated anti-free speech legislation, have local abandon
buildings been coming under scrutiny by the party hierarchy for future use?

JJ

Spike,

There is no wonder why this city is in a money hole, the city manager can't count. You can bet Iowa's loser lawyer Scott Power can count and hide what he steals from the taxpayers.

For Worden to jump with glee over the jury ruling for $3,000 less money for a Manor Mall condemnation shows just how flawed his thinking is. He doesn't have a clue driving around with his big gas allowance to the golf course.

Save $3,000 to pay Power his unknown amount of hidden hourly billings. After all the turmoil over Power's billings you would think the city manager or city council would change this billing policy.

But they are gutless to do so. And we pay for their mistakes one tax dollar after another.

Fed Up

From one pocket to another - like pocket pool.

Spike

Spike,

""I am not sure of the legalities. That is why I have been ambiguous
about this. I am not going to discuss the legal affairs of the county in
The Hawk Eye, period," Heland said Tuesday."

No need for Heland to worry. Nothing will ever come of this. His party
Comrade Edwards never heard the Miranda speech after he was awakened in
the parking lot. Heland and all the rest will never hear it either.

"Walker and County Attorney Pat Jackson could not be reached for comment
Wednesday."

Where is Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. Doubtless reviewing how well
Des Moines County produces votes for the party. It tips the balance in a
close state wide race.

What of the Advertiser's protector of our right to know, Citizen Kane?
Ink instead of action. Ink is cheap when you buy it by the barrel. That
ink is bought to promote and protect Burlington's single party political
system and put bright colors in advertisements.

""I think the jury did a good job. I don't fault them at all," Beik said
Thursday. "The whole thing was one of the most disgusting experiences of
my life. They drug me into court, and now I am saddled with legal bills.
All because I wanted a fair price for my property."

Citizens can file suit against illegal secret meeting criminals.
Citizens pay for their own lawyer. Look at the hell the City of
Burlington put this poor man through after confiscating his property and
offering a price far under his property's tax assessment.

If you think these criminals will not spend what it takes to cover their
asses, think again. Taxpayer's money is what they use to defend
themselves. It is not real money like any citizen would be handing their
attorney. Who cares?

Change the law.

Tried that. It got tied up in the last session of the Iowa Legislature.
Legislative leaders were too busy growing the budget by 20% to institute
more touch feely. They did find time to raise cigarette taxes and drive
smokers out of bars and onto the streets. Examine who is in the
Legislature's leadership.

Senator Tom, "I have never attended an illegal secret meeting," Courtney
is the Iowa Senate majority whip.What about the State Ombudsman said it
should not have been secret City of Burlington meeting where the
"without merit" decision was made to sue the railroad? Senator Courtney
was among the conspirators present.

Senator Courtney technically is not lying. Nobody has taken the City to
court over this half million dollar hush up. Do you think Senator
Courtney wants that changed? If what happened in the last session of the
Iowa Legislature fails to open your eyes, pull your head out into the
light and fresh air.

"If what they were doing is illegal, they would be in jail. Why are you
always picking on these people?"

In Des Moines County, the rule of law has become a ruse to confuse the
rubes. Like ode de cologne, the facade of justice exists to cover up the
odious actions of a pack of political hacks so odoriferous, they put
skunks to shame.

Pepe Le Pew

Spike,

I see in the paper the jury awarded $16,000 to Lewis Beik and Judge Cynthia Danielson awarded $6,500 to Jeff and Amy Laue. And a month later Judge Mary Ann Brown awarded Duane Sourwine nothing.

Doesn't it make you wonder why one judge and the jury agreed that the city was wrong in the appraisals. And Judge Brown agreed with the city. Maybe if judge Brown would have spent more time listening to the attorney than flipping her hair all the time maybe she would have come up with a different decision for Mr. Sourwine. No wonder justice is blind.

DFB

I think the Sourwine had a problem with a bias in his appraisals if memory serves me. But I wasn't there and have had to rely on the Ad Vertiser's writers to report 50% of the truth to reach that conclusion.

So that makes me guilty, too.

Spike

Spike:

The fall of the mighty began in major metropolitan markets. The decline
of revenue and slashing of staff at newspapers has now reached the
hinterlands.

The newspaper all Iowa used to depend on has taken a serious hit. Even
closer to home, the Iowa City Press Citizen is cutting staff. The market
environment is changing.

The wave is coming. What will remain after it passes?

Like the death of the dinosaurs, mass extinction may provide
opportunities for those able to fill the niche. Those news organizations
able to meet new conditions will thrive.

The Des Moines County News is just that. How often Spike must relay
their weekly report of what is really happening locally. Are the owners
of the Des Moines County News aware of the opportunity?

The owners of the Des Moines County News should consider going online
and providing a greater amount of accurate, honest news to attract
advertising. Now, more than ever, talent out of work is available with
market conditions making it affordable for small operators.

What of the Advertiser? Technology has pulled its fearsome teeth of the
capital necessary to buy a large press to compete. The online Advertiser
is nothing more than inaccuracy and bias transfered from pulp to web page.

If all that is left of the Advertiser are fossilized remains in the
archives of the local library and Iowa State Historical Society, will
anybody mourn its passing?

DDB

Spike:

Citizen Kane is ranting again about the public right to know.

Come the week or so before the election, the Advertiser will dutifully
endorse Senator Secret Meetings Courtney.

BS

The only reason they want to know is so they can create a controversy of their liking to stave off the lay-off in the eyes of their employees - "we did all the muckraking we could to save your job."

Spike