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JONES: Looks like folks won’t go quietly |
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Tuesday, 10 June 2008 |
Don’t know enough yet about the particulars of all of this proposed annexation by Benton and Bryant to say much a lot about it, but there’s suddenly a bunch of land-grabbing in the works by the two cities.
It won’t happen easily in some instances because there are area residents don’t want any part of it. They say they’re perfectly happy living in unincorporated areas of Saline County.
The feeling among many people in the areas proposed for annexation is that the cities want to bring them in to help pay for the millions of dollars the cities are laying out, through bond issues, for infrastructure additions and improvements. These people say that they don’t intend to be used, and the feeling among some is that they would be.
It was particularly interesting to learn that some residents on the edge of Benton said they have no desire to be annexed into Benton because they don’t want to be dragged into the city’s sometimes perverse and unnecessary political antics.
There are some who are beginning to feel the same way about Bryant, which for so long managed to keep a lid on much of its political infighting. But, as we see more issues sprouting up in Bryant, we are finding out that it, too, can produce a fair amount of ridiculous political behavior.
To these people, near both cities, their political reasoning is valid. And when you think about it, can you blame them for feeling that way?
Speaking of municipal political structure, one thing Benton should address in the near future is the return to the system by which aldermen are elected through a citywide vote instead of by wards.
Good aldermen are hard enough to come by. Under the current structure, the chance of attracting qualified candidates is greatly reduced. If aldermen were elected to at-large positions, the field of candidates might improve, and any aldermen who deserve another term would be given that opportunity.
If Benton has a good alderman, he or she should be allowed to represent the interests of the city at large and not be so concerned about the interests of a concentrated area. By the same token, if residents in certain areas don’t care for the job a certain alderman is doing, then residents in all wards should be able to weigh in at the polls.
Opponents of this system will argue that their wards may not receive the individual attention they are now getting. But, if aldermen are chosen to represent the best interests of all Benton residents, any area of the city needing attention should receive it.
There’s nothing wrong with residents feeling that they deserve fair and equal representation on the City Council — and being able to vote for just that.
I love sports but I can’t muster much interest for professional basketball. That happened several years ago when it became obvious that in all professional sports, we’ve lost most of the charismatic performers who defined the games and made them enjoyable.
I could use up this entire space listing former players who gave pro basketball character and definition. Today’s stars don’t hold the same appeal. They simply aren’t as charismatic. That’s true in other pro sports.
It’s sad because for so long, pro sports was society’s great escape, and in some regards society’s common thread. They’ve managed to make it less appealing and less affordable.
I’ll take college any day.
Whit Jones is editor of the Courier. His column appears periodically. Any opinions are those of the writer.
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