OPINION
Friday, July 30, 2010
Editorial
The News Standard - A3
More than just books It’s hard to find a good bargain these days. But, in Meade County, we have one of the best bargains available. The Meade County Public Library (MCPL) has proven itself in the last few years to be of invaluable service to the community and can easily stand as an example to the rest of the state on how such a facility should operate. It is here where, during the last year, more than 75,000 books were checked out. Judging the basic reason for a library, MCPL fits the bill with those numbers alone. But, no longer is the library thought of as a stodgy place with a large “Quiet” sign on the wall and people sitting rigid at reading tables. Not here. Our local library is a place filled with constant activity. It is here where more than 11,000 children have been able to enjoy activities of all kinds. And, as important, while doing this they discover the joy of reading. Reading is the most fundamental need for anyone as they grow into adulthood and the MCPL is doing more than its fair share to ensure the local children are instilled with that ability. Not only do they bring the children into the library, they take the library on the road — literally. With their bookmobile, MCPL is able to assist with reading programs at the various county schools. And, that bookmobile is also able to serve adults who might not otherwise be able to visit the library in person. But, it’s not just books. MCPL also provides programs for teens in the area, thereby giving an age group that can be prone to trouble at times a place to have fun, be creative, and use their youthful energies in a constructive and educational way. The library has also become a community center of sorts where people meet to discuss the issues of the day, meet new friends, or bring the family for time together with other families. For the movie lover, feature films, documentaries, musicals and classic television shows are available to check out and enjoy. And, if there’s a book or movie you can’t find — just ask. They can get it for you. How about needing to hit the Internet for a few moments? You can do that there as well. Whether you take advantage of one of the computers at the library or bring your own laptop, Internet service is also available. The library also hosts programs for a wide variety of interests. Whether you want to learn yoga or how to make a handmade card for someone special, the MCPL is the place. And what do all these services cost for those who want to use them? Nothing. Zero. That’s not a good bargain. That’s a great bargain. And much to the friendly and enthusiastic library staff’s credit, they are able to offer all this at no cost while receiving funding less than the average amount currently realized by all state public libraries. And, it’s only going to get better. Anticipation grows for the library’s new facility to be constructed on Old Ekron Road and scheduled to be completed next year. The new building will give the library almost three times more room than its current home provides and the plans are to fill that space with just as much information and activity as it will hold. So, there is no reason to be bored. Go get a book, a movie, take a class, play a game, meet a friend, or surf the Web. It’s all there. For free. It’s fortunate we have this remarkable place with remarkable people available for our area. The Meade County Public Library is definitely a place for which the community should be incredibly proud.
Fair changes are something everyone could enjoy Ben Achtabowski Good Call There is no doubt the Meade County Fair has a reputation of being one of the best in the state. The fair board has done amazing things to build the fair into the attraction it is today. They have raised the bar high for themselves, however, they can’t become complacent with the current status of the fair. The point of striving to be the best is setting a standard and exceeding it — and now is time to further the fair’s standards. While the fair has great events such as two nights of nationally competitive tractor and truck pulls, pageants and even an $8,000 cash drawing, diversity seems to be lacking. Stepping back and looking at the overall fair, the events are catered to a select group. Understandably so, the fair is heavily tailored with 4-H events and tractor pulls reign supreme in a rural areas such as Meade County. Nevertheless it may be time to draw in people outside the agricultural spectrum. Of the 56 sanctioned (according to the fair event catalog) events throughout the week-long fair, 14 are animals shows and 4-H events. There are seven events that are related to pulls (whether it’s the two nights of tractor pulls, peddle pulls or horse pulls) and nine different pageants. That leaves
only 26 events that don’t encompass animal shows, pulls and pageants. Of the eight nights that have events going on during the fair, two of the nights are pulls while two of the other nights consist of demolition derbies. Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however redundancy may cause potential repeat fairgoers from attending one night or another. The fair needs to depend on diversity to keep people flooding the fair gates every night despite poor economy stricken times. Considering it takes $8 for each person at the gate. Multiply that times a family of four — that’s $32. Mix in around $5 a person on food or carnival rides makes a night of fair fun running around $52 for a family of four. If a family goes four of the eight nights the of fair, it may cost them around $200 during the week. Spending that chunk of change people, rightfully so, want the biggest bang for their buck. The fair board may want to consider this when planning future events and possibly adding events that can reach a broad amount of spectators and participants Last year the fair board brought in the lawnmower derby and the rollover contest. Much of this has to do with the economy where finding two nights of demolition derby participants is nearly impossible. The rollover and lawnmower derby has been a great addition to the fair
and has been well received by the crowd. Yet, the events takes less than an hour to complete — this is where a bigger bang for a buck comes into play. These events — although good additions — are far from thinking outside the box in terms of attracting various walks of life. How about a barbeque cook off? With the success of cooking shows on television certainly there are enough people who would love to show off their cooking skills while others would love to taste fine barbeque. Or what about a lumberjack competition? Watching events such as chain sawing, axing races and other tree-chopping activities are a blast to watch on television. Would it be more fun to watch in person? Plus, how many people in the area would love to show off their chainsaw skills or their brute strength with an old-fashioned ax? Speaking of brute strength, how about a strong man competition? Or an arm wrestling competition? One of the more obvious events that could be brought into the arena is a rodeo. With so many horse shows and cow shows at the fair, there’s no doubt there are plenty of cowboys and cowgirls that would like to wrangle and steer or ride a bull. A rodeo is a great way to change up the pace throughout the week, while not getting too far away from the agricultural roots of the fair. Motocross has been a
fantastic addition the past few years and is a great crowd getter during the first full day of the fair. With the access of the large arena how about having a dirt bike jumping contest — sort of like an X-Games type of event where the motocrossers can show off their jumping skills. Music should be more prevalent at the county fair. With many local and area bands there’s no reason there can’t be a complete concert night which showcases bands or even have a battle of the bands contest. Maybe these bands can play in between tractor pulls or heats of the demolition derby to liven up the dead space during the event. Or even have a square dance area where country fans can have a boot scootin’ good time. The fair did have a concert night this year, yet weather played a part as storms rolled through the area. Weather is one thing the fair board can’t control; it’s strictly a reason why people don’t come out. Last year the fair was harassed by rain and this year heat scorched the fair. Regardless of outside factors, the fair must get better. By no means is this saying the fair is not worth going to. But it’s encouraging progress. The last thing anyone wants to see is the Meade County Fair become stagnate. It’s time to see the high bar that the Meade County fair has placed and jump over it. Adding new diverse events is the first step to doing that.
Gibbs would say such a flatly true thing. The simplest is that Gibbs was asked whether the House is in play on “Meet the Press” and in the flush of the moment slipped up with an honest answer. Whatever the explanation, Pelosi is enraged at his counterrevolutionary backsliding. The more important question is: Why aren’t Democrats mad at President Barack Obama (and Speaker Pelosi) for endangering their majority, rather than at Gibbs for acknowledging the fact it’s at risk? In their reaction to Gibbs, Democrats have vitiated what seemed most admirable
about their determination to pass health-care reform: its astounding political heedlessness. They were doing it simply because they thought it was right. Or so it seemed. What looked to all the world like an act of political harakiri borne of ideological righteousness, the Democrats considered a common-sense step for which they’d inevitably be rewarded by the voters. And they’ll get their reward, good and hard. The latest three national polls show that the public opposes the health-care reform by 49-36, 53-40 and 47-35 (in CBS, Public Policy Polling and Pew surveys, respectively).
According to Gallup, conservatives outnumber liberals in America by 2-1. That datum alone should be enough to make a liberal speaker of the House concerned above all about holding down the middle. Instead, Pelosi has led the charge for ruinously expensive initiatives that have inflamed the right and alienated independents. According to talk show host Bill Press, the American public doesn’t deserve a leader as effective and farsighted as Obama. “It just shows once again that the American people are spoiled,” Press says. Such is the agony.
The agony of the Democratic revolution Rich Lowry
National Review The great Democratic revolution of 2008 is entering its pitiful stage. If Nancy Pelosi had a guillotine, Robert Gibbs’ head would be rolling around in a basket. His offense? Uttering perhaps the most unassailably accurate statement of his tenure as White House press secretary: that there is “no doubt” Republicans might take back the House. Theories abound for why
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