I’ve always thought Poteau had great potential to be the best small town in America. However, after all these years here I’m having my doubts. It has it pros and cons so I’ll go through a few here “in my opinion”.
Like most towns in America (and probably around the world) Poteau is still and probably always will be ruled by those few that have a big bank roll.  Most of those with the large sums of money ended up with the money because their parents or grandparents either had big insurance policies or worked their butts off and held on to every last penny until they died and left that to their kids.  I see it all the time in this town where the high rollers throw around their money just to show they got it and 90% don’t know what it’s like to dig a ditch, shovel asphalt or roof a house other than driving up long enough to see other people workin’ their ass off for minimum wage (a few pay better than that). Not to say this means everyone that has money is like that. There are a few that I’ve seen/known get right in the middle of it all and work right down in the mud and heat. I’ve stood elbow to elbow with Bill Hoffman throwing asphalt and dirt and I promise I was young back then and he’d work me under the table and probably still can.  There are several others that I personally know and not only do they work their butts off they treat you with respect no matter what you have.

The lowly citizens of this city really don’t have a say in the community anymore. If you want change you must run for office so you too can be a two faced politician like most of them or have money to back said politician! I’ve been involved in many things in the community over the years where a group of people tried to change or prevent something from happening and as usual the money people always win. This goes for our Government as well. If a large group of people get together to change something about an upcoming neighborhood re-zoning and show up in force at all meetings what ends up happening is that the planning commission gets together and decides that the city can make more money even if it makes all those citizens/voters that have lived in that neighborhood mad has hell. I can promise that those 40 people will vote differently in the next election. I would like to see a more caring, understanding, moral and honest government. We know you can’t please everyone so do what’s right and make a few people mad even if it doesn’t make the city more money and you look better in the next election. When I’m on my death bed I’d like to know I did what is right not what was good to make the city some money. I would also like to see calls returned and follow-up emails and phone calls. Email is a great way for politicians to communicate. The problem is then you have whatever they say in writing (I think that scares them). Then they have to stick to the agreement. Technology is awesome in these times.Technology has come a long way over the last 15 years. In fact it’s changed my life and my entire career path. I know it’s affected our community because I was a part of the beginning of the technology change in Poteau being the first ISP providing Internet Access to anybody that wanted it. About 70% of all Poteau households were on Cyberlink in its heyday. Now I just want the people to have great very high speed access and better access to our local government. Here are some examples:
1. Pay Water Bills Online (this just takes a couple of hours for any business to set up and in some cases just a few minutes).
2. Open a problem ticket online such as road repair, sewer repair, trash pickup etc…..
3.Complaints (which would be funneled to the proper people and be posted online like a software bugtraq so the citizens can see day by day hour by hour what’s being done with their complaint.
4. Fiber Optic to the Home (FTTH) to be able to keep up with the rest of the world. ( see this article: http://www.iptv-news.com/iptv_news/june_2010/chattanooga_to_launch_150_mbps_internet_connections )
4. Have all meetings in city hall streamed live over the Internet so we can all be there even when we can’t. This can be setup for a couple of hundred dollars and (that will be high quality) and setup in just a few hours when you have the equipment handy. (a few camcorders and maybe a good laptop or desktop and Internet connection.)I’ll stop here and rant some other time….Let me know what you think by commenting …..

So I have an idea. I think it’s a great idea. I have heard over the years our Senators, Representatives and Congressmen say I vote the way the people in my district want me to vote….. Really? I don’t think so! Thus the idea. It would be so easy for all bills, legislation etc…… to be put online and voted for “by the people” so those who are representing us have a real picture of what the majority want. Sure there are ways to fudge the numbers but there are also ways to prevent that and it’s not expensive. By doing this we could truly find out how the majority feel about really important things such as a public insurance option, bank, auto manufacturer bailouts and any other wasteful spending that our government does on a daily basis. We are on the brink of revolution if our politicians keep going in the direction they are now allowing the likes of AIG and Goldman Sachs to run our government. It’s time to take our country back and let the people govern once again.

Facebook? What the heck is Facebook? Why would I need or want it? Well!!!!! Facebook is a social networking website. The website’s name stems from the colloquial name of books given at the start of the academic year by university administrations with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better.

Why? Because everybody needs to be on Facebook! It allows users to add friends, send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

For example: I graduated in 1981 and haven’t seen many of my classmates since the graduation party (that had way too much everade) at the end of the year….. Facebook has allowed many of us to at least connect again after all these years, share pictures of our families and even organize a multi-class renunion (I didn’t attend but the pictures shared from it were really nice to see). It also allows people to find old college friends, neighborhood friends that might have moved way in the 5th grade and even family members that you may not have seen in years. Once the connection is made you can stay in touch, share pictures, videos and chat in real time or leave post on other friends and members walls (page). Additionally, users can join networks organized by city, workplace, and school or college.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you don’t have a Facebook page go sign up. It’s quick, simple and may help you connect with people you have completely forgotten about. http://www.facebook.com

Wait wait wait before you judge!!!! I am a 46 year old who has not touched the drug in many many years. In my past there may have been a time that it was in my hand, I may have taken a hit…..or two…..and possibly inhaled…..deeeeply…….There’s even a possibility that I enjoyed it at the time. There’s also a very good chance that I was drinking legalized Beer at the time increasing the tax income for the city, county and state. With that said and now being older and more responsible I seldom drink and no smoking Marijuana (Pot) at all and not sure how many years it’s been since I last did and it really doesn’t matter.
Let’s get down to business now. And business is gaining tax revenue from the Billions (yes Billions with a “B”) marijuana trade in the US as well as the trade between other countries that are currently smuggling it in. I know there’s a downside to drugs as there is in anything similar including alcohol, guns, food (yes food), cigarettes, and prescription medications. Anything can be abused.
If Marijuana were legalized and controlled similar to alcohol it would cause no more social issues than alcohol and I agree those are bad enough but most of those issues can be helped by education and needs to start and run K through 12 . The main advantage of legalization would be the tax revenue that the government would gain which could pay for social security, Medicare and health care. I think an individual should be able to grow their own for their own personal use maybe pay a yearly license and then buy a different license to be a retailer or wholesaler. The same rules and regulations that apply to alcohol should apply to marijuana. There are many things that would have to be worked out to make this work and stop the billions in spending on the drug war. I do think that it could help the country’s economy in many ways. This is just an opinion…..what’s yours?

I have to say I am quite frustrated with our health insurance as I am sure many millions of other people are. I am one of the lucky people whose employer, or actually my spouse’s employer provide us the ability to pay a chunk of her pay check to have family healthcare. Did I say healthcare….I meant to say Pain in the ass! Yes our quality insurance is a pain in the backside. It doesn’t pay for the things it is supposed to such as preventative care and it fights with medical facilities and does its very best to not pay anything for months and months. The medical facility becomes angry with us and we get angrier with the insurance company. In the end they finally decide they need to pay and send them a check……not all of what they owe but just enough for the clinic to send us more letters to say you still owe us…..then we go back and argue with the insurance company for several more weeks to finally have them pay all of their part 6, 8 or 12 months later……I know this happens to people all over the country every day. Just read a few forums online or watch the news…..Do we need a public healthcare system? I don’t know but I sure as hell do know that the current Insurance companies need to be controlled by some entity so that this kind of crap isn’t allowed. No more of the “we’re not covering your health problem because it’s too expensive or this is a pre-existing condition even though you may have been born with the condition”……Healthcare in this country could be good if the Insurance companies were forced to do what they are supposed to do instead of hanging on to your money as long as they can to earn as much profit as they can with it. Yes we all need healthcare but insurance is a different story!

I really enjoy discussing politics and religion. It stimulates the brain and causes you to seriously give other people’s ideas some deep thought. Whether I agree or disagree with other people’s opinions about both it really gets me thinking about what I’ve been taught and things I have learned and decided to accept as truth. As with most families we learn most political and religious views from whatever our parents and families believe. I think this is great and I’m happy to see that most people, as adults, decide to take it a step further and actually learn something on their own by research and faith. BUT! There are the many hundreds of thousands of people that when you even attempt to discuss politics or religion it QUICKLY becomes “Their Way Or The Highway” !!!! To those who don’t even have the slightest of open minds GROW the “F” UP! If your best friend decides they are now atheist not Christian instead of arguing and turning a friendship into a hateship learn to say “hey that’s cool whatever you decide”. If you think they are going to Hell for their decision then “so be it”. If your mom decides to switch to Republican from Democrat then just let it be. You can’t rule the world nor can you “Force” them to go the other way. They will make that decision on their own and who knows where life will take you. I think it’s awesome that people have different beliefs and political views and it’s great to debate whatever it is you and they believe. Just remember that it’s a friendly discussion/debate not a conversation that should lead to trying to “DRIVE” your ideas into someone’s head and make them believe they way you do. I love it when a friend says “hey have you ever thought about?” and whatever they say just makes me think. I hate when someone says “hey the way you think is stupid and if you don’t agree with me then you’re wrong”.  So how about we start taking the time to listen to others and just let what they say sink in and then express your opinion and let those who hear what you have to say go on to later let it sink in and maybe even change their mind or for that matter their life. People don’t need to head off to public meetings and SHOUT their opinion at whoever is holding the discussion and telling them they are WRONG and only your party or religion is right. Maybe it’s time to just LISTEN and then when you get home do some research on what you’ve heard and if you don’t like what’s being said run for office or start your own religious organization and change it. The main thing here is to JUST LISTEN!

I found it interesting that I found a letter to the editor over the very subject I was considering blogging about. How horrible are the roads in LeFlore County. Living in Poteau and recently taking my son for some driving practice on some city streets I just can’t understand how bad we have let our streets get. I know there has to be a budget for this right? How about someone from the City and County commenting on this Blog and tell all of us why our streets are so BAD!

1. Employment! The most important thing to improve the community is create new jobs. Jobs create revenue for businesses and trickle down to the entire community.

2. Fiber To The Home! Let me explain! We need more competitive communication services in our area. We are lucky to have DSL at least. But to only have ONE cable company and ONE Telephone company, and only those two provide Internet. Thank God for Dish Network! I would like to see Fiber To The Home allowing use to have Smart Meters for our water, gas and electric allowing us to see usage and manage our utilities better. Then we have the ability to use Voice Over IP (VOIP) for telephone and then IP TV or digital television. All for about 90.00 a month. This is available in 1000s of communities nationwide already. Now that President Obama has included Broadband Internet in the stimulus package maybe our city can apply for grants to make this happen!

3. Build a Community Center! THIS IS ON IT’s WAY! Great Job Mayor Shockley, Councilmen/Councilwomen and Planning Commission. Thank you for making our community better!

4. Improve School and Facilities! We all know what needs to be done here. As I have said before, quit piecing together buildings at a landlocked location and build a first class facility with first class Science, Math and Fine Arts buildings. Build a quality Gymnasium and Football Stadium with Artificial Turf. It may not be long before we are thrown into 5-A and we just don’t have 5-A facilities. As a side note: Stop the petty crap in the administration like whining about the young wrestling Pirates not having the ability to use our school’s wrestling facilities and even more silly: use of the Pirate name (Poteau does not own a trademark on the word Pirate). Who do you think you are preventing our young future Pirates from learning from our coaches and kids at that young (5-6-7 and up) age. These kids are the future of our community as well as future athletes and their parents and our coaches are taking their own time and money to build what will be our future championship wrestling team. Many of these kids are already champions. This is the kind of pettiness that our school board needs to put an end to. Even if it means replacing some of the administration! I know many are worried about statements I make regarding athletics and think I should focus more on education. Athletics create a lot of income for our school system. They are also important in teaching kids discipline, self respect, teamwork, trust and many other great attributes.

5. Street Improvement. We really need a turn lane throughout Broadway. Basically from the Industrial Park to FatAlberts (I’m exaggerating a bit). It’s always nice to have good roads to build a great community. Not that ours are horrible (many cities have much worse roads). I also remember a time when it was discussed to extend the Muskogee Turnpike. Can that be revisited?

I’m sure there are many other things that can be done but that’s where you come in. Feel free to comment and list them here and maybe as a community we can see them accomplished.

“Bandit Born and Raider Bred, when I die I’ll be Pirate Dead!”

I have actually heard people say “we’re not in a recession here in LeFlore county”…..WHAT?….Are you nuts? I see people living and feeling it everyday. The price of gas has gone down a bit but it hit our bank accounts hard over the last year. People had to dip into savings just to be able to afford to drive back and forth to work. The current unemployment rate in LeFlore County has risen from 5.9% in Nov 08 to 6.6% in December 08 and continues to rise. ( http://www.oesc.state.ok.us/Research/News/2009/CountyRatesContinueToIncreaseInDecember.pdf ) For those who are still employed and haven’t had to go through a period of time without a job and had to live on unemployment or no income at all are probably not feeling it too much except maybe things are just a bit tighter ( damn! I can only eat at McDonalds instead of Red Lobster ). For those of us who have lost jobs or closed businesses are feeling the pain. Many have gone months without finding any type of work and most are willing to take anything they can get but there simply aren’t any jobs available. I know how hard it is to dig for change just to put enough gas in the car to make it to a job interview only to find hundreds of others in line with you. I was lucky enough to find work locally at Southern Star, Inc., which is one of the finest companies I have ever worked for. Even when both people in the household working it is still a struggle. You may have Health Insurance through your employer that you pay for every paycheck and then when you have to go to the doctor you still end up paying for more than is affordable…your bank account still feels the hurt.
I don’t know when things will get better for our City, County, State and Nation but I pray that it’s soon. I hate to see people suffer because some wall street billionaire and politician bastards decided their lives were more important than everyone elses. It’s time for all of them to be held accountable for their mis-use and it’s time for all of us to make sure they are!

Ok….We passed prop 3, and were promised an Appleby’s…where is it? I didn’t expect a building to pop up overnight, but I thought we would have at least heard something by now…a flyer, a groundbreaking, something! It really would be nice to have a few new places to eat….. Somebody let us know what’s going on (Mr. Mayor)
I also noticed that Long Johns is getting an interior makeover…..or comple interior removal……anybody know what’s going in? Is it Wendys (oh please let it be)

RANT TIME: WE ARE POTEAU! We are the county seat for LeFlore county. We have the largest population in the county. WHY then? Do we have a crappy gymnasium. Why do we not have a great facility for concerts and productions that is city owned? We should have one at least as nice as the CASC auditorium! Why do we not have artificial turf on our football field? Why do we have almost half as many kids going out for band, football and other extracurricular activities as other schools in our area (Greenwood for example)!? Why is it that our school looks like a piece of tinker toy crap that’s been pieced together over the last 80 years instead of buying more property in another location and building a nice high tech facility for education! We have had the money in the past and it’s been squandered. I am extremely disappointed in our school board over the last 30 years for allowing things to move in a downward spiral instead of moving up (I miss Ted being in there, he spoke his mind). The thing about change is that change is supposed to be good and cause growth. This place has either become stagnant or gone down! It’s time for the people of this community to STAND UP and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Get involved in meetings…..Create community groups…..heck just comment on discussions like this….believe me people read it…you would be surprised……Start with with your local school board and work your way up to the mayor…..they all have phone numbers and they all live here in town…..if you ruin their dinner when you see them out just to let them know how you feel, so be it…….that’s part of being in public office (that’s why I don’t run)!

How many people have to die at an intersection before the Department of Tranportation takes action. 1…..3…….5…….20……. What is the magic number before something is done. If this continues to happen at the Pleasant valley crossing, loved ones will take it upon themselves and let the DOT know that something needs to be done. When a child dies at a dangerous intersection, or should I say children…..IT’S TIME TO TAKE ACTION……Thank you Kenneth Corn for getting it started but something needs to be done NOW!!!!!