Do we want jobs, hot dogs or both?
I like to give credit where credit is due and I think McMinnville Mayor Royce Davenport has an excellent idea with his new column called ?Ask the Mayor.?
Question-and-answer columns can be tremendously popular. Think about Dear Abby and Ann Landers. Think about Dave Ramsey and Mr. Know-It-All.
However, on the local level, Q&A columns don?t fare as well. Our own Duane Sherrill tried several years ago to start an Ask Duane column that was a bitter failure.
Despite all Duane?s work to promote the column, he received only two questions. He lost one of them, and the other asked how long it would take to walk from downtown McMinnville to Rock Island State Park. Using his keen powers of perception, Duane eventually figured out the second question was an effort by his co-workers to get him to walk from McMinnville to Rock Island.
Former Main Street director Dan Gray once had a fairly long-running Q&A column in the Standard. But Dan had a bit of an unfair edge ? he made up the questions himself. I always thought it was odd that average citizens asked Dan highly technical questions about Main Street and grant writing until Dan let me in on his little secret.
That brings us to the most crucial part of a Q&A column ? the question. That?s why I hope Royce is flooded with city-related questions so his column can enjoy years of success.
As for me, I?ve thought about trying a Q&A column, but I?m too impatient to wait for people to write in. That?s why the best formula for me is to pull a Dan Gray and make up the questions myself. I just wouldn?t put too much stock in the answers.
Q: Given the dire need for jobs, what?s the real reason the tire recycling plant wasn?t allowed to move into the old WastAway-Aquatech building?
A: That?s a question members of McMinnville?s Board of Zoning are probably still asking themselves today. My guess is a company with 100 jobs brings with it some negative baggage.
For instance, you have all that pesky traffic. And think about the added noise. What if somebody dropped a hammer or coughed? It might disturb somebody. Our elected officials are dedicated to making sure we have peace and quiet in this community. We don?t have jobs but we sure have peace and quiet.
Q: When the animal shelter shut down, we were told the county would be overrun with stray animals. Now we?ve been without an animal shelter for over six months yet I haven?t noticed any dog problems. What?s the deal?
A: People have realized there?s a solution to the stray dog problem that doesn?t require a sizable investment in tax dollars. Just shoot the dog.
Q: Why does someone need to be fingerprinted, submit to a background check, and carry $1 million worth of insurance to sell hot dogs downtown?
A: Because a hot dog stand creates one job, and as previously mentioned, jobs can bring negative baggage. Think of what might happen if several people gathered around the hot dog stand at once. It might create a crowd. And if someone were to eat a hot dog and burp that might violate a city noise ordinance.
Q: Tell me about the Main Street Live summer concert series. Is it still scheduled for this year? I haven?t heard much about this year?s lineup.
A: Main Street Live was tremendously popular during its first year in the grassy lawn next to Security Federal. However, since downtown renovations have been complete, rent has soared in the Main Street area. That?s why, due to financial concerns, this year?s summer lineup might experience a change of scenery and be called Beersheba Street Live.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].