Buyer's Remorse - C4C

Check out this interesting article about the results of the Cash for Clunkers program. You know - that program that was supposed to blow through $1,000,000,000 but ended up sucking $3,000,000,000 into the auto industry.

The article? http://autos.aol.com/article/cash-for-clunkers-greenwash

Read about the larger-than-expected number of buyers who wish they hadn't. Read that the average new-car payment is $317 for 49 months. (That's lower than I thought it would be.)

And that fuel consumption is expected to increase because the new cars will be driven more miles than the clunkers were: 10,894 estimated annual mileage for the first 239,000 C4C vehicles vs. 6,162 miles for the clunkers. An estimated 700,000 new cars left dealers' lot under this program.

And this clincher? "Other critics groused that Cars for Clunkers took $2.8 billion from the general roster of 300 million citizens and handed it tax-free to a small group of 700,000 citizens." "Cars" stands for "Car Allowance Rebate System".

New blog hits 1200 in first week

In just a week's time a new blog has surpassed the 1,200 mark on views. If you haven't been to the new Dirty site, www.dirtykeithvsdirtyharry.blogspot.com/ drop on by and check it out.

It is hilarious and it's clever. Be sure to scroll from top to bottom, so that you don't miss the latest additions. They aren't all posted at the top, and the new stuff is not necessarily at the bottom. So put on your Sherlock Holmes' hat and search for the new material.

I wish I had even 1/4 of the talent of the person who has assembled that site. There are some things I've love to do with a video camera, a good Nikon with a long lens, and PhotoShop. But for the time being, this is it.

How the public helps the police

Are you getting sick and tired of drug and alcohol activity in your neighborhood? Are you fed up? Are you willing to do something about it?

When you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, call the police. Call them right away. Don't wait too long. Don't think, "I'll just call them next time." Call them this time.

Above all else, keep yourself in the clear. If you can get a vehicle description and a look at the occupants, fine. Get the license plate number.

Report it to the police. In Woodstock the number is 815.338.2131 Request an officer to come and check it out. If the vehicle pulls away shortly after you call, call the police back and tell the dispatcher where it went. It could be that the occupants of the vehicle have a police scanner and hear the telecommunicator dispatch the call.

Tell the dispatcher not to put your name or address out over the radio but, instead, to have the officer telephone headquarters for that information.

If you want to speak to the officer, consider whether you want the officer to come to your residence or if you want to drive to police headquarters and meet him or her there.

Residents in Woodstock are getting involved. Locations of suspicious activity are being identified.

Recently one resident reported such activity. Before the officer could arrive, the suspicious car pulled away. The resident called back to the police and reported where the car was. The officer investigated and arrested two occupants of the vehicle and had the car towed.

Now, what can the Woodstock Police Department do to show appreciation for citizen cooperation?

1. If the citizen asked what happened, tell him. Yes, certain information can be withheld, but the gist of the reason for the arrests and towing of the vehicle become public record. If the citizen wants to know, tell him the charges and when and where he can learn more, such as names of those arrested and their court dates. And why the car was impounded. That's how you get more help next time!

2. Put out a press release. Give it promptly to the newspapers and put it on the police department's website.

3. City: put a link or banner on the City's homepage to direct residents and other website visitors to new press releases posted "several clicks down" on the PD's webpage.

There was what appeared to be a major arrest on September 8. Certainly more important than a few car windows getting shot out with BBs and slingshots. The police department has said that crime information is released within three days of an arrest.

Maybe it was buried in the numerous crime reports published weekly by The Woodstock Independent, but it seems like such an arrest might be worthy of its own story.

Code Enforcement - how expensive?

Just how expensive is Code Enforcement to a city like Woodstock? And what purpose does it serve?

In Woodstock we have a long list of what are called Nuisance Ordinances. These address the "sights for sore eyes": the inoperable cars in driveways; the obviously-junk vehicles in backyards; the high and noxious weeds in yards; construction debris in yards; sheds falling down; garage sale signs; the junk, for sale or free, that is put out at curbs; etc.

We have a great Code Enforcement Officer here in Woodstock, Donovan Day. He does a conscientious job, respectful and polite to all residents (probably even when they aren't polite to him). And he has a never-ending job.

How could Woodstock modernize Code Enforcement, increase efficiency, lower costs, gain increased awareness and higher voluntary compliance with the ordinances hidden away in the City Code?

More education! More publicity! How about a weekly (or at least monthly) column in The Woodstock Independent? The City could buy advertising space and publicize one or two different ordinances each month.

Could the City mail out a letter first, even before Donovan goes by, after a violation is reported or observed? If a letter resulted in correction of the violation without a personal visit, wouldn't that save a lot of money? A nice form letter and a $0.44 stamp vs. an hour of employee time?

Violations could be photographed and published as examples for other residents. If the City doesn't want to embarrass a violator, stage a "violation" and publicize that.

Use a small portion of the water bill mailing to create awareness of these ordinances. Every house gets one of those. Create a link on the homepage of the City's website to dynamically-presented information designed to grab a viewer's attention.

Use humor, cartoons and caricatures. Use fresh photographs. Woodstock has one of the most stagnant, boring websites I've ever seen. What is there on it that would ever attract a viewer to come back a second time?

The Charleston, S.C. Police Department had a great website under the former chief of police. Now it's dead. It went from dynamic and exciting to dull and boring.

We must have talent among the City employees and residents who would be glad to help inject some "life" into the City's website. A clever, low-priced video could be produced by our own high school students to promote compliance with these ordinances.

Anyone else have creative ideas for increased efficiency and productivity in City government?

Underage drinking - in Woodstock???

Over the week-end I picked up a flyer about underage drinking in Illinois. The flyer, printed in both English and Spanish, was produced by Community Connections for Youth (CCY), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit and tax-exempt organization headed by Ken West.

"14% of 10th graders and 26% of 12th graders drove after drinking."

What can you, as an adult, do to help reduce underage drinking (and driving after drinking)?
1. Ask questions;
2. Verify answers;
3. Shape futures; and

remember SUMMER:

Set rules
Understand & Communicate
Make sure you know where your youth is
Make sure you know who your youth is with
Engage young people in activities
Reserve time for your family

Of course, it will help if you don't drink and then drive!!!

The flyer includes a graph from a 2008 Illinois Youth Survey. The graph illustrated the percentage of youths in Grades 8, 10 and 12 who
A. engaged in binge drinking
B. drove with a DUI adult (did it mean "rode"?)
C. drove with a DUI teen (did it mean "rode"?)
D. drank alcohol in the past year

CCY meets on the second Monday of each month at the Judd Street fire station, from 8:45AM-10:00AM. Visit a meeting and get involved.

Contact information:
Ken West, Chairman
Phone: 815.338.2921
Email: westk2@comcast.net
Web: http://www.ccywoodstock.org/

Doctors for single-payer healthcare

Check out this group of doctors who are traveling across the country from Portland, Oregon, to the Capitol steps in Washington, D.C., speaking out for what they consider the only real solution to the health care crisis: Single Payer/Improved Medicare for All.

Go to http://www.madashelldoctors.com/

In case you can't figure that out, it's Mad As Hell Doctors.

They were in Madison on September 17 and will be in Chicago on September 25-26; that's Friday and Saturday.

One of their slogans is "Get Mad. Stay Mad. Make History."

Want to join it for the ride, or part of it? Fill out the form on their website and expect information by e-mail.

I was talking with a man on the Square last week who told him of one of his acquaintances who had been in the hospital for two weeks. The bill? $96,000. Pretty absurd, isn't it? Who can afford that???

Woodstock Chamber Postpones Expo

The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce has postponed its business expo that had been scheduled for October 17-18. The announcement was made by Interim Executive Director Tom Sagendorf and is posted on the Chamber's homepage at www.woodstockilchamber.com

"As the new, Interim Director of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it is my responsibility to insure that any event or publication in which we ask our membership to make an investment meets or exceeds their expectations, their return on investment. Based on the slow pace of reservations to date for the Woodstock Business EXPO exhibitor booths, I, in agreement with the Board President and Executive Committee, have decided to postpone this event which was scheduled for October 17 & 18. As this was to be the first major chamber event under my watch, I take this action very reluctantly and with no small amount of regret.

"However, I do commit to our membership that when new dates are established for the Business Expo, we will focus all our resources and efforts to plan for and host an event the likes of which we have never seen before. Tall words for sure, but I am confident that everyone involved will make it a roaring success for the Woodstock business community as well as the Woodstock residents. You deserve our best."

The business and professional tone of Tom's letter bodes well for the Woodstock business community. Tom is serving as a volunteer in his position as Interim Executive Director, giving the Board of Directors a little breathing room to continue its search for a full-time, paid Executive Director. Tom's business and management expertise is very much appreciated at a time when it is needed the most.

The Chamber's financial peril was brought to the attention of the full membership and the public recently, when the Board, before knowing of Tom, revealed its perilous financial condition. What happened was that prior Boards had continued to endanger the security of the Chamber's own headquarters on the Square by refinancing the mortgage six times in 22 years.

The original mortgage (or purchase price?) in 1987 was $87,500. The current mortgage is $188,000!!! How or why the Boards through the years continued the high-risk financial impairment of the Chamber-owned building is beyond me. How they kept it secret (or at least out of view) is beyond me. Why members did not insist on transparency in disclosure of the true financial position of the Chamber is beyond me.

The current Board has put a stop to that runaway train. Certainly, the lack of further re-financing had a lot to do with it. When you are maxed out on your credit, then you have nowhere else to turn.

Now is the time for the entire business community to gamble, if you will, one last time. Roll your dice (join and pay your dues). Support the Chamber financially. And get involved.

Tom's business experience can lead this chamber out of the woods. I have been a member of four chambers (not including my one year with this Chamber about three years ago) and have worked for four Chambers (and I never want to work for another one). The Woodstock Chamber is indeed fortunate to have Tom's leadership at this time.

Tom was retired and was looking for a volunteer opportunity. Let's make it enjoyable for him and help him return to retirement and different volunteer work that won't be a full-time, but unpaid, job.

Thanks for all you are doing, Tom.