COMMENTARY

2012 Ending, But The Stories Remain The Same

Here it is, the end of 2012, and what can you say?

There was a presidential election, a superstorm named Sandy and a royal pregnancy.

Of the three, the presidential election had the most impact on Benton County. Oh, I don’t mean who was or wasn’t elected. I mean the process of counting the votes.

The Election Commission really misjudged how many people would vote. Benton County has, for the last several years, had big turnouts in presidential years, so it should have been obvious the numbers would be high. The desire to buy alcohol locally rather than driving to Missouri probably got more voters out than Obama or Romney.

Give the commission its due: They are seeking a solution. I don’t think much of it, at least the going back to paper ballots part. The part about making it even easier to early vote is a good idea.

I have never, ever, ever voted on paper. When I first voted in Boone County, it was on a machine, and from the time I moved to Benton County until the switch to computers was made, I voted on punch cards.

There are people out there who believe their computer votes are being tampered with. Let me take the opposite paranoid stance: I think my paper ballot could be tampered with, and a lot easier than my computer-cast ballot.

On top of that, the commission couldn’t get the paper ballots counted without a trip to Fayetteville to use Washington County’s counting machines. So how are more paper ballots the answer? All it does is move money that needs to be spent to fix the problem from buying more computers to buying more paper and counting machines.

The Quorum Court is in serious penny-counting mode, as it should be. The vote-counting thing, however, needs to be addressed and, like it or not, it is going to take a whole bunch of pennies to fix the situation.

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Another unfixed thing involves preserving the remains of Monte Ne resort — or not.

In typical federal government fashion, the Corps of Engineers said something has to be done, but they don’t know what, and can’t afford it anyway. Local folks need to pay to fix it.

This is one of those things John Sampier would get all hot under the collar about when he was mayor. It isn’t exactly an unfunded mandate, but it is so close it has got a similar smell.

The tower at Monte Ne needs to be preserved. In a perfect world, it would be beyond cool for the amphitheater to be above water all the time as it now because of the drought. That, obviously, can’t happen.

I am torqued that the corps’ report on whether there is historic value to the site and if it should be preserved — in some expert’s opinion — isn’t available for public review and apparently won’t be until after a private meeting between the corps and the Historic Monte Ne Preservation Partnership.

That’s just wrong on so many levels. If taxpayers and donors are going to foot the bill, they ought to be in the know every step of the way.

This report was to be released in September, so they said at the outset. My calendar says mid-December. Another example of the federal government at work, or not.


Then there is the Rogers Adult Wellness Center. I thought, surely, we would see some adjustment of fees, possibly adjusting them upward to help pay for center operations. Nearly a half-million bucks are slated to underwrite the center in 2013.

In my wildest dreams, I thought there was a slim chance the hours of operation would be adjusted to give the working stiffs who pay taxes to support the center a chance to use it.

Nope, didn’t happen. Instead, the city bought land and more land for use as trails and soccer fields. Adding soccer fields is the right thing to do since officials had to ax those proposed for the Regional Sports Park due to costs.

I don’t object to anyone enjoying trails and soccer. I object to city officials being so focused on those recreational pursuits they can’t think of anything else.

So I go on record here: I will be lobbying for a Working Stiff Wellness Center. Who wants to join me?

Leeanna Walker is the local editor of the Rogers Morning News and the Springdale Morning News. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NWALeeanna.

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