I feel the need to offer this public service announcement: Benton County government's satellite office in Rogers moved -- more than a month ago.
I say this because every time I drive past the old site at Third and Poplar streets -- and that can be twice a day or more -- there's always at least one person trying to get into the building.
I don't know how many stories we wrote about the move -- I lost count -- and television reported it several times, too.
Sadly, this is a microcosm of how uninformed people choose to be.
Yep, choose. If you want to know what's going in the world you have to be proactive and learn what's going on by reading, listening and being involved.
What amazes me about people is they are more than willing to believe some cock-eyed political ad from a political action committee. Many are not, however, willing to weigh what in-depth reporting says on an issue against what the 30-second ad said. This is what intelligent decision-making is all about.
Truly, it is laziness. Oh, I hear the complaint all the time: "I don't have time to read the newspaper." It is all I can do to not respond: "But you have time to plop your butt on the couch and watch TV for hours."
I hope I never become so swayed by any one information source.
My all-time favorite comment comes when a controversial issue comes up in a neighborhood:
General person: "Why haven't you reported this? The newspaper doesn't report the important stuff."
Me: "So I guess you have missed the dozen or so stories we have published on this?"
General person: "Ahhh. Hmmm. Welllll....."
But I digress.
The county building is now at 15th and Walnut streets. The nearly $1 million price tag -- that includes remodeling -- provides more space and improved parking, so we are told.
Every time I drive past -- and I do several times a week -- I ask myself: "The parking is improved?"
Maybe more people are using the office. I doubt that because there was always a crowd when the office was downtown.
Aggravating the parking situation at 15th and Walnut is the fact that once the lot is full, there is no where else to park. Downtown, there was on-street parking and several lots nearby where you could park and walk.
That's not the case at 15th and Walnut. Fifteenth Street is too narrow for on-street parking. What appears to be a vacant lot south of the building is a retention pond. A vacant lot directly west of the building has been blocked off. No one in his or her right mind is going to park on the north side of Walnut Street and walk across.
And then there is vehicular access at 15th and Walnut. When a drug store was there, I always drove in to the lot off 15th Street unless I happened to be eastbound on Walnut. Attempting a left turn off Walnut is a recipe for a rear-end collision. A left turn from the lot or 15th Street is a pure stroke of luck -- or insanity at certain hours.
The city has plans -- along with the state -- to widen Walnut between Dixieland Road and Eighth Street, right in front of the county building. Plans aren't complete yet for the widening project, but it would appear a lot, if not most, of the land needed will come off the south side of the street, the same side as the county parking lot.
Does this mean that in a few months or a year county officials are going to come back and want money to buy land for a parking lot?
What were we paying for the building at Third and Poplar? One dollar a year? Hmmmmm.
Granted, Third and Walnut was more convenient for me, but I hope things work out at 15th and Walnut.
I am, however, prepared to see the county wallet open again in the not-too-distant future.
Commentary on 04/17/2014