Around Town

By: Ernie Wren

Well, the issue of the MoDOT plastic barriers along the east side of Highway 63 on Broadway has been somewhat resolved. MoDOT has now removed some of them so that people going east can at least turn left to go into Moser’s and Dollar General rather than having to go all the way down the roundabout. Sometimes solutions to a small problem accidentally result in a larger problem, but kudos to MoDOT and Ashland Public Works for listening and implementing a satisfactory fix. In other city news, if you’ve been watching the proposed budget talks, you might be a bit bewildered at what is going on. The budget proposal contains a deficit close to -$195,000, and at the same time, a proposed $35,000 new position (Community Betterment Director) to meet a grant clause and a major street project next year (Perry Avenue). Our city budget spending was recently cited as being in violation of state law. We can only hope that new City Administrator Kyle Michel is able to work with the new Mayor to get this corrected. Some personnel with the city are citing the deficit budget as the main reason for the passage of the online tax proposal. Others are feeling that throwing more money at the problem is not the solution. Perhaps this is an issue our council candidates can share their thoughts on in the upcoming forum. Monday, March 7th, marked the first day of operations for the Helping Hands of Southern Boone “Free Store” in downtown Ashland. Right now, the store will be open to the public on Monday and Wednesdays, 6pm to 8pm, and every other Saturday 10am to 2pm. For emergency needs the store can be accessed via a board member. A grand opening will be scheduled soon, with the public invited. Helping Hands serves the emergency needs of the community, and this free store has been made possible through the generous donation of funds by the Veterans United Foundation. Additionally, donations from the public and grants also help. Helping Hands was recently awarded a $1,000 donation from the St. Andrew’s Endowment Board for operational costs.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal