The following is the interview of Mayor Rudy Wright on 1290 WHKYam Radio's First talk program with Hal Row.
WHKY does not archive these programs and make them available to the public, so I am putting this important public interview up under Fair Use guidelines.
Segment 1 - This segment is about the Hickory Jaycees no longer supporting Hickory Alive next year. The Mayor doesn't address the issue. He does talk about the reduced hours for Oktoberfest.
Segment 2 - More on the events Downtown. Mayor talks about kids Downtown. "Youth, 15 and over, and kids, 14 and under, are running loose over an eight block area." "Children are running loose."
Segment 3 - Hal talks about the street layout mess in Hickory and some things a friend brought up. Talks about Highland at Lenoir-Rhyne and Clement Boulevard. Hal asks about the Bond Referendum.
Segment 4 - Hal and the Mayor talk about the Professional Senior Golf tournament getting ready to take place here in Hickory and the City's involvement. Hal talks about another person that believes that we need to get serious about speeding in Hickory.
Listen and fill free to comment.
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Tuesday, September 9, 2014
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4 comments:
It blows my mind that they want to spend 40 million dollars to "attract young people to Hickory" and then they want to roll the streets up at 9:30 or 10 pm. This is nuts. The Jaycees can't offer Hickory Alive because of the City's hour restrictions and now they are messing with Oktoberfest, which has been a successful event.
Save your money folks. Decisions like this hurt Hickory and make it unfriendly to young adults. They can go to Asheville or Charlotte where they can stay out past Rudy's bedtime and have fun. Meanwhile Hickory can grey and decline.
I spoke with someone who says that Hickory Inc. will ultimately lay it all at the Jaycees feet. That the "City", as they like to call it, tried to accommodate the Jaycees, but has to look out for the public in the interest of "Safety" -- the catchall phrase, like "Inspiring Spaces".
The Jaycees will be the ones who decide that they can't make the money selling the beer and "they had a 24 year run and nothing lasts forever."
Seems to me like a lot of long run things have come to an end under the heavy hand of these people.
So, I'm sure, the Jaycees sponsorship of the Christmas Parade and Easter Egg Hunt can be masked over somehow. They'll find somebody to willfully help to sweep up this mess and protect Hickory Inc., dismiss the concerns and justify the actions taken and put the best face on it... and the Master BSing will go on and on and on. 2+2=????
I have come to the realization that the reason why these groups are so ineffective is because they willfully choose to be. As a group they will stand up and say, "This isn't right." But then the political figures around here will call them up and go speak to them as individuals, co-opting them, and they will bend and cave like Loblolly Pines. The Council will feign interest in their issue, but at the end of the day the steamroller continues down the hill.
And that is the reason why nothing ever gets done around here and we continue down the path of the status quo. Co-opting and Cronyism means that nothing will ever change.
We are like that guy standing in front of the Tank in Tiananmen Square. Hickory Inc. doesn't want to make a show out of running over you. That would make them look bad. It's easy to put on a show of protest, but is it a show? Or are you going to actually stand up to the Power?
And the $40 million isn't about attracting young people. It's about spending money on their buddies. Andrea Surratt said enough money had been spent on Union Square. They had just built "The Sails". "Inspiring Spaces" was about spending money to uplift the whole city, other parts of Hickory. Next thing you know they want to build a sidewalk from Union Square to Hollar Mill and that will cost $27 million.
I laughed when I read where Danny Hearn said that the Chamber was giving conditional support. The Chamber always supports everything Hickory Inc. wants to do. When have they ever said no to a local governmental agency? I haven't seen a tax they haven't supported. Danny mentioned an oversight committee, so that "the Sails" fiasco (my words) doesn't happen again. It's just going to be the same batch of "rubber stamping" folks that made up the "Inspiring Spaces" Committee.
But who knows the ins and outs of the hen house better than the foxes that have always been put in charge of guarding it.
I frankly dont think a drunken festival is family friendly nor a way a city should be atteacting young adults. When the noise ordinance begins at either 10 or 11pm, and people are dowtown with music blaring and drunken revelrie occuring. I can hear it at my house and frankly do mot appreciate it!! Upsets everbody's dogs both inside and outside ad well. Then the drunken thugs parade up and down the streets if my neighborhood, slapping street signs, burning rubber, racing cars and cycles, and kaughingly the mopeds, argue and fight, etc. i hate the mights of the Fest.
Kids are running around because their parents are under the tent drinking. My Aunt and I went during tge day last yr to eat Greek food and some dude in liederhosen and very drunk stumbled out and grabbed her by the waist to dance with him, almost knocking her down. She is an early70s something looking 82 yr old. I put my arm out to grab her as she swayed and he went to kiss me. I was really ugly with my words and with a balled up fist i was explict in telling him where it would be placed if..... He then fell over his own two feet and landed on his rump on the ground. We got around him, n I dudnt even see a cop or any official to report him.
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