Last week a local farmer was hired to mow some of the weeds on property owned by the city in the Caroline Development. It was an improvement but it should have been done long before this. If the city expects the property owners at the Caroline Development to keep the weeds cut and the litter cleaned up it must make sure its own backyard is clean as well.

I am not attempting to put a blame on anybody but it appears to me that this is what happens when there is no one minding the store. Specifically, Minonk has been without a city admimistrator since April 30. With Trent Smith, the new city administrator, coming on board on Monday, August 20, hopefully the litter problem in Minonk can be addressed more effectively.

The Motel 6 at the Caroline Development did a nice job of landscaping and has kept the weeds and grass mowed. However, the retention pond immediately to the south of the motel that is owned by the city was left to grow up in weeds. This is not fair to Motel 6 since it can make an unfavorable impression to potential customers if they have to drive by an unsightly pond to get to the motel.

It seems to me that the retention pond could be made into an asset for the motel and the Caroline Development. Why not put a border of rocks or some other material around the pond to give it a landscaped appearance? Also, planting a few trees and bushes would help as well. What about a fountain in the middle that is lit at night? Wouldn't that attract the motorists? The least than can be done is to keep the pond area mowed.

I know all of this costs money and the city workers have been busy this year with the city well problems but the city needs to do something to get the Caroline Development beyond a truck stop that looks like it belongs in Gary, Indiana. What potential developer wants to invest money in a development that looks like a bare bones operation?

The Caroline Development is Minonk's future bread and butter and it should be a top priority. It is high time that the city put pressure on Chuck Feeney to get his truck stop cleaned up and landscaped so that further development will not be thwarted.

Weeds surround the retention pond at Motel 6.

This summer I pruned the bushes that are planted along the berm of the parking lot. Every bush had one or more pop bottles stuck in them and many of the bushes have lost several half of their branches due to someone either falling on them or from just plain being stepped on. I don't know how often the police patrol the parking lot but I think it might be a good idea to remind the kids that they are destroying city property and can be fined if caught or proven that they damaged the bushes.

There are many areas in Minonk that have unmowed weeds - some on city property and some not. There are weeds along First Street between Chestnut and Locust. All along route 251 between Sixth and Eighth Street is private property that has been left to grow into weeds. Last but not least is that perennial eyesore the old Masonic Lodge building at Sixth and Walnut. It not only has weeds but also is surrounded by old tractors and other junk.

The north curve coming into Minonk is beautifully landscaped and maintained by Burroughs Ag Service. But beyond the curve going east is an unsightly bramble of weeds and volunteer trees along city property. I wish that the other businesses at the north and south edge of Minonk would landscape their property as well as Burroughs has. It would certainly improve the entrance to the city. I think Minonk needs a Minister of Landscaping who can go around and dictate landscaping requirements and enforce them.

Journal Star irresponsible headline

As I mentioned in a previous editorial, I do not attempt to comment on Ms. McNamara's guilt or innocence since that was done by a Woodford County jury. What I am calling for is to keep this whole issue in proper perspective. This community is reeling from the controversy over this case and the Peoria Journal Star is being highly irresponsible by fanning the fires of this controversy. Cooler heads need to prevail to begin the healing process within the community.