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November 29, 2004 |
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About Town Dave Uphoff |
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Things to be thankful for
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Although Thanksgiving is now behind us, it still is not too late to give thanks for the many things
we should be grateful for. First of all, those of us who drove during the snowstorm that hit the area
on Thanksgiving eve should be grateful that we survived the treacherous roads from the heavy, wet snowfall.
I could not go faster than 20 mph on the unplowed country roads coming home from work on Wednesday evening.
I heard similar stories from others as well. The snow started about the time that everyone hit the roads to
head for their Thanksgiving destination and made travel difficult for everyone. Five people were killed
in the Central Illinois area during the storm due to the bad road conditions. It makes you want to
stay home the next time a storm hits.
Area farmers are grateful for the plentiful rainfall we have received this autumn. The rains held off until after the crops were harvested. In the middle of October the rains started and the groundwater has been replenished. Prior to the rains the water table was getting very low according to local farmers. The creeks are running again which is a good sign. I have heard so many people mention to me how grateful they are for the Dollar General Store here in Minonk. This is another success story for the City of Minonk for it not only provides a service for local shoppers, it also provides sales tax dollars for the city. People from the neighboring small communities can now come to Minonk to get their merchandise rather than fight the traffic and the crowds in Bloomington.
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Dollar General's success here in Minonk makes me wonder why other national chains don't realize
the potential of smaller scaled outlets for small communities like Minonk. Wouldn't it be great
if a national hardware store or pharmacy would locate a scaled down location in Minonk. I feel
strongly that Minonk can become a mini-shopping center for people in the surrounding area. Most
towns around us are 30 miles from a big shopping center. Minonk has the advantage of being centrally
located among the other smaller communities. In addition, Minonk is halfway between Bloomington
and LaSalle-Peru, the two major shopping centers in the area. I think people in smaller towns would
rather come to a place like Minonk to do their basic shopping rather than run to Bloomington. I
hope some executive of a national retail chain reads this editorial and heeds my advice. There
is money to be made here.
On the national and international level we can be thankful for a few things also. First, the death of Yassar Arafat should expedite progress towards peace in the Middle East. Arafat's legacy was to promote hostility between Israel and the Palestinians in order that he could reign over the chaos that ensued. His ambition was to be a spoiler rather than a negotiator for peace. The fact that the Palestinians allowed him to be their leader for over 30 years is not saying much for them as a group. Hopefully, the Palestinians will elect a new leader who has a modicum of brains and ethical values and Israel will drop its hard line on the Palestinians and realize this is their one great chance to reach a peace settlement. Lastly, the Americans routing of the subversive terrorists from Fallujah in Iraq will hopefully be the turning point of the war in Iraq. We all must be thankful for the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to eliminate the enemy forces who are trying to prevent elections in Iraq in January. This is a war without glory but the ramifications of its outcome are immense. The night is always the darkest before dawn. Hopefully, our military's agressive fighting has turned the corner and may convince the terrorists that they cannot win this battle. |
