An Ode to 2003

Faced with a deficit that threatened to break their backs,
The school board asked the voters to approve a new tax,
The public responded by saying no with vigor,
Saying, reduce your costs before we reconsider;

The late winter blahs were livened up considerably,
As we watched the Iraqi war play out on TV,
Between Pepsi commercials we watched Baghdad glow,
From the bombing attacks that caused Iraqi blood to flow;

The City of Minonk had its own violence and destruction,
Wreaked by vandals whose brains ceased to function,
Overturning tombstones and chopping down trees,
Breaking off branches like demented monkeys;

But good things were starting to happen again,
With the building of the Westside Park Pavilion,
Funded by donors and built by labor that was volunteer,
The pavilion will be completed by early next year;

The Millennium Park was developed with a grant from the state,
Including a skateboard park and hockey rink in which to skate,
The new wall on Chestnut Street south looked really swell,
And a lot cheaper than the $400,000 spent on a new city well;

But, alas, the overpass on I-39 started to buckle and decay,
Caused by using fill from Minonk's Jumbo the natives would say,
And a light post at the Shell Truck Stop is leaning way back,
Caused by an over zealous truck that jumped the track;

The north Jumbo was landscaped to prepare its surrounding land for sale,
The Moran Street extension was started only to have its deal turn stale,
As irate neighbors objected to a one-way alley struck in the deal,
The city made it 2 way again and resumed Moran Street with zeal;

The city clamped down on truckers by restricting their parking,
Causing truck drivers and others to start barking,
Dr. Naik celebrated 25 years of tooth pulling and cleaning,
And the light pole as the Shell Truck Stop was still leaning;

Fieldcrest appointed a committee to come up with some clues,
On how to stop the flow of red ink that continues to ooze,
Losing $100,000 a yer to Wenon's TIF,
The school's financial solvency remains a big if;

The attendance center issue has aroused much anger,
The solution by many is to shoot the messenger,
Lack of funds and volunteers beset the ambulance crew,
And ex-Governor Ryan's days as a free man are becoming few;

When we felt that the city was at its knees,
Jason Gerdes gave the city a present of 37 trees,
A gift worth $6,000 that left the mayor beaming,
And the light pole at the Shell Truck Stop is no longer leaning;

The economy finally appears to be on the mend,
Everyone is looking forward to good times again,
So lift up your hearts and let's have a good cheer,
For the City of Minonk looks forward to a very good year.

Happy New Year Everyone!