The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greetings to all in Western Illinois and to other areas as well. May the fickle finger of fate be treating you in a manner that brings joy to your heart, satisfaction to your endeavors, and contentment to your lot. And, may God add his blessings according to his will.
Our prayers and thoughts, along with the whole of the Terre Haute Methodist Church, goes out to Gary and Sherry Butler as they battle his journey Thursday with health treatments. May God bless your doctors, according to his will, for a permanent recovery.
A great big thank you goes out to Cornelius for helping with last weeks column musings. I bring back to you fresh insight into the goings on around the neighborhood.
First of all Cornelius shared with me his insight into solving the four-lane highway problem present in Henderson County. There are no 4-lane highways in Henderson County. The problem, by his observation, has a simple solution. Many folks have pushed, pried, begged, and demanded that there be a quick fix. Cornelius feels they are trying too hard in the logical simple way.
The traffic flow from the east of Monmouth and west of Burlington, Iowa, which are four (4) lanes, create a tremendous congestion and hazard on Henderson counties portion, of the thoroughfare, with little or no road shoulders, for emergency stops and to which is treacherous for man, woman, and child. It hinders commerce, restricts farm operation travel and costs lives.
Many forces have been utilized in "Forgottonia" to solve the problem. These include worthless political speeches, utilizing and mobilizing school children, and engaging in many golf outings.
Billboards have been displayed preaching to the choir. Anybody who has been chased to the ditch traveling 34 by the heavy traffic realizes the danger of traveling on that road without having to read of the need for a safer highway from a billboard.
Money to fight the battle has been raised and allegiances have been made with city leaders and chambers of commerce outside Henderson County. Many trips have been made to political power structures both inside and outside the area, including Springfield, Washington and Oquawka. The campaign has been a bust thus far and has gone over like a lead balloon as far as political action is concerned.
The importance of the road was made clear during the flood. With highway 34 under water this spring and summer for so long a period of time, commerce was severely damaged by its shutdown, both inside and outside of our border. Marty Lafary, Henderson County board chairman points out correctly, that the problem is not solved, even yet at this late hour, and the probability for it to duplicate itself next spring looms ominously in the future.
So what's the answer?
Well, ole Cornelius in his simplistic manner, puts forth this following solution. The Henderson County Board should pass a resolution demanding and commanding that no four-lane highway shall be permitted to pass thru Henderson County and especially not if it were to replace the current route 34.
Each city council within the county should pass a similar measure as well as those villages and towns outside our borders.
The resolution would explain the need to preserve our conservative heritage, keep commerce constrained to our local communities and keep the Republicans and Democrats in their proper place.
As a kicker, he would throw into the resolution the goal of preserving our conservative religious heritage, upholding God and restraining the promotion of evolution being taught to our children.
Stopping the improvement of the highway would prevent the pilgrimage of homosexual and deviant sexual activity in our area, help to prevent increased abortion activity, and inhibit gambling in such a manner that only farmers would have the privilege of enjoying that sport thru the nature of the risks involved in their occupation.
Why should the invigoration of the possibility of losing everything one has worked for a lifetime to achieve, be shared with some thrill-seeker only out for a monetary quick loss?
As a caveat, Cornelius would throw in that we would allow no Eastern liberal, tree huggin', gun haten' fat cats to come in to our country and try and improve our impoverished way of life throwing money around the area creating jobs and changing our ways.
Think now of the alliances we would have in our effort to build and upgrade route 34 to a four (4) lane safer traveling passage. Fighting to prevent this area from having its "conservative" ways would be feminists, abortionists, atheists and anti-religious organizations, liberal church goers promoting their newly inspired insights, gamblers and alternative life style promoters would all battle to save ourselves from ourselves. All would join in to see that Henderson County would not have its backward ways. Maybe, even a few liberal judges would order the new four-lane highway by edict.
Our children would rally to help keep themselves conservative and away from new ideas. Liberal educators would be inflamed and enthusiastically demand a new highway. A professor or two might even do some studies, draw up theorems, and expose the need to terminate our backward country bumpkin life style.
Well, Ole Cornelius insists if we pass these resolutions with firmness and conviction and trumpet our cause in all the headlines, news magazines, radio stations and TV news rooms-we will have our four-lane highway "quicker "n a jack rabbit". The more we resist, the quicker we will have it.
Cornelius calls this "reverse psychology." I call it a "whacko idea."
Cornelius says, "This is the way government works-giving you what you don't want." I says, "It not the way I was taught."
Cornelius says, "Is your way working?" I says-"Well,-its hard to determine."
His way is "about like settin' th' house on fire to roast a chicken."
It seems as though this idea came from an individual with a head full of feathers.
But on the other hand, maybe we would kill two birds with one stone by getting our highway and callin' attention to our good heritage in Western Illinois.
Catch ya later
Barnyard Bruke