Street Jazz

It’s not hard to imagine that somewhere in his prison cell, Wayne Fincher is smiling this morning.

A few years ago, the self-styled “Lt. Commander” of the Washington County Militia  was on my show, and just couldn’t seem to stop talking about “red dirt” - as if the battle over this fabled substance would be the final, glorious battle between atheistic socialists  and Christian property rights activists.

Today we see the article in the Northwest Arkansas Times (“Neighbors decry noise, effects of blasting at Big Red Dirt Farm”) telling of how folks in Fayetteville are tired of the late night blasting at the Big Red Dirt Farm, located just off Hamstring Road, near Wedington Drive.  

http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/74075/

My favorite part of the story:

The issue dates back to 2004, when about 50 acres were purchased by the William G. Sweetser Trust and A. Brad Johnson, who began farming the land for its rich, red dirt. Soon, the company decided to harvest the pillars of limestone that ran up through the dirt. Bolen said that was when his headaches started.

"They decided to fire up a rock crusher at 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday night," Bolen told Lucas and Lewis.

Washington County got involved when Bolen contacted his local justice of the peace who set up a meeting with Bolen and the site's owners. Bolen said the noise stopped for a little while, but picked up again and with greater force.

It’s not my favorite because of the obvious abuse that Bolen and others are experiencing; it’s my favorite because people have forgotten what insensitive louts those who claim property rights Über Alles can be.

It sort of takes us back to the bad old days of the  990s, when talk radio and the and the radical property rights group Take Back Arkansas terrorized public officials.

Even though Comrade Fincher is otherwise occupied at the moment, you can bet that his friends on the lunatic fringe of the property rights movement in Washington County - and there are a whole bunch of ‘em - are just looking forward to this fight.

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Quote of the Day

Goldfinger said, "Mr. Bond, we have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action.'" - Ian Fleming, "Goldfinger"

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Got way too many books?

I never thought I'd have too many books, but the older I get, I find myself with too much of almost everything. It's just how life is. An excellent way to spread the joy of reading is to make a donation of books you are not likely to read again is to libraries in your area. Small libraries especially need the books - or the money they will make by putting your donations in their used book stores. These bookstores are often wonderful places to find books.

The best such bookstore in Northwest Arkansas is in Winslow; their used book store is itself practically the size of a small library.

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Well, if you really want to improve Fayetteville Public Library

“Library brainstorms ways to improve” proclaims the headline on page two of the NWA Times this morning. Well, as much as I love the Fayetteville library, I have to add my voice to the many out there who have been asking for the return of the magazine exchange table/rack.

They have one at Farmington.

They have one at West Fork.

They have one at Winslow.

They have one at Elkins.

Come on, Fayetteville, are you gonna let these guys offer a service you won’t even consider? What is the big deal here?

rsdrake@nwark.com