Category: Hannibal

Hannibal Board of Public Works reforms raised before council

Posted by mpoletti – June 6, 2012

With a trio of rate increases awaiting approval this week by the Hannibal Board of Public Works board, an outspoken figure from Hannibal’s political past raised questions about the utility at Tuesday’s Hannibal City Council meeting.

Former Mayor John Lyng spoke briefly to the council at the outset of Tuesday’s meeting, asking the council to take steps to “gain some accountability for the Hannibal Board of Public Works to the citizens who own those public utilities.”

Lyng, who served as mayor in the early 1980s, said the customary public hearing on rate increases that will be held Thursday evening, just before the BPW board votes on those increases, has become a formality. He called for “some second level of approval of rate increases,” with electoral accountability; the BPW board is appointed.

“And yeah, I’m looking at you fellows,” Lyng told the council.

The rate increases set for a vote Thursday include a 5 percent residential-only hike in electric rates, 8 percent for sewer and 10 percent for water. In total, the three are expected to add $10 to the average monthly utility bill.

Lyng criticized the minimum customer charge in all three divisions, which also is expected to rise. However, he said the hike in electric usage rates, in particular, comes at a time when wholesale power costs are dropping for the city. He likened the residential-only increase to Ford hypothetically raising prices on cars only for its own stockholders.

The former mayor also called for the council to write into the city charter owner approval — that is, voter approval — of financial borrowing and major investments. The latter was a jab at the massive Prairie State Energy Campus in southern Illinois, of which the BPW is a part owner through the Missouri Public Utility Alliance; the plant has yet to begin generating power and revenue, but the BPW already is paying for its construction to the tune of $300,000 a month. (Note that all MPUA member cities have some financial skin in the plant as members of that organization.)

Although the BPW is considered part of city government, its operations traditionally have been fairly detached from City Hall. Lyng said the council should be doing more to hold the BPW accountable.

BPW General Manager Bob Stevenson and Board President Randy Park were in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, but did not speak or offer a response to Lyng’s comments.

The council took no action with regard to the former mayor’s remarks, but Fourth Ward Councilman Barry Louderman acknowledged that the council and utility have had a “tenuous” relationship through the years.

This isn’t the first time a Lyng has called for BPW reforms in recent years. His son, former Sixth Ward Councilman Jeff Lyng, was similarly outspoken about the utility.

Bill could take teeth out of smoking bans

Posted by mpoletti – May 2, 2012

On the heels of last night’s first reading on Hannibal’s indoor smoking ban comes a bill in the Missouri legislature that could restrict smoking bans in the Show-Me State.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a story today about a bill in the Missouri House of Representatives (HB 2103) that would prohibit Missouri cities and counties from banning smoking in establishments that derive 60 percent or more of their revenue from alcohol, tobacco or entertainment. That would apply to casinos and to many bars, bowling alleys, bingo halls, pool halls and similar businesses.

In a sentiment many smoking ban opponents in Hannibal have echoed, the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Melissa Leach, says that would leave a smoking ban up to individual businesses, not local government. Leach represents Springfield, Mo., which last year passed a citywide smoking ban that she claims has hurt local businesses. (A measure to repeal the smoking ban is on the June ballot there.)

The Missouri Municipal League opposes the bill, saying that taking the teeth out of local government- or voter-approved smoking bans is a blow to local control.

It may be a moot point anyway. Less than a month remains in this Missouri legislative session, and with the bill headed to the House Small Business Committee this week, even Leach acknowledges it would take a miracle for both chambers to pass the bill by the end of the session.

It’s possible that Hannibal’s voter-approved smoking ban could become part of the debate. Rep. Lindell Shumake, R-Hannibal, sits on the Small Business Committee.

Hannibal voters approved Proposition 1′s indoor smoking ban last month, and the Hannibal City Council gave a first reading Tuesday to the smoking ban, though not without a prolonged debate. (A very public thanks to my colleague Matt Hopf for covering that debate for me last night while I handled a conflicting assignment.) The final council vote is May 15.

Hannibal’s smoking ban would go into effect July 1. It’s unclear what effect Leach’s bill would have on existing ordinances if it is signed into law.

Hannibal Community Theatre facility back on Building Commission’s radar

Posted by mpoletti – April 3, 2012

Hannibal’s Building Commission devoted a significant portion of its meeting to discussing City Hall’s crumbling next-door neighbor, the former Maryland Hotel at 314-18 Broadway. However, the other buildings they discussed included another landmark in the downtown area: the former Hannibal Community Theatre facility at 515 Lyon.

The majestic church, once home to a Catholic parish and then an American Legion hall, was condemned in 2009. The theater group used the church’s basement as its theater for several years and still owns the building, but left when the building was condemned. It has been using St. John Lutheran School’s gymnasium for a performance facility.

The Building Commission said Monday that no work has been done lately on the building, long an agenda item for the commission. Building Inspector Joey Burnham said the building is structurally sound, and it was removed from the commission’s pending demolition list last month. However, City Engineer Mark Rees and commission member Lou Barta, the Third Ward councilman, said the building still has brick issues and needs to be tuckpointed. They suggested putting up construction fencing around the old church to prevent falling brick from causing damage or injury, much as the city has around the former Maryland Hotel to mitigate the hazard of its falling stucco.

Commission members intimated that it could be politically dangerous to tear down the old church because of its historical significance. However, Mayor Roy Hark said the commission needs to get back in touch with the theater and urge further action or at least learn its wishes for the building.

The commission took no action Monday and will continue to monitor the theater for another month.

Hannibal Parks and Recreation skate park opens early for spring break

Posted by mpoletti – March 12, 2012

A biker rides the ramps at Hannibal Parks and Recreation's Hannibal Ramp Park in Huckleberry Park.

Although it won’t ramp up its hours for the spring and summer until April, the Hannibal Ramp Park is open to local skaters and extreme sports enthusiasts every day this week for the Hannibal School District’s spring break.

The skate park in Huckleberry Park will be open noon to dark every day through Sunday. Admission is $2 on weekdays and $3 on weekends, with safety equipment available for rental. Helmets are required; pads are encouraged. A waiver and release of liability must be signed before any skaters or bikers enter the park.

After Sunday, the park will resume its usual noon-to-dark weekend hours for the rest of March. It also will open from 3:30 p.m. to dark Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in April, and from 3:30 p.m. to dark every weekday in May. It is open noon to dark every day throughout the summer.

For more information on the park, go to hannibalparks.org.

“Mark Twain: Words and Music” to compete online for spot on Walmart shelves

Posted by mpoletti – March 6, 2012

Would you like to be able to buy the “Mark Twain: Words and Music” album at an ubiquitous national retailer like Walmart? Sure you would.

Starting tomorrow, the double CD released last fall is competing in Walmart’s Get on the Shelf online contest, in which newly developed products vie for a spot in the retailer’s physical and online stores.

The first round of online voting runs from tomorrow through April 3, when the top 10 products will be chosen to advance in the contest. A second round of voting from April 11-24 will determine the winner.

Follow this link to vote for the album or get instructions on Facebook and text voting.

The album, which chronicles the life and legacy of Hannibal’s favorite son in music and spoken word, features the musical stylings of Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and others, along with spoken-word turns by Clint Eastwood, Jimmy Buffett and Garrison Keillor. Proceeds from the album, which was released last September on Buffett’s Mailboat Records label, benefit the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.

Cindy Lovell said the album is already selling well through distributors like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Cracker Barrel restaurant gift shops and Buffett’s Margaritaville stores, “but it would be great to expand to a wider audience through Walmart.”

Locally, the album is available at the Mark Twain Museum Gift Shop.

Val Kilmer coming to Mark Twain Museum

Posted by mpoletti – February 26, 2012

So Val Kilmer, Mark Twain, Mary Baker Eddy and Cindy Lovell walk into a bar …

Just kidding, but the four will come together in an unlikely Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum event in early May.

Actor Kilmer will visit the museum May 2 for “An Evening with Val Kilmer,” where he will discuss his film now in development about the relationship between Hannibal’s favorite son and Christian Science founder Eddy.

Tickets are $30 for the 7 p.m. event and can be purchased at marktwainmuseum.org or by calling museum staffer Mai Conrad at (573) 221-9010, ext. 401.

Kilmer has starred in numerous films since the mid-1980s. Here’s a trailer for one of his most memorable roles of that decade.

Hannibal man takes top honors in Phillips 66 video contest

Posted by mpoletti – February 24, 2012

A Hannibal man’s unique billiards skills have won him $1,000 cash and gasoline for life from Phillips 66.

Chris Dryden took first grand prize in the gas station giant’s “Local Legends” video contest, which encouraged patrons in five states — Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas — to submit videos of their special areas of expertise.

Dryden’s expertise? Trick shots in billiards. Watch the video here.

Congratulations, Chris, and start planning that road trip.

Proposed Hannibal bicentennial evokes a little deja vu

Posted by mpoletti – January 20, 2012

The city of Hannibal is beginning the long process of planning a 2019 bicentennial celebration for the city. Click here for the story.

The long list of ideas Third Ward Councilman Lou Barta proposed for the bicentennial — which the City Council sanctioned this week by passing a resolution to form the Bicentennial Commission — evoked, in my mind, everything I’ve read about Hannibal’s Mark Twain sesquicentennial. (Yes, I was alive then. No, I was not old enough to read.) Or, rather, what it was supposed to be.

A belt buckle sold at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in 1985, commemorating Twain's 150th birthday.

For some historical perspective, I suggest reading Ron Powers’ “White Town Drowsing.” Powers, a Hannibal native and Pulitzer Prize winner, has his fans and his detractors in Hannibal, and having read “White Town Drowsing” last year, I admit it can be pretty self-aggrandizing. But it’s also quite the account of the controversial planning process that led up to the 1985 celebration of Mark Twain’s 150th birthday.

The sesquicentennial was supposed to be, in outside promoters’ minds, a seven-month extravaganza drawing untold thousands of visitors from around the world. A steamboat regatta and chart-topping concerts were among the ideas they promoted and sold to local residents. As Powers tells it, it was controversial because, among other reasons, the local residents who were to benefit from the festival didn’t have much skin in the planning. However, when many of the elaborate plans fell through, locals stepped in and planned a more modest celebration.

The city’s bicentennial won’t look much like the proposed Mark Twain sesquicentennial. Steamboat regatta? Try a visit from one or two steamboats. But the concept of the event itself may bring back some memories in Hannibal, I said to Barta as I chatted with him about his plans.

Barta knows memories of the Mark Twain sesquicentennial run deep, not all of them pleasant. For one thing, as recently as last year, the City Council had a member, Jeff Lyng, whose father, former Mayor John Lyng, was the local face of the sesquicentennial process. (Several senior Herald-Whig staff members, too, were around Hannibal in those days as members of the media.)

“I do know there are a lot of people who remember those things and are are still working with us and with the city,” Barta said.

But he believes Hannibal has learned from its mistakes. He’s hoping for many chances to solicit public input, which he says will be a hallmark of this process, if he has his druthers.

Still, on the face of it, the idea of a bicentennial celebration made me wonder if Hannibal is in for some deja vu. Depending on how you look at it — and how things take shape over the next seven years — that could be a good thing or a bad thing.

‘Mildred is waiting for me back in Hannibal, Mo.’

Posted by mpoletti – December 7, 2011

"M*A*S*H" commander and Hannibal native Col. Sherman T. Potter, as portrayed by the late Harry Morgan.

If you look hard enough at the news, often you’ll find a Northeast Missouri connection.

Wednesday saw the death of TV actor Harry Morgan, 96, best known for portraying Col. Sherman Tecumseh Potter on the classic Korean War dramedy “M*A*S*H.”

Sharp-eared TV viewers will recall that Potter, commander of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, was a Missouri man, but my already-limited knowledge of classic TV has had to compete over the years with stuff like graduate school and “Christmas Vacation” quotes. So I was pleasantly surprised to get a bit of trivia in an email from NECAC public relations officer Brent Engel, who reminds us that Potter always cited Hannibal as his hometown.

If you’ve watched a lot of “M*A*S*H,” or at least have seen its finale — which for almost 20 years ranked as the most-watched TV broadcast in history — you know that when Potter rides off into the sunset on Sophie the horse, he’s looking forward to returning to his wife and a quiet life as a country doctor. “Mildred is waiting for me back in Hannibal, Mo.,” he tells his men.

There are lots of other Midwestern characters on the show, but how’s that for a Hannibal connection?

VIDEO: CASA volunteers take their oath

Posted by mpoletti – November 22, 2011

Monday was a big day for the newest volunteers in Douglass Community Services’ Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program, as they were sworn in by Judge Rachel Bringer to begin their service to foster children in the 10th Judicial Circuit. Watch them take their oath in this video.