Working vacation?
We’re still waiting to hear whether or not Kokomo Mayor Matt McKillip and Controller Phil Williams are going to seek reimbursement from taxpayers for a portion of their trip to the Iberian peninsula.
McKillip has said he might seek reimbursement for a visit to the city of Braga, Portugal, in hopes of establishing a “sister city” relationship.
Dick Miller, president of the Howard County Council, left this past week for a trip to China to visit family.
“I’m going to try and establish a “sister county” relationship,” Miller said of his trip, joking that it might make him eligible to seek a reimbursement from county taxpayers.
There is no established “sister county” program in the U.S.
On another note, McKillip made a point of clarifying some of the reporting on his post-trip comments to Howard County Commissioner Brad Bagwell after the governmental coordinating council meeting Thursday.
While the mayor DID mention that Bagwell had “suggested” Braga as a possible sister city, he wanted Bagwell to know he never told a reporter that Bagwell suggested visiting Braga.
For his part, Bagwell said he filled out a suggestion card after an “international summit” McKillip hosted in town last year. Next to the place where the card asked for sister city suggestions, Bagwell said he wrote down “Braga.”
Greetings from exotic Portugal!
It’s probably safe to say the mayor didn’t expect the sort of reaction that greeted his return to Kokomo this week. McKillip seems to have hoped he might get credit for swinging by Braga during his own vacation.
Whether the city council (or better yet, the voting public) would have ever approved an entire trip to Portugal seems beside the point.
To hear the mayor’s perspective, having the city pay for a couple nights in a hotel and some meals was downright reasonable — at least compared to an entire junket, airfare and all.
But the fact the mayor hasn’t renounced the possibility he might ask for reimbursement has proved a windfall for local Democrats, who this week sent out “e-postcards” lampooning the mayor’s trip.
“Greetings from exotic Portugal!” is the theme of the postcards. To check them out, go to www.howardcountydemocrats.com.
Hayes says ‘absolutely not’
Kokomo Common Councilman Bob Hayes was off on a cruise — his first vacation in six years, he said — when the rumor began swirling that he and fellow Democrat Greg Goodnight had made a deal. In return for his support (and promise not to run) in the 2007 mayoral primary, Hayes would become Goodnight’s No. 2 (assuming Goodnight won in the general election).
We had the luck to see Hayes’ SUV bearing down on us outside the Tribune this week, and promptly jumped back up on the curb. Hayes, who wasn’t upset, did have three words to say about the rumor: “Absolutely not. Absurd.”
Trine on the ballot in May; our mistake
Last but not least, our apologies go out to local Democrat Dave Trine, who is running for Howard County commissioner District 1.
Last week, we suggested Democrats may have erred by not sending out a press release on Trine’s candidacy.
We still stand by that statement, but we acknowledge we forgot Trine was actually on the Democratic primary ballot this May. Trine, who was quite cordial on the phone when contacted this week, said he filed to run just before the deadline, and didn’t send out a press release.
Be that as it may, expect full coverage of the race between Trine and Republican Dwight Singer as we near the fall election.
Bob Stephenson, who has quickly become one of the go-to guys in the local Democrat organization, sent us a brief note telling us of our mistake:
“Dave Trine filed on Feb. 17th to run for this position and received 3,647 votes in last month’s primary election. The local party saw no reason to put out a press release as we assumed all local media knew of all the candidates on the primary ballot. No big deal. Thanks, Bob Stephenson.”
(Editor’s note: Honestly, Bob, you could have been a lot harder on us!)
Local News
PUBLIC EYE — June 11, 2006
- Local News
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Highland Park bridge restored
For almost a century, there has been a foot bridge over Kokomo Creek in Highland Park. During the past few months, it has been refurbished. Stahl’s Welding removed the bridge last fall to make some long needed repairs to the structure. The bridge spans 53 feet.
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Walmart stands by grant decision
Walmart says it treated Kokomo fairly when it gave a $50,000 grant the city won to a Lafayette-based organization that serves 16 counties.
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Fire station project advances
Construction of a new fire station on Dixon Road is being placed on a fast track by Kokomo officials, hoping to have it operating by the end of the year.
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Hangar expansion project to begin this month
Work on expanding and renovating an airplane hangar at Grissom Aeroplex to accommodate Texas-based Dean Baldwin Painting LP is set to begin later this month after three years of planning and aligning the necessary funding.
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Gaslight Anthem pulls out of Weberfest
Punk-twinged indie rockers Gaslight Anthem were creating quite a buzz when TA Weber announced the group would headline Weberfest the first weekend in August.
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Sculptures on display at Tipton library
Scattered among the stacks of books is an array of unique sculptures. There’s 24 of them to be exact. Crafted from bronze, the sculptures at the Tipton County Public Library are part of the traveling Sculptureworks Library Exhibit.
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City may allow alcohol in park
A change in policy approved by the Kokomo Parks & Recreation Board may allow beer and wine during events in Foster Park. By a 7-2 vote on Monday, the Kokomo Common Council approved an ordinance allowing nonprofit organizations to sell alcohol during events in the park.
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Auto Task Force members silent on Delphi pensions
A federal office responsible for monitoring the Troubled Asset Relief Program says it is snagged by former Automotive Task Force members’ silence over severed Delphi Corp. pensions, according to a letter released Tuesday.
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Walmart Facebook contest cash goes to Lafayette
Walmart’s $50,000 commitment to fight hunger in the Kokomo community has gone to an organization in another county, food pantry and food bank coordinators learned Tuesday.
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State IREAD pass rate at 84 percent
Sixteen percent of Indiana third-graders failed to pass a high-stakes reading proficiency test that could determine whether they can move on to the fourth grade.
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