Hometown Matters

The City has applied for a federal grant to cover 80 percent of the $1.1 million cost to widen the heavily travelled intersection at First and Osage streets. The East-West Gateway Council of Governments has a recommended approval of the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant, but award of the grant is subject to approval at the East West Gateway October, 2021 meeting.   The federal amount of the 80-20 matching grant is $892,173. The City’s 20 percent match … Continue reading “City Edges Toward Goal of Improving Truck Routes as 1st & Osage Widening Moves Forward / Historic House to Come Down”

The July 24, second annual Danny “Turtle” Johnson motorcycle poker run landed a big hand for the Historic First Baptist Church restoration project. When the 150-plus poker hands, tee shirt sales, auction and meals were tallied, the day had yielded a total of $15,411. Of that $1,300 was donated to the American Heart Association, in Johnson’s honor, leaving $14,111 to help complete work on the church. “It took a lot of people to bring it all together,” said Norbert Gildehaus. … Continue reading “Bikers’ Poker Run Yields Big Hand for Church Restoration Project”

When neighbors Bobby Villery and Dawn Metzger were cited for identical fence violations in the Autumn of 2018, Villery was given 30 days to bring his fence into compliance while Metzger was given a year.  Aldermen Herb Adams protested the different treatment of the two residents and asked the administration to come up with a solution. Mayor Steve Myers and City Administrator Steve Roth crafted a letter of apology to Villery, enclosed a check to reimburse him for the $37.00 … Continue reading “City Abandons Rule to Give Fence Violators a Year to Comply / Aldermen Target One Property Owner”

In the 1890 when Alice Hogan gave birth to the first of nine children, the odds were against her. Statistics showed that about one fourth of all babies died in their first year, and half of all children died before they reached the end of puberty. Hoping for better odds, Alice decided to appeal to the saints. She named her son George Aloysius, in honor of Saint Aloysius, an obscure eighteenth century saint that the Catholic Church had identified as … Continue reading “Saints Alive / 9 Hogan Siblings Named Aloysius”

Pacific official want to clean up the I-44 exit and entrance ramps. They say the entrances are the first spaces people see when they come into the city and they want to improve the city’s image. Specifically Pacific officials want to pick up litter, improve the landscaping and prohibit truckers from parking on the ramp overnight. They say truckers are biggest culprits, tossing uneaten food, food cartons and even human waste onto the side of the ramp. The city has … Continue reading “Pacific Wants to Clean Up I-44 Exit and Entrance Ramps / Target Truckers As Biggest Litterbugs”

Pacific resident Palmer Lawson is on a first name basis with the nation’s best known auto maker. The late Henry Ford is an icon of Americana – hands down one of the best known Americans of all generations, up there with Abraham Lincoln, Charles Lindberg, or John Wayne.  Still when people refer to the creator of the Model T they give you the full name, “Henry Ford.” Hardly anyone would know who you were talking about if you simply said … Continue reading “Model A Rebuilder Has a Soft Spot for Henry Ford”