Local News fom January 21, 2010 issue

The Crittenden Press Full Version (PDF)

City working on plans for new fire department
Building a new fire station on the corner of Main and Bellville streets has been somewhat controversial, but the plan is gaining steam and should be underway by this summer.
The City of Marion purchased two lots at the site for $130,000 after Mayor Mickey Alexander broke a 3-3 split by the city council to approve the plan in November. An unscientific, online survey by The Crittenden Press found shortly thereafter that 40 percent of 162 respondents approved of the location.
Still, city firemen like the spot and have endorsed it almost unanimously.
The fire department has been given approval by the state to install a device that will control the stop light at the intersection of Main and Bellville, said City Administrator Mark Bryant. When an alarm sounds and trucks pull out of the new station, firemen will turn the light to red on four sides, stopping all traffic at the intersection. Then, the truck will be able to proceed out of the station and into any lane without the danger of meeting an oncoming vehicle.
If the fire is on the south side of Marion, trucks will pull into the oncoming lane at Bellville, enter the intersection and then proceed in the southbound lane of Main Street. Similar maneuvers will be conducted when fire bells require travel to the east or north. If the fire is west of the station, the truck will pull out into Bellville Street in the proper lane and proceed to the blaze.
When the trucks return, they will re-enter the station from the rear off the one-way ally.
Alexander said that when the fire trucks pull out of the current station heading west, they often have to use the oncoming lane on Bellville Street because traffic is backed up at the red light.
“As they approach Main Street, they have no way of knowing what’s coming around that corner,” the mayor said. “The new location will provide much greater visibility for the firemen and other motorists. It’s a much better scenario.”
Plans are to incorporate a similar design so that it will match other buildings in Marion. Bryant called it a World War II-era architecture.
“What we envision is a building the community can be proud of,” said Mayor Alexander. “Our rendering depicts a building with arched doorways and big glass windows in the front so people can look in and see the fire trucks, especially children.”
Gary Cruce, a longtime fireman, sketched the rendering that is being used as an initial visual concept of the front of the building.
“It’s just something to look at, a starting point,” said Cruce. “I wasn’t sure if anybody would like it or not.”
Firemen hope the improved visibility on the corner lot and the see-through design will help create excitement about the fire department and improve recruitment of new firefighters.
The city administrator expects nearly a dozen architects to compete for the job. Requests for proposals went out last week. Firms will submit concepts for the corner fire station next month and the city council will review the ideas at its March meeting.
Bryant said firemen want three bays, although they have just two trucks right now. He said there has been discussion for years about adding a ladder truck soon because there is nothing in the city’s fire department arsenal to reach the top or windows of a two-story building.
“Fires generally need to be fought from the roof, and there is no way to get there unless you have a ladder truck,” Bryant explained.
There are no immediate plans for the old fire station on Bellville Street, but there has been some discussion about tearing it down and turning that area into a city parking lot.

Organizers want Heritage Days feedback
Heritage Days has hit a fork in the road.
Chamber of Commerce and Tourism officials say they need to know whether members of the community want to continue with the annual fall festival that celebrates the county’s heritage and pioneer spirit. And if so, local leaders want to know what direction it should take. They want the people to decide.
“We need a purpose, a reason to have it,” says Chamber Executive Director Susan Alexander.
Her contemporary in the Heritage Days planning process, Tourism Director Michele Edwards, says the event needs focus for it to be successful.
“What is the purpose? We don't know where to go because we don't know what people's interests are,” Edwards said.
Although Heritage Days, held each fall, has had admirable attendance, organizers feel like it’s not reaching enough people or fulfilling a particular mission.
The two are at the forefront of the planning process by virtue of their community roles, and also because of the resignation last fall of Ron Padget, chairman of Heritage Days planning committee.
Padget, the current Chamber president, spearheaded the Heritage Days planning process the last couple of years, and announced following the 2009 event that he would not do it again in 2010. The event is scheduled for the first weekend in October to coincide with the multi-county U.S. 60 Yard Sale. With months of planning ahead of them, Edwards and Alexander are aggressively gauging the community’s interests.
Edwards suggested that local non-profit organizations might like to use Heritage Days as a fundraising opportunity. She and Alexander cited a dozen organizations that solicit community cash throughout each year, and suspect that Heritage Days would be an ideal time for a big fundraising event.
She calls Beta Sigma Phi and FFA perfect examples of developing a Heritage Days event and doing well with them. Beta Sigma Phi is the women's social sorority in Crittenden County that organizes Little Mister and Miss Heritage Days. The club does all the publicity, organizing and orchestrating of the event, held each Heritage Days. It's highly successful and draws a lot of people into downtown. Likewise, the FFA's annual Pedal Tractor Pull competition is great fun for children, and is carried out primarily by FFA members.
With this being a political year, they suggest that political organizations could host stump-speaking events, a highly-attended affair at 2008’s Heritage Days.
Edwards said while the Tourism Commission assists financially with community activities, events and attractions, it does not have the manpower to organize an event such as Heritage Days.
Instead, she is hoping to hear from non-profits willing to take a project and develop it for Heritage Days. Traditional favorites, such as those mentioned above, are assumed to remain.
Another possibility might build on Heritage Days' reputation and incorporate a Taste of Marion celebration, whereby restaurants could partner with local non-profits to sell samples of their favorite dishes downtown during the festival.
Other possibilities surely exist; however, the Chamber and Tourism agencies want the community's input.
There will be a question on The Crittenden Press' blog, accessible at www.crittendenpress.blogspot.com, gauging community interest and involvement in the festival.
The two women encourage everyone to vote – or call them if they are unable to access the Internet – so that Heritage Days can go in a direction suggested by the majority of the community. Edwards and Alexander can both be reached at the Tourism and Commerce Center at 965-5015.