MAIN STREET HARDY

Hardy now has just two candidates for mayor.  Friends Of Hardy Arkansas  is preparing a questionnaire for both of them. We want to ask them specific, pointed questions about what they would do as mayor to address the needs of Hardy. Some areas we will be asking about are in regards to public safety, public works, transparency and accountability in government, as well as their vision of the  City of Hardy’s future and growth. 

We need your help! Please use the comment section below and tell us what you want to ask the mayoral candidates. We expect our questionnaires will go out to them around September 20, and we are asking the candidates to provide their responses by September 30. We’ll start posting the responses on our site, here at www.mainstreethardy.com and other sites as soon as they come in.  

We look forward to hearing from you, and we need your ideas no later than  Sept 15. We look forward to your requested questions below in our comments section and will select the top ones along with some of our own to submit to the candidates.

This is all part of Friends Of Hardy Arkansas (FOHA) vision of bringing “Unity In The Community” and citizen participation is a top priorty.

Miss Page came to Hardy in 2007 to co-manage the new little hemp store  in town, For Mother Earth #2. In 2008, she and Sanford bought it and began to put down roots in Hardy.

Miss Page made the best clothing, jewelry, food, healing oils from  local flowers, with her blessed hands. She always had an encouraging word for folks who would come in the store with a problem. She had the particular privilege and blessing of ‘hanging out’ and working with Miss Tillie Stark, God rest her soul, on a regular basis, as Miss Page would take pictures of antiques and list them online for Miss Tillie. When they would get together, they would giggle and cavort like schoolgirls. It was a sheer joy to behold, so for them it must have been a slice of Heaven on earth. What a couple of amazing women!

God has other plans for Miss Page, for nothing happens in this world outside His Decree and allowance. She will be leaving Hardy around September 8th and heading for Albuquerque to live near and work with her son Micah, as well as do her own work in the healing arts at a nearby spa resort in Santa Fe. She will be able to roll around on the floor and play with two of her four grandchildren, their favorite past time, and her heartfelt desire. It is her time to be with her son and his beautiful little family.

Miss Page literally and figuratively touched a lot of people. She is blessed with healing in her hands, in her words and most importantly in her heart. Anyone who ever met her knows what I am talking about. She has invested so much love and care into the people of Hardy and its visitors.

Miss Page will be missed, for she is a very open and willing channel of His love to humanity. We all need to open our hearts more now in this town to compensate for her absence.

If anyone wishes to say goodbye to Miss Page, you can call the store at 870-856-4367, or stop by. She will be in and out preparing for her trip, but if you sincerely want to say goodbye, have a hug, tear, smile, the Grace will make the connection one way or another.

To paraphrase the late great President John F. Kennedy when he went to France on a state visit accompanied by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, I do not think it entirely inappropriate to introduce myself to this audience. I am the man who accompanied Page Nall to Hardy, and I have enjoyed it.

Sanford Pass

Our online website here at www.mainstreethardy.com is happy to announce a new feature that has been added to our websites comment section. As you should know by now, one nice feature of our news and stories is the ability to comment – give opinions and input on.

Sometimes this can be abused but we do our best to moderate the comments prior to allowing them to be published on our site. You can read more on our posting policy here.  The new feature we have added now allows you to include a picture (.jpg) along with your comment on the site.

What we hope is that when you have pictures of events or happenings around town that are part of a story published here online, you add your picture that is part of the event/story. This along with your personal comments we hope will create more interaction with the community.

You all know what that means..right.. “Unity In The Community” which we believe by bringing  together viewpoints from many will create excitement for happenings right here in Hardy Arkansas.

Feel free to give it a try right here on this story by using the comment option below. You will see a new line under the submit button which allows you to browse your computer for a picture to include with your comment.

Now Online

We are happy to announce that we have began publishing the minutes from the A & P Commission here online to give the public easy access to this information. This is just another added benefit as promised for our website here. We believe in community involvement and the right to know in regards to matters that directly effect not only Hardy, Ar. but the citizens too!

Having instant access to this information enables the community to have better knowledge and hopefully better input in decisions that do  effect each and everyone of us.

Below is a sample of how the files will be online. They will be dated and will be in the standard .pdf file format that most users should be able to view. We will have a special section on our site under (OUR HARDY) called A&P Minutes that will store these files for quick reference.

You will be able to just click the file with the date you wish to review and it will open in its own browser window. Try it by clicking on the file below.

A&P-01-22-09

In favor or against it, the temporary closure of Johnson St for a trial year as a entertainment area along Main St has come to a dead end. Maybe it was poor timing, bad temperatures or poor planning of events. Either way, the trial closure and option to make it permanent will not happen.

Johson Street Open For Business

Almost a year ago the City Council had held a special meeting to approve the closing of Johnson St and the  purchase by A & P of the stage for various venues. However, the biggest problem seemed to be that the majority of the business owners along Main Street were not even given a choice in the matter. Many especially felt it prevented many travelers access to parking and thus lost business from those who never stopped. This all came to a head recently when Dale Maddox a long time business owner presented to the City Council, at its regularly scheduled meeting, a petition of over 25 individuals with the same opinion. This led to some lively conversation between the City Council members, the Mayor and those in the audience. The surprise result however happened at the next evenings A & P meeting where the Mayor motioned for the stage to be moved and the street re-opened. This was motioned and approved by the A & P board.

 A few days later the stage was moved and the city crews were at work making sure the newly re-opened street would be safe for vehicles turning onto it toward the parking lot. This street is one of the main access points to the main public parking area for tourist. Once the new parking signage is in place we know more tourist will find it convenient to stop and visit our Main Street area.

The trees that had been planted along the street during the closure have been removed and will be transplanted to new locations by City Hall and in Loberg Park.  The “stage” has been moved down to the waste water plant for the time being. We will keep you up to date on its planned future use.

“Your vote is your voice as a citizen. If you want to have a say in how your country, state, and locality are run, voting is the single most effective way to do it” Charlie Daniels – Arkansas Secretary Of State

Want your voice to be heard, but don’t know how?  The first step is to be registered!

Registration deadlines:  You must submit your application to an official voter registration agency or mail it no later than 30 days prior to an election in which you wish to vote. The postmark on a mailed application will be its submission date.

How Do I Know I’m Registered?

• Consider yourself registered when- and only when- you receive an acknowledgment from your county clerk. This could take several weeks, regardless of your method of application.
• Never assume you are registered to vote until you have received this acknowledgment.
• Call your county clerk after two weeks and inquire about the status of your application.
• Check your voter registration status online by visiting HERE.

Where Can I Apply?

Register to vote at your local:

• County clerk’s office in your home county
• State Revenue Office, Driver Services (pick up a paper form or ask for your information to be transmitted electronically)
• Public library or Arkansas State Library
• Public assistance agency
• Disability agency
• Military recruitment office
• Arkansas National Guard

You can also simply apply by mail!  Just CLICK HERE to download the Arkansas voter registration application form .

This information was provided from http://www.votenaturally.org/registration.html  be sure to visit this site for more detail information.

The issue of Sharp County voters being able to vote on the County’s ability to sell alcohol is dead. It will not  appear on the 2010 ballot.

Once again your right to vote has been thwarted by those who knew the correct filing deadline but who would not let the information be known that the filing date for petitions had been changed. The 2010 Secretary of State’s Initiative and Referendum pamphlet still had the old filing deadlines.

The County Clerk’s office says it does not give legal advice. However, it is in the public’s (not the special) best interest to make known any changes that might affect a crucial issue. the County Clerk and staff are public servants. There are over 5,000 interested individuals who wanted a chance to vote but the interests of a few prevailed.

The missed deadline has been widely covered in the media. SAVE ENERGY REAP TAXES (SERT) representatives have been asked WHY and WHAT HAPPENED by people who have signed the petition. There is still interest in getting our right to vote on this issue on the ballot. We will not let you down but we need your help. How much is your right to vote worth to you?

In order to prevail in 2012, we need to hire a lawyer who will be with us through the whole process and we need money to pay for that lawyer. Our opposition is well financed. The Committee to Oppose Alcohol in Sharp County spent $56,018 to keep the wet/dry issue off the ballot in 2008. Not one cent of the money was contributed by Sharp County. Who knows what the opposition will call itself next time but be assured there will be an opposing faction that is well financed by liquor interests. SERT spent $10,549 to defend your right to vote. $700.00 was contributed by Fulton County residents. All the rest came from Sharp County.

The issue is not alcohol. The issue is YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE. How many men and women have fought and died throughout our country’s history protecting your right to vote?

“SERT” plans to start our next petition drive as soon as we get a new petition drawn up. We need you to sign the petitions again and we need money to get this process through.

All donations are gratefully accepted.

Donations can be made through SERT’s website by clicking  HERE

by mailing them to the SERT president at 48 Ouachita, Cherokee Village AR 72529,

or by contacting Ruth Reynolds at 870 257-4596.

One of the greatest strengths a small town like Hardy depends upon can be summed up in one important word: COMMUNITY.

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines COMMUNITY several ways, but they each serve as a valuable vision for what creates a community like Hardy. 

 a: a unified body of individuals – Unity, sharing common visions, hopes and desires. These are absolutely vital to any small town, like Hardy.

b : people with common interests living in a particular area – Common interests are as simple as a clean town, safe streets, relaxed living and as complicated as good education, well-paying jobs, and affordable taxes.

c : an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location – Community members have to be involved, motivated and working together for the common good.

d : a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society – Characteristics can include joyfulness, sincerity, and helpfulness towards strangers. Interests can include art, horses, fishing and of course much more.

e : a group linked by a common policy – Coming together on how Hardy  can prosper and grow, how our children are educated and how our town is maintained can be the most challenging aspect of any community.

f : a body of persons having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests – Hardy is so richly blessed in its history and in its opportunities for the future.

Our first definition of what Community means began with “ a: a unified body of individuals – Unity, sharing common visions, hopes and desires. These are absolutely vital to any small town, like Hardy.”

Unity does not mean absolute agreement on every thought, action or detail. What matters is determining the most vital aspects of our community. Aspects such as quality of life, jobs, education, economic health, new businesses and others should all receive major focus from us all.

“FOHA” Friends Of Hardy Arkansas wants Hardy to remain somewhere people feel at home. Somewhere where we know our neighbors, visit with friends and share with family. There is no desire to outgrow our sense of community but to build on it instead.

So where should we start? First should be someplace where we can make a living. There is a need to attract “new” money to Hardy. Unfortunately, America no longer serves as bedrock for manufacturing jobs. We have moved even from a service economy to an experience economy and now people are talking about an innovation economy. Building such a capability though will take committed investment in time and education both of which will not happen overnight.

In the meantime, we need to attract outsiders to spend their money in Hardy. In other words attract tourism dollars to help support our community. Tourism is a pillar of economic survival for small American communities including Hardy. It is possible that our tourism dollars can provide a larger share of the community income than property taxes! In order to achieve this it is important to developed reasons for people to come visit Hardy and additionally ensure that the community attitude exhist to make even visitors feel at home.

Tourism is not the only answer to Hardy’s future, but it does provide opportunity and hope to the community. Tourism requires a reason for people to visit Hardy and an attitude by our community that visitors are welcome and respected.

The “common unity” though has to be in our attitude about our own community. What we project in our attitude about Hardy is what visitors will most remember. It’s important to note that even if we had a Silver Dollar City theme park, if we are constantly complaining about our community, people still wouldn’t enjoy it. How we feel about Hardy, including the locals and the transplants that call Hardy home, is much more important than buildings, history or events. Caring about our community and becoming involved in its future will make all the difference in the world.

If you haven’t noticed it yet, there is an effort underway to revitalize Hardy, it’s small business and web-based business. For rural communities like Hardy, the key is talented, innovative people with a heart for the culture and history of our community. We have that here already and together we can make this town shine bright!

I just realized something today, what it is about Hardy that makes me love it so much. It kind of reminds me of the  song from Cheers that says, “Sometimes you want to go -  where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came You wanna be where you can see -  our troubles are all the same -You wanna be where everybody knows your name.”

  That just dawned on me today when I got a personal phone call from the water department in Hardy. The reason? She had just noticed that my water bill seemed higher than normal and wanted to make sure nothing out of the ordinary was happening,  trust me this would never ever happen in a larger city like Memphis.

I remember the first time I walked in to get information about setting up my water bill in my name. I entered City Hall and asked for the water department, and the person at the front said “That would be me”. I laughed at first, but it was true.

In other times I had purchased some furniture at a local store and didn’t have a way to get it home. The store owner asked where I lived and said, “after work I would be happy to drop it off”. Guess what, he did and wouldn’t let me pay him for the delivery either!

After more than five years of spending weekends in Hardy, when I am walking along Main Street I realize I know most of those folks by name, and they recognize me too! I enjoy seeing my neighbors out and about and always say Hi!. Which leads to one last observation that makes Hardy such a special place. As small as it seems, I have noticed that when driving around the area, everyone waves to you from the car. If you wave they wave back, or they already beat you to it by waving first. We tried it in Memphis many times..hardly ever do you get a wave back.

So, that’s why its like Cheers, were you feel everybody knows your name, its like a family. A friendly feeling and one I enjoy.

At last evenings A & P meeting,  a representative for Arkansas Parks and Tourism presented an ad possibility to the commission.  Spring River Gallery asked for funding for their upcoming art show. The A & P looked over the proposal for reopening Johnson Street. The Mayor made the motion to move the “stage”, it was seconded by another board member, and was passed with all in favor the motion to move the stage passed, with the exception of  Peter Martin who abstained.

Dennis Horton was in attendance and explained his concepts of how music could be successful in Hardy which resulted in some lively discussion regarding his idea. It was nice to see several people were in attendance to witness this great council of wisdom. The more actively involved the local residents get in attending these meetings, the more transparent the decisions made by the board becomes. Remember all of these meetings are always open to the public and fall under the Freedom Of Information Act.