MAIN STREET HARDY

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Smoking On Main Street

“Considerate smokers don’t litter. Those who do deserve criticism as much as any other litterer.”     — SmokingSection.Com (Militant Smoker’s Rights Group)

 The battle against cigarette litter in Hardy along Main Street can only be won if smokers join the fight on the right  side. There are already millions of smokers who don’t litter their cigarettes, and many of them are actively spreading the word to fellow smokers. Unfortunately, they are still a small minority. If you are a considerate smoker who doesn’t litter, THANK YOU! Please continue setting a positive example and please continue to help us in any way that you can.

If you are a smoker who does litter, we hope that you will learn about the impact of your actions here on Main Street and elsewhere too,  and break the habit. Think about why you litter and think about whether those reasons really make sense to you. Chances are, you have used one or more of the following rationales for your behavior:

• They are biodegradable.
• What else am I supposed to do with them?
• It is harmless, it is just a small cigarette butt.
• It serves everybody right for making me smoke outside and taxing my cigarettes.
• Everybody else does it.
• Everybody has a vice, this is mine.

We ask you to consider our counter arguments to the above points to see if we can get you to change your mind. Our opinion is that there is no excuse for littering, but we also think the best way to communicate with people who have opposing viewpoints is to keep an open mind and maintain two way communications. In the meantime, here is how we feel:

They are biodegradable.

NO THEY ARE NOT! Sorry for the all-caps, but this is a gigantic myth. Different groups have done different studies and their results differ, with some people saying cigarettes decompose in a year, some saying it takes twelve years, and others saying they never decompose at all (the filters are made of a type of acetate that never fully breaks down). That is not what people mean when they use the word biodegradable. Rather than get into a scientific argument, we ask smokers who litter to use common sense. Ask yourself if the cigarette you throw down is going to disappear anytime soon. Do your own experiment. Put a cigarrete in an outdoor planter (use a string or pin to secure it), and see how long it stays there. We guarantee it will be a long term experiment! However long you finally decide it takes for a cigarette to decompose, ask yourself if you would like all such “biodegradable” items to be thrown on the ground, such as cardboard containers, newspapers, kleenex, paper grocery bags, etc. It wouldn’t be pretty.

What else am I supposed to do with them?

There are many ways to dispose of cigarettes without littering them on the ground. Free personal ashtrays are one option.  These ashtrays are paper thin and will easily fit in your pocket. They are foil lined, trap the smell inside, and take up less space in your pocket or purse than a pack of cigarettes. If for some reason you don’t want to carry around disposable ashtrays, then you can improvise which such things as film containers, metal mint containers, regular tin foil, or anything else that’s handy. Simply store your butt in one of these temporary ashtrays until you can dispose of it properly. If you do not have a container handy, stub out your cigarette when you are finished, making ABSOLUTELY sure it is out and that there is no burning paper or tobacco, and throw it in the nearest trash can. There is significantly less risk of fire using this method than there is from throwing your smoldering cigarette in the street or on the sidewalk, where it can easily blow into flammable material. A note to motorists – please use your car ashtray! If it is OK to put in your mouth, it is OK to put in your ashtray.

It is harmless, it is just a small cigarette butt.

Of course, this is the same argument that leads to lots of “harmless” little things adding up to very harmful big things. Cigarettes are by far the most littered item in the world. Billions of cigarettes are littered every day. Costly, and often deadly, fires are caused every year by littered cigarettes and the environmental impact is significant. When you throw even one cigarette, you are part of the problem.

It serves everybody right for making me smoke outside and taxing my cigarettes.

We don’t want to get into any smoking issues unrelated to litter. We will say that we think littering is a very short-sighted and ineffective way to get your message across. Smokers who litter give a bad name to all smokers and make non-smoking activists even more dedicated to increasing smoking bans and raising taxes. Several universities have recently banned smoking on campus not because of health issues but because of litter issues. In these cases, considerate smokers lost out because of the behavior of their littering counterparts.

Everybody else does it.

This excuse hasn’t worked since kindergarten.

Everybody has a vice, this is mine.

That’s true. Many of us speed, jaywalk, use pirated software – you name it. If we all decide that none of us will change our ways until every last one of our friends and neighbors is perfect, then we can all look forward to some dismal times, and none of us should be complaining about it. Or, we can be our own judges of what we think is right and act accordingly. If you think jaywalking is wrong – don’t do it! But don’t use the fact that other people are doing it to justify behavior that you know is wrong. If you think littering is wrong – don’t do it!

Please help keep our MAIN STREET clean !  We appreciate you and hope you will show us the same back. Remember butts in the streets end up in the waterways !

Friends Of Hardy Arkansas 

Good news for our areas local Main Street Program which is part of the Historic Arkansas Preservation program. The local Main Street Hardy organization will be restructuring their board to better meet the needs of residents and to further improve upon the city of Hardy’s historic district. (Note: Main Street Hardy Online is not affiliated with this organization).

Main Street Hardy President Donna Cruse said in their Jan. 27 letter to the Hardy City Council, the organization communicated their intent to begin working on a adding new board members by March 1. Due to the large amount of inclement weather and illness, Cruse said the goal was not reached.

The Main Street Hardy Board met Feb. 11 and addressed the situation. They are currently providing resume forms for board members.  The board plans to have resume forms available at Hardy City Hall. Cruse said those interested in serving on the board should be committed to attend all meetings, to volunteer their time during events and fundraisers.

She said anyone interested should mail their completed resume to Main Street Hardy, P.O. Box 668, Hardy, AR 72542. She said the resumes will be evaluated both by the current board and the board at Little Rock will also review the applications.  Download Application Form HERE

Cruse said, “To ensure a successful transition of the addition of new board members and the continued success of the program, the current board will continue to serve until five new members are added. At that time, Rhonda Messer and myself will remain on the board.”

Current members include, Kim Wilson, Executive director, Donna Cruse, president, Joyce Ramsdale, Joella Vanhouten, Dale Maddox, Suzanne Frye and Rhonda Messer.

Resumes should be submitted by March 31 for consideration for a place on the Main Street Hardy Board. It is important to get qualifed and motivated individuals in as board members in order for the organiation to get back on track and moving forward.

Below is a reprint of a story written back on  September 17, 2004 – What can we do to improve more -  Your comments are appreciated !!

By Craig Ogilvie, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism

HARDY — For over a century, this foothills town has welcomed visitors who enjoy the cool waters of Spring River, the beauty of the surrounding Ozarks and shopping in the unique little stores along Main Street.

Very little has changed, except travelers no longer arrive by train…and most prefer a modern motel, riverside resort, RV campsite or a cozy bed and breakfast. With a National Historic District that stretches three blocks along a Main Street filled with interesting shops and museums, Old Hardy Town is among the travel treasures of Arkansas.

Hardy joined the Main Street program in 1994, with Johnny Gray serving as the first local director. A good mix of business leaders, historians, crafters and educators joined the effort to secure the program for Hardy. Dr. Aubrey Thompson and Dale Maddox were among the prime movers ten years ago and remain active in the town’s direction today. Read the rest of this entry »

Main Street Hardy Online is here to help the local businesses in the Hardy community. If you have a business or provide a service within the Hardy area, please use our FREE Business Directory to list yourself. We also have a Billboard feature that is available for a nominal fee, so that you can advertise your business. Main Street Hardy-Online is ready, willing and able to assist in helping you to grow your business. Thanks to all who are seeing the value. We plan to offer free seminars to the local area business to work together to help promote our town and business.

In today’s tough economy, making sure we take advantage of every opportunity to promote the area is more important than ever. This could very well be the turning point for many of the local merchants in the area. W e are here to ensure that turning point is a GOOD one not a bad one. Together we can make it happen.