Wise County on the Web

A (sometimes) tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 6:00 p.m.

For the week ending 5/20/00:

The Story	The ordinance happy city of New Fairview made it illegal for a vehicle weighing more than 15,000 pounds to use any city street paved with HMAC of "hot mix" asphalt. Oddly, the city doesn't have a single street that meets that criteria.
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	*
The Spin	In related news, spitting on any street paved in gold was also prohibited.

The Story	John Christian, property owner and mayor of New Fairview, was offered more than $40,000 from third parties to allow advertising signs/billboards to be placed on his property. He reacts by having the city council enact an ordinance banning billboards inside the city limit so that "the city would not be littered with signs".
News worthiness	*
The Spin	*Huh? The Spin* would be willing to walk the streets of New Fairview with a sandwich board for $40,000.**

The Story	Everyone in the county receives sticker shock as new property tax appraisals were mailed this week. Based upon the new valuations, Decatur ISD expects to receive $1.5 million in additional revenue. Nevertheless, the Board is contemplating eliminating the homestead tax exemption.
News worthiness	*******
The Spin	Board member Stan Smith observed that "At some point in time . . . taxpayers are going to say enough is enough." Eliminate the homestead exemption and that time might be now.

The Story	It's graduation time which means the Messenger publishes a special section highlighting the All Wise Academic Team wherein we get to learn such tidbits as the student's favorite movie, favorite food, etc. Our favorite quote, however, comes from Slidell senior Frank Mingst who responds to the question of who "helped you most in high school" with this gem: "Drizzt Do'Urden and Raistlin Majere cuz' they got my back".
News worthiness	*******
The Spin	In an effort to be equally as "hip", school officials immediatley named Puff Daddy as commencement speaker.

The Story	In the Letters to the Editor section, Connie Arnold continues her rant over Decatur students not being allowed to throw their caps at the graduation ceremony. Last week, she implicitly encouraged students to disobey the policy.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	A letter by M. H. Montgomery returns fire with: "I think Ms. Arnold needs to seek counseling; she appears to be very sick".

The Story	From the Bridgeport Index: "Pyramid Scam Believed Rampant in Bridgeport". From the Messenger: "[L]ocal law enforcement officials say they have not received any . . . reports about [the illegal pyramid schemes] that have been rumored in the area".
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Regardless of the scheme's presence in Wise County, isn't it odd that no one cares if you can take your $5,000 and purchase 5,000 lottery tickets, place it all on the number 4 horse to win at Lone Star Park, or throw it out the window for that matter. However, if you invest, albeit foolishly, in a pyramid scheme then somehow you have committed a criminal offense.

See something in the local papers that struck you funny? Then suggest a topic for The Spin.

View Last week's issue.