Our attention has turned from standing in line to get a test to standing in line to get the vaccine. The attention to the vaccine gave me pause to ponder all of the vaccines we have taken and continue to take in order to stay alive on this petri dish of a planet.
Most of us have taken a long list of vaccines. A partial list would include Hepatitis B, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), Pneumococcal, Polio. MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), Varicella (chickenpox) and more.
Those of us of a certain age have taken shingles shots and senior booster shots for pneumonia and, of course, the good, old, annual flu shot. My point is: Most of us came into the world disease free and they immediately started stabbing us with various antivenins.
Now we must make the decision to take the Covid-19 vaccine. I can only speak for myself, but I’ll be glad to take it and I don’t care where they stab me. I’ve taken a slew of the other ones and suffered no major side effects and have only contracted a few of the diseases such as mumps, which was awful in my case.
I believe that masks, social distancing and extreme hygiene will become the norm and that’s probably a good thing going forward.
Keep your mask on in public. Keep your distance. Wash your hands, etc. Those who don’t are selfish. It’s far from over, but there’s hope.
I conducted an online interview with newly elected Maumelle Council member R.J. Mazzoni. Mazzoni defeated one-time Council member Rick Anderson to win the Ward 2, Position 1 seat.
R.J. Mazzoni
Are you glad you got elected? Why?
“I was more humbled than anything else that so many people placed their trust in my message. Rick Anderson has done a lot for the city, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I will definitely work hard to justify that trust. This is a great honor and I want to thank everyone for their support.”
What excites you about serving?
“Right now, Maumelle is a city in transition. We have outgrown our business structure, and finances are tight. However, we also have opportunities to develop, and we need to take advantage of them. The decisions we make now will impact us for years. I’m very excited to be joining the city council during this time and I look forward to helping shape Maumelle’s future.”
What concerns do you have for the city as we face 2021?
“Definitely our budget. Since 2015, our spending has increased at almost twice the rate our revenue has increased and it has finally caught up with us. Mayor Norris and all the department heads did excellent work on the 2021 budget, and we will break our 3-year streak and we will not pull from our city’s emergency fund in 2021. However, we need to realize that it will take some time to get back to where we were. I will definitely continue to be focused on our finances and present a complete picture. There will be a lot of uncertainty next year until we see the full impact from the pandemic both on us and the rest of the country. While I’m convinced Maumelle will weather this storm very well, we will still need to adapt to any significant downturn and minimize any impact to us.”
Are there any particular issues you will be focusing on?
“I would like to develop a strategic plan for Maumelle. We have the “Maumelle Forward” that outlined a comprehensive vision of our city, and goals to get us there. It’s time to take that framework and create a plan that we can implement to get us there. This will definitely be a challenge, but I think it will be worth the effort”.
Note: I have extended an offer to Doug Shinn for an interview, but I haven’t heard from him.
Restaurant Battles on Facebook
If you want to start a fight on Facebook, just say something negative about a restaurant. Over the past few days, there has been a constant barrage over a certain (un)popular pizza restaurant. It started with an unhappy customer complaining about a salad and led all the way to hurting our economic prospects if we can’t be nicer online. I agree with one premise: First, you complain to the management, give them another chance, and don’t go back if you’re still not happy. No need for a public hanging. Your incident might be isolated so don’t drive business away when they all need it desperately. To the restaurants: Step up your game. I’ve been disappointed more than once with take-out offerings.
Squirrels Attack Maumelle Christmas Decorations
Two Maumellians were featured in a KARK-TV news report sharing their story of vicious squirrels chewing the electric cords leading to their lighted Christmas decorations. In two separate incidents, Michelle Elliot and Erin Scoggins both reported attacks by the annoying rodents. Elliot actually caught one of the varmints sitting on a decorative angel staring into her security camera as if to say, “Bring it.” Both of the ladies have plans to keep their decorations up and lit. There have been other posts on Facebook with similar reports, but no certainty it was a furry attacker or just a mean, old Grinchy type.
In any case, it brings to mind a saying I heard a lot as a child: “Get out of my yard!”
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
James Sherman
See you on the Boulevard.
Neal Moore is a public relations consultant and resident of Maumelle. Send your Maumelle news or comments to neal.moore@sbcglobal.net.
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Moore on Maumelle: My Take
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Our attention has turned from standing in line to get a test to standing in line to get the vaccine. The attention to the vaccine gave me pause to ponder all of the vaccines we have taken and continue to take in order to stay alive on this petri dish of a planet.
Most of us have taken a long list of vaccines. A partial list would include Hepatitis B, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), Pneumococcal, Polio. MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), Varicella (chickenpox) and more.
Those of us of a certain age have taken shingles shots and senior booster shots for pneumonia and, of course, the good, old, annual flu shot. My point is: Most of us came into the world disease free and they immediately started stabbing us with various antivenins.
Now we must make the decision to take the Covid-19 vaccine. I can only speak for myself, but I’ll be glad to take it and I don’t care where they stab me. I’ve taken a slew of the other ones and suffered no major side effects and have only contracted a few of the diseases such as mumps, which was awful in my case.
I believe that masks, social distancing and extreme hygiene will become the norm and that’s probably a good thing going forward.
Keep your mask on in public. Keep your distance. Wash your hands, etc. Those who don’t are selfish. It’s far from over, but there’s hope.
I’m in it to win it. I hope you are too.
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R.J. Mazzoni — One of your New Council Members
I conducted an online interview with newly elected Maumelle Council member R.J. Mazzoni. Mazzoni defeated one-time Council member Rick Anderson to win the Ward 2, Position 1 seat.
Are you glad you got elected? Why?
“I was more humbled than anything else that so many people placed their trust in my message. Rick Anderson has done a lot for the city, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I will definitely work hard to justify that trust. This is a great honor and I want to thank everyone for their support.”
What excites you about serving?
“Right now, Maumelle is a city in transition. We have outgrown our business structure, and finances are tight. However, we also have opportunities to develop, and we need to take advantage of them. The decisions we make now will impact us for years. I’m very excited to be joining the city council during this time and I look forward to helping shape Maumelle’s future.”
What concerns do you have for the city as we face 2021?
“Definitely our budget. Since 2015, our spending has increased at almost twice the rate our revenue has increased and it has finally caught up with us. Mayor Norris and all the department heads did excellent work on the 2021 budget, and we will break our 3-year streak and we will not pull from our city’s emergency fund in 2021. However, we need to realize that it will take some time to get back to where we were. I will definitely continue to be focused on our finances and present a complete picture. There will be a lot of uncertainty next year until we see the full impact from the pandemic both on us and the rest of the country. While I’m convinced Maumelle will weather this storm very well, we will still need to adapt to any significant downturn and minimize any impact to us.”
Are there any particular issues you will be focusing on?
“I would like to develop a strategic plan for Maumelle. We have the “Maumelle Forward” that outlined a comprehensive vision of our city, and goals to get us there. It’s time to take that framework and create a plan that we can implement to get us there. This will definitely be a challenge, but I think it will be worth the effort”.
Note: I have extended an offer to Doug Shinn for an interview, but I haven’t heard from him.
Restaurant Battles on Facebook
If you want to start a fight on Facebook, just say something negative about a restaurant. Over the past few days, there has been a constant barrage over a certain (un)popular pizza restaurant. It started with an unhappy customer complaining about a salad and led all the way to hurting our economic prospects if we can’t be nicer online. I agree with one premise: First, you complain to the management, give them another chance, and don’t go back if you’re still not happy. No need for a public hanging. Your incident might be isolated so don’t drive business away when they all need it desperately. To the restaurants: Step up your game. I’ve been disappointed more than once with take-out offerings.
Squirrels Attack Maumelle Christmas Decorations
Two Maumellians were featured in a KARK-TV news report sharing their story of vicious squirrels chewing the electric cords leading to their lighted Christmas decorations. In two separate incidents, Michelle Elliot and Erin Scoggins both reported attacks by the annoying rodents. Elliot actually caught one of the varmints sitting on a decorative angel staring into her security camera as if to say, “Bring it.” Both of the ladies have plans to keep their decorations up and lit. There have been other posts on Facebook with similar reports, but no certainty it was a furry attacker or just a mean, old Grinchy type.
In any case, it brings to mind a saying I heard a lot as a child: “Get out of my yard!”
See you on the Boulevard.
Neal Moore is a public relations consultant and resident of Maumelle. Send your Maumelle news or comments to neal.moore@sbcglobal.net.
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