Chuck's Primetime Tidbits

My dear friends,

Sorry it's been so long since my last blog. Unfortunately since we spoke last the Hogs lost a heartbreaker to Kentucky and the Cowboys imploded due to the loss of Romo. Hopefully the ship will be righted for both of these programs in the near future. A big game this weekend will be the return of Houston Nutt to Arkansas with his Rebels. A win here would be a moral victory for the Hogs and all the fans who thought that getting rid of Nutt was the right thing to do. The Hogs are obviously very young and inexperienced. I'm sure that a lot of the readers of the Voice of Batesville have opinions and have favorite teams that they root for. I would be interested to hear from you in the comments section at the end of the blog. I too, also have other teams that I like. Don't laugh when I tell you a couple of them. Notre Dame and Penn State are two. I've been following these teams for quite a number of years and I can't tell you exactly the reason for my support. I like Charlie and Joe Pa as coaches and as role models. Until next time here's saying that I hope the Good Lord takes a liking to you and that He will be there for you in your everyday walk.
Chuck

Allegations that Barak Obama is not a Natural Born U.S. Citizen

Can anyone verify or deny the allegations in this video?
To watch click play above or visit The Voice of Batesville.

Education and Economic Development

Recently, I attended the Governor’s Conference on Education and Economic Development with several other leaders in our community from Batesville, including Anne Moore, Ron Carter, Ed Mabry, Tim Bruner, Ann Webb, James McLean, David Wyatt, Fran Flenor, Ted Hall, Kathleen McNamee, and David Baker.  The purpose of this summit was to have each county in Arkansas represented with at least ten attendees so we could hear presentations and get information that we could then take back to our communities and devise a strategic plan in accordance with our educational system here as it relates to economic development.  I have had some time to think about the summit, and what we will be doing here locally to come up with a comprehensive plan to address what we need to do going forward.  While I appreciate the work the Governor and his staff put in to this, there were some important elements missing, and I believe they are crucial to the overall landscape of this picture.

When you consider educations role in the grand scheme of economic development, its not so black and white as one would think.  College degrees, while good, helpful, and beneficial to the recipient (this writer has one, just in case you wondered), are not what every employer wants.  There have been correlations made that say if we are to compete with the likes of China, India, and Luxembourg, we have to graduate as many college grads as we can or face the impending doom of economic isolation by these other countries.  Well, I have a problem with that.  Of course, that is somewhat of a generalization, in which we also heard how our math and reading scores were low, etc.  But the real issue we have in our country right now is not a shortage of students or people for that matter its that we don’t have people who are inspired to do what they really want to do.  Granted, a majority of people want to work and have jobs and with our current economy that is a challenge to an extent, but for the most part, people, especially our young people, are probably on a track to do something they may not want to be doing.  Is college for every student?  Do we need every child to go to college?  Does going to college mean that every child will do exponentially well and be so much more successful?  I am here to tell you that the answer to all those is no!  Like you, I know several people who have not gone to college that have done very well in their lives.  Like you, I know of jobs that don’t require a college education.  Like you, I know that college is not for everyone.  While on an economic development trip to Rome, Georgia, we visited with leaders in that community who had experienced layoffs that exceeded 7,000 people over a period of five years.  They, as a community, came together and devised a plan that set them apart not only from other places in Georgia, but other places in the Country.  So, a contingent from Arkansas went to visit, and the results to me were astounding and a testament to a methodology that looks at what is the most important and valuable to the student, not the system.

They have a different school system structure over there (county and city schools), but in their restructure, they said that there are three tracks that we need to encourage a student to take, starting in 8^th grade.   The tracks were to go to work after high school, to go through a two-year program, and to go to college.  They said that they would overwhelmingly support every child no matter what their choice was (which was made with their parents), and would encourage them and give them the tools necessary to be successful no matter the route they chose.  They would show the students the income potential in each scenario, and what it would take to be successful in each path.  I would like to insert here the relevancy of this was seen in a video last week in Little Rock where there were at least two children who said that they wanted to be a truck driver and a construction worker, respectively.  These children are a prime example of doing something that did not require a college degree.

Their efforts behind a two-year program included nursing, and health related fields, as well as skilled positions like welding, plumbing, electrical, and other certification type jobs.  Lastly, they had the college bound program and this one stood out to me in that they were willing to put their money where their mouth was in their approach.  Once a student chose this path, they worked hard with that student to make them successful, and so successful, that if the student who met the different requirements of that program who went on to college and needed any kind of remediation (catch up courses if they were not up to the college standard in a certain subject) the Rome County Schools would pay for their college education in full.  That’s right, they said if we did not prepare you for college we will pay for your college because we did not do our job!  They started that program over six years ago and up to the day we visited, they had never had to pay for a child’s college tuition!  Part of our presentation last week had to do with remediation rates in Arkansas, and how high they were.  Once again that goes back to not just getting students to meet certain performance criteria, its ensuring that they understand what they are tested over.  Its putting the student first!

I asked the folks there in Rome a very pointed question about the parent’s feedback about the three track position they took, and if they said that it should all be college bound, etc.  The resounding answer I got was that the community fully supported it, that the parents fully supported it, and it was evident to me when we visited Suzuki of North America, their only manufacturing plant in America, and I saw a lot of young people working there, having a great time, making money.  I saw what they talked about in action, and it was working.

 Our system in Arkansas has to put the people first, and most of all, our students.  See, they are the future workforce.  But what role do we play in shaping that workforce to meet our future needs of our largest, best, and brightest employers?  Are we doing a disservice to our companies by churning out what they don’t need, and putting our children in a position where they can not secure the work we told them would be there?  I say we are, and I say that we are doing an even greater disservice by not awarding the ambition that is found in every child, and that ambition does vary by degree with each child.  But as leaders and role models for these kids that are the future leaders in our community, we need to flesh out their passions, and facilitate those passions into a career for that child.  It may not benefit our higher educational institutions if kids opt to work after high school, or the various other routes.  It may not benefit employers if we don’t turn out more college grads.  But who do we want to benefit the most?  Ourselves, or the ones who will be working and being responsible for their own lives?  Our country was founded on ambition, and ambition has to return to everything we do or we will lose the one aspect that has been fostered and encouraged for over 200 years!  Every child has an ambition to be something, and instead of directing them to our ambitions, lets foster their ambitions and see how we can match them up with our employers so everyone wins.  Everyone will benefit from this approach, and our country will get back on track and in a direction that we were founded on; a country that allows the person the right to vote for who they want to, live where they want to, work where they want to, and to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!  

Real Estate in Batesville Arkansas

Many people, especially first time buyers, often have questions about terms used by bankers and real estate professionals. In my first column for The Voice of Batesville I thought it might be helpful to the readers to explain some commonly used real estate terms.

Amortization is a payment plan in which a borrower reduces debt gradually, usually through monthly payments of principal and interest, but the payments could be semi-annual or annual payments.

Annual Percentage Rate(APR) is the annual cost of credit over the life of a loan, including interest, service charges, points, loan fees, mortgage insurance and other such items.

An appraisal is an evaluation to determine what a piece of property would sell for in the current market.

A balloon loan is a loan with payments that are based on a longer amortization than the actual maturity date. The balance of these loans is due at the end of the loan period. These loans are often for 3, 5, or 7 years. The reason for this type of loan is that it gives the borrower smaller payments while not locking the lender into an interest rate for the full amortization.

Closing is the term given to the meeting at which buyers and sellers sign the documents to transfer property from one owner to the other.

Earnest money is a sum paid to show the buyer is serious about his intentions to purchase property. At the closing the earnest money goes toward the purchase price of the property as a credit to the buyer.

Escrow is the handling of funds or documents by a third party on behalf of the buyer and/or the seller.

If there are other real estate questions you have you may contact me through this paper or my office.

Sharon Black, Realtor

Ennis Realty

Coming Together During Difficult Times

There are unprecedented challenges that are facing us not only in our country but in our own community that we have never seen before.  There are questions that all of us have, answers that not many can produce, and anxiety that is everywhere in between.  There are several areas, locally, that are doing very good while there are others that are not doing good, at all.  The answer that is staring us straight in the face is that we should come together as a community and build each other up and not tear each other, or anyone one that we don’t know, down. 

As a community, we can come together and support each other in our own personal way.  I have talked in previous columns about shopping locally, having seminars that deal with a down economy, but I have not talked as much about a personal effort to see our community pull through this.  Some would say that this would be outside of the realm of economic development, and that it is outside of the scope of what I do here at the Chamber.  But what I believe about this is that consumer sentiment, or how you feel about the money you have (or don’t have) to spend, drives our overall economy and even our local economy.  Choosing to have a positive attitude is yours.  But by having a positive attitude, you can make very clear and very sound decisions.  By having a positive attitude, you will hopefully want to take a more active role in your community, and activities in your community.  By having a positive attitude, you can make a difference in a time where a difference is needed.

There are many aspects of our community that survive on philanthropic giving.  United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters, John 3:16, and so many others.  Donations fund so many organizations in our community that do a lot to give back.  At a time like this in our country it is more difficult for us to give money that we want to save or not spend to organizations like this.  But that is counterproductive!  One of the biggest myths with businesses is when times get tough you tighten up and often times they tighten up on advertising.  Actually, you should cut others and increase your advertising!  The same goes for our community.  We need to continue and make an investment in our community through those organizations because what can not stop is our community from growing.  We can not let fear drive or create indecision, or worse, make us take steps backward towards the places we have worked so hard to come from.

Making investments in to our community is what will sustain us going forward.  Shopping locally will sustain us this holiday season and help our local community.  But so much of what we can do is what we do inside ourselves, and what we do so much of the time inside ourselves has a much greater impact sometimes than what we do outside of ourselves.  What we do in our communities, or what we don’t do, has a much larger price tag than we realize.  If we don’t keep doing what we do locally the impact of that is felt much more quickly than the trickle down from Washington DC.  There are ways that we can sustain ourselves locally and we do that by coming together as a community of friends ,neighbors, and co-workers.

I am reminded of a story when, in this country, there was a time that people after the great depression would share food, share all that they had, because they had nothing.  They had very, very little and people did all they could to help each other.  When they would slaughter a cow or pig for meat, they would share that with others.  When one would have excess in the garden, they would share that with others.  During one of the worst economic times, people came together and helped in ways that we can only hear about but for most of us have not experienced first hand. 

I have asked several people whom I respect and admire and have asked them what they see and how we will come out of this.  This is an economic downturn that we have never seen before, and one that they have not either.  There is no “economic” advice that will help any of us, comfort any of us, or relieve any of us.  But what I believe is that at this time of uncertainty, we can rely on each other and look to encourage and lift each other up in all that we do.  Whether you are at Church, at work, or at home, look to find ways that you can lift someone up out of their doldrums, and encourage them that this too shall pass.  Look for ways to be encouraging to others, to smile, give positive words of encouragement to someone who needs it.  Its contagious, and will spread to others and in some small way, maybe, and as a community we can build back our efforts while we build each other back up.