SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 29, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/31/24
In this edition:
*RIP Tom Cook
*Happy Halloween!
*VOTE!
*Election Night = Election Week
*Working for Johnson County
*Trust
*Disco Ball!
*Remembering November 1, 1991
*Did You Know?
*RIP Tom Cook
I was very sad to hear of the passing of Tom Cook of Iowa City. Tom was a very smart and kind gentleman, and a hardworking Democratic activist. My condolences to all his friends and family. RIP Tom!
*Happy Halloween!
Halloween is Thursday the 31st. I have been amazed in recent years by the amount of effort (and money) that goes into decorating homes for the season. When I was young, few homes displayed anything other than carved pumpkins. Now, there are huge blow-up characters, lights, and much more.
As a matter of fact, according to the National Retail Federation for 2024, 72% plan to celebrate Halloween. The planned spending per person is $104. And the total planned spending is $11.6 billion!
Regardless of how you view Halloween, we need to remember a few key things: First, be careful! One thing that has not changed is an abundance of young children in dark costumes excitedly crossing streets. Secondly, you may want to temporarily take down your campaign yard signs. Despite annual accusations to the contrary, I still think most signs that disappear are teen pranks. Finally, have fun! Halloween offers all of us an opportunity to be young again.
*VOTE!
Election Day is upon us! Vote, and make certain everyone you know votes! There is a lot at stake here!
If you still have a ballot, do NOT mail it in! Please take it to the Auditor’s Office unless it is actually Election Day. Then take it to your polling place! But you must have it with you! If you have other voting questions, call the Auditor’s Office at 319-354-6004.
I will admit; I am scared. I have never been more worried for my country. All I can do is try my damndest to get as many people as possible to get out and vote!
*Election Night = Election Week
I hope you are preparing yourself and everyone you know for Election Week. That’s right; the notion of Election Day does not serve us well.
First, the counting process takes time. We may not get even our very first counts until hours after polls close. But that isn’t all. There will be ballots that are still trickling in, having been postmarked in time.
We already know how this is going to go. Millions of mailed ballots in Pennsylvania will be coming in Election Day and a few days after. They cannot even open them until 9pm our time. It is highly unlikely we will know the outcome in PA on Tuesday night.
We also know that precisely because of this, Trump is going to go on TV Tuesday night and call the PA election fraudulent. He is going to lawyer up and sue. We already know it. Just don’t let it weaken your resolve.
If the election night margin is large enough, it may not matter. But if a race is close, we need to demand that election officials take the time to count all legal votes. Don’t allow the process to be driven by the media. Have patience, and request the same from everyone you know. This is Election Week, not Election Night!
*Working for Johnson County
I like to think of Johnson County as a pretty good place to work. When compared to peer institutions, our pay and benefits stack up very well. And the retirement is fantastic! On top of that, serving the public and improving your community feels really good.
So what is required to work for Johnson County? I can tell you a few things that are important to me:
1. Don’t be an asshole. If over 80% of your peers think you are an ass? You are going to need to find a different place to work.
2. Treat people with respect. Especially people with whom you disagree.
3. Recognize that we succeed or fail as a team. Not you and your two friends – that is a team of three. Johnson County is 600 employees, hundreds of volunteers, and 160,000 residents. We succeed or fail as a single team.
Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? It actually is. Literally 99% of all employees manage to live up to these simple benchmarks. Unfortunately, there are always people who cannot meet these three standards. Those people simply cannot work for Johnson County for very long.
*Trust
I wrote a couple weeks ago about trust. I want to talk a bit today about a group that I am proud to say I trust.
Ruthina Malone, Charlie Eastham, Molly Abraham, Jayne Finch, Shawn Eyestone, Lisa Williams, and Mitch Lingo are the seven members of the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) Board. And I trust them.
I’ve been a taxpayer in the ICCSD for over 40 years now. I have had dozens of kids at about a dozen different schools, primarily old Hoover, SEJH, and City High. I put 5 kids through City High. I have been a sports parent, a show choir parent, and more. I’ve had kids do some exceptional things, both positively and negatively. I was a part of the steering committees of the two biggest bond referenda in ICCSD history. I typically get very involved in ICCSD elections. And now I am the grandparent of a second grader, and the foster grandparent of three kids who will be starting in the ICCSD very soon. Needless to say, I feel as though I have been around the block with the ICCSD.
So it makes me proud to say that I trust the current ICCSD Board of Directors. We will not agree on everything. I know that. But these are good people. Each one of them cares deeply. Each one of them is honest, caring, compassionate, smart, and thoughtful. I trust them.
They have been forced to make some awful decisions. I feel for them. But they have done what they felt they needed to do. It is not easy!
I trust the ICCSD. I hope at least a few people feel the same way about the Board of Supervisors. Whatever the case, the job is to just keep pushing forward, and hope folks feel their trust is warranted.
Meanwhile, thank you ICCSD Board!
*Disco Ball!
Summer of the Arts (SOTA) is celebrating their 20th year as a nonprofit organization, and they want you to join in the celebration!
And this is a fun one! They are throwing a Disco Ball on Saturday, November 9th from 7-10 pm at the First Avenue Club. Tickets are $20 and you must RSVP. Buy your tickets at: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E231418&id=8
This is a fundraiser for Summer of the Arts, but more than that, it's a party! Put on your dancing shoes, bell bottoms or disco attire and come have some fun.
*Remembering November 1st, 1991
Thirty-three years ago, a UI post-graduate student named Gang Liu killed four faculty members, a student, and himself.
Faculty members Christoph Goertz, Dwight Nicholson, Robert Smith, T. Anne Cleary, and Linhua Shan were all slain. Student Miya Rodolfo-Sioson was shot and survived but was left paralyzed from the neck down.
If you ask longtime residents of Johnson County, most can tell you where they were that fateful day. (I was working my second job - a Friday night shift in a Systems Unlimited group home.)
I wish I could say that in the decades that passed, something good had come from this horror. Frankly, I simply do not see it. Even bigger mass killings have occurred on other campuses across the nation. Our mental health system is no better, and our gun laws are even worse. The killings make no more sense today than they did twenty years ago.
If you want to learn more about that awful day in Iowa City history, here are a couple of remembrances: https://littlevillagemag.com/cowboy-justice-a-first-hand-account-of-the-deadly-1991-ui-campus-shooting-30-years-later/
I hope you will take a moment to reflect upon one of the saddest days in Johnson County history, and pray for the many survivors whose lives were touched by the people we lost that day.
*DID YOU KNOW? Did you know Dingleberry Road in Johnson County is more than just a unique name for a road?!
Back during Prohibition (1920-1934), this road had quite a history. It was home to moonshiners Pete and George Dingleberry, famous for their "Dingleberry Dew" whiskey.
On June 17, 1927, Sheriff Frank Smith and deputies raided their farm, confiscating 21 gallons of "hooch." George faced trial, was fined $300, and given a six-month suspended sentence in the Johnson County Jail.
Now, every time you drive down Dingleberry Road, you're following in the footsteps of a legendary moonshining duo!
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 12:21 PM
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