tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22571319.post2054832046843658772..comments2023-06-18T10:03:39.982-05:00Comments on Gregorian Rants: A little about MarionPeterGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13362919400474969329noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22571319.post-50752559547803089272007-05-29T09:51:00.000-05:002007-05-29T09:51:00.000-05:00Kyle - If the Marion schools were in the city gove...Kyle - If the Marion schools were in the city government, I would agree that Butler was responsible for them. They aren't though.<BR/><BR/>Lucy - Marion spent years and lots of money trying to build a water system on land that had some ecological problem. Sometimes you should just accept that the state spent the big bucks and accept the gift.PeterGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13362919400474969329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22571319.post-59443878270212907522007-05-29T09:38:00.000-05:002007-05-29T09:38:00.000-05:00I tend to agree with your assessment on Marion, Pe...I tend to agree with your assessment on Marion, Peter, but I'm wondering: Why is their holdout to join up with Rend Lake water seen as a bad thing? <BR/><BR/>Nearly all of Marion's neighboring cities are hooked up to the Rend Lake pipeline. Isn't it just good business sense to not put all your eggs in one basket and not every deer drink from the same pond?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22571319.post-74844561461046827062007-05-29T09:28:00.000-05:002007-05-29T09:28:00.000-05:00Peter,Don't forget Marion's neighbor, Carterville....Peter,<BR/><BR/>Don't forget Marion's neighbor, Carterville. It's K-8 test scores have skyrocketed (nearly as good as Giant City, which is tops in the state). Lots of new house construction there too. We'll probably move there in a year or so. <BR/><BR/>BTW, I ran into the marketing director of the new baseball stadium over there. I'm VERY excited about having some form of pro ball to attend in the summer with my family. It seats 4,500 he tells me, with box seats and all the rest. Top notch.<BR/><BR/>Plus yes they have the pool. We have a golf course for the retired city, park district and county officials. <BR/><BR/>We were in a Carbondale gas station and he said that this was the first time in months that he had been to Carbondale. <BR/><BR/>What is the capitol of southern IL? Bye, bye Carbondale.testing05401https://www.blogger.com/profile/17388846145377195962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22571319.post-52419702453533156962007-05-29T09:15:00.000-05:002007-05-29T09:15:00.000-05:00Marion is doing very well right now, minus the sch...Marion is doing very well right now, minus the school situation. If you remember it two years ago it is nothing like today.<BR/><BR/>Some of those houses by the golf course (I forgot the name of the neighborhood) look gorgeous!<BR/><BR/>A friend of mine, who is getting his teaching degree, taught at the middle school. The school system there is awful and people are not learning. A lot of students do not know how to write a research paper yet, and they are heading into high school. That will cause a lot of problems.<BR/><BR/>I think a lot of times, with 'pro-business' you sacrifice 'pro-public education.' Bob Butler has been Mayor of Marion for way too long now. <BR/><BR/>He has more pluses than minuses in my book, but the minuses (like the lack of a quality education) are pretty darn strong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22571319.post-25147438900892076562007-05-29T08:29:00.000-05:002007-05-29T08:29:00.000-05:00You are on the money when it comes to Marion, Pete...You are on the money when it comes to Marion, Peter. Marion has always been proactive when it comes to growth and bringing in new business. I can remember when the intersection of Route 13 and I-57 was nothing more than a Skelly's Truck Stop and that wasn't all that long ago. Carbondale, on the other hand, has SIU and doesn't worry so much about bringing in new business. However, Carbondale residents are fairly persnickity when it comes to zoning and high dollar city services. Thank goodness for the University Mall.<BR/>Marion residents, on the other hand, don't like government dictating the lay of the land. For years the city went without a property tax and essential services were provided. Carbondale really couldn't do that because of the size of its city government and its bueacracy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com