City invites public to water rate meeting

Submitted by James Looney

The City of Mena invites its citizens and other interested persons to a public hearing Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. at Mena City Hall located at 520 Mena St. in Mena

On the date and at the approximate time mentioned above, the Mena City Council will hold a public hearing as part of the Mena City Council Meeting prior to the consideration and possible adoption of the 2023 water rate increase ordinance. The public will also be able to comment during the public comment portion during consideration of the rate ordinance prior to its final consideration and vote by the Mena City Council.

If adopted, the proposed new rates would take effect on July 1, 2023, (first step) and January 1, 2025, (second step) with up to 6% increases annually thereafter.

All persons are invited to attend

Mic check. Mic check

By Ashley Moore

Most people have the tendency to cringe when the sound of their recorded voice hits their ears. Or at the very least they are caught off guard, because we just don’t hear ourselves the way other people hear us. Our voice sounds richer and lower to ourselves due to hearing it through bone conduction. Everyone else hears what comes straight out of our mouth.

I was a chatty child, the first to raise my hand in class, always ending the year with high marks but that same note scrawled somewhere in the margins of my report card, “Talks too much during class!”

I was never hesitant to strike up a conversation with a stranger. The “Home Alone” movie franchise was huge during those years, and I had one of those neat little recorder things that Kevin has in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” The Talkboy cassette recorder dropped during the holiday season and I had to have one. I was constantly recording myself giving commentary on what was going on around me, and even eavesdropping on occasion by leaving it on in rooms that I was no longer present in. I wasn’t quite Nancy Drew but perhaps it foreshadowed a career in media.

I had the good luck of spending an idyllic portion of my childhood in Horatio, Arkansas. Elementary school children always look forward to the yearly fieldtrip. It seems to me that as a child, we took a lot more field trips than they do now. Numerous short ones and one big one to end the school year with a bang. I can’t recall the exact grade

I was in, but I can narrow it down to somewhere between ages 8 and 10, making the year between 1990-1992. Whatever grade, whatever age, in whatever year, our class took a trip to the radio station, KDQN, in neighboring De Queen. We were so excited; this was very different from the standard museum visit with a side trip to the park type of field trips we were used to. I remember talking about the upcoming trip extensively at home, and in true fashion was teased about my propensity to talk in any and every situation, with the prediction being that if a student ended up on the radio, it would most likely be me. The day of the trip arrived, the radio always being on in our horse barn allowed my parents to hear their prediction come true.

I did not have another run-in with radio until 2017 when I became the executive director of the Mena Polk County Chamber of Commerce. Approximately four weeks into the job, I was invited to come on 103.7 The Buzz’s morning show with David Bazzel. This was a pure stroke of luck because Bazzel was attending a Parks & Tourism meeting at Queen Wilhelmina State Park and therefore had brought the morning show on the road. He was broadcasting live from the dining room at the lodge.

The purpose of my appearance on the show was to promote the Queen Wilhelmina Rod Run. Everything was copacetic during introductions and mic check. Once we were on air, the tone changed and I was hit with everything from being called too young and good looking to be the director of a chamber, to being grilled on my thoughts about the soon-to-be-released drug movie, “American Made,” and what image it gave Mena. I did my best to maintain composure and continued to steer the conversation towards the upcoming car show. My second experience with radio left me rattled.

Up until this point, I had only heard my own voice on short clips or videos and that silly little “Home Alone” Talkboy. Unpolished, lots of background noise, and little vocal control are the norm on home recordings. Suffice to say, I was not impressed with how I sounded. But one of chamber director responsibilities was a weekly visit to the local radio station to appear on the morning show and give the Chamber Report. This usually took no more than 5-10 minutes, and it was recorded and replayed throughout the week.

I’d hear myself on the radio, and consistently cringe at the sound.

Being more of an afternoon person and not so much a morning person, prompted me to request that instead of delivering the weekly report live at the ungodly hour of 7:15 a.m., perhaps I could pre-record the segment once a week. The first time I came for one of these sessions, I looked Mark Hobson directly in the eyes and told him if there was anything he could do to make me sound less like the fourth member of the Dixie Chicks, I would greatly appreciate it. The next time I heard myself over the speakers in my car, I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe I had more of a voice for radio than I thought.

In 2019 I left the Chamber and took a position marketing the state of Arkansas. Being so deeply involved in tourism allowed me to be a part of some very fun media projects. I was recruited to help voice a promo commercial for an advertising product that my team sold. Now being recruited didn’t make me special. It didn’t mean I was chosen for my voice quality. I just happened to be on the sales team and we were all contributing.

It was my first time in a real sound booth, working with professional producers and I was as nervous as I could get. So nervous you could hear it in my voice. Despite the nerves, that project showcased my voice enough that I See ASHLEY continued on page 7

Radio - Print - Web

1168 Hwy 71S

Mena, AR 71953

Phone: 479-243-9600

Fax: 479-243-9603

Email: news@mypulsenews.com

KENA 104.1 - KQOR 105.3

MyPulseNews.com

Our Team:

Ashley Moore & Jamie HammackGeneral Managers

Ethan Nahté - Production Manager/Editor

Patrick Massey - Contributing Reporter

John Russell - Graphic Design

Josh Barker - Account Executive

Alexis James - Account Executive

Curt Teasdale - Programmer / On-Air Personality

Ariel Varner - Receptionist/On-Air Personality

Distribution & Insertion Staff: Danielle Stewart & Chaz Welch

The Polk County Pulse is the area’s premiere and fastest growing news publication. The Polk County Pulse is FREE and published weekly on Wednesdays, with a distribution of 8,000 and an estimated readership of 10,000. MyPulseNews.com has hundreds of visitors daily and KENA and KQOR have thousands of listeners hourly.

POLICY: The publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. All property rights, including any copyright interest, in any advertisement produced by Pulse Multi-Media and/or The Polk County Pulse using art work and/or typography furnished or arranged by Pulse Multi-Media and/or The Polk County Pulse shall be the property of Pulse Multi-Media and/or The Polk County Pulse. No such advertisement or any part thereof may be reproduced without the prior written consent of Pulse Multi-Media and The Polk County Pulse.

POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements of a political nature must be prepaid and must also include the name of the entity paying for the advertisement. If an entity other than the candidate the advertisement is endorsing is paying for the ad, a statement must be signed by the candidate verifying the candidate has seen and approved the advertisement.

We are all trying to understand why there are so many shootings lately. Many are quick to blame the gun and not the operator. Guns are inanimate objects incapable of firing unless in someone’s hands.

Several issues may have contributed to this. Violent video games. Hollywood featuring excessive violence. Social media bullies and challenges. Indifference to the value of life and rights of others. Obsession with a few minutes of fame on TV or the internet. Failure to take responsibility for one’s own actions. Blaming others in your life for the path you chose to take. Famous people who become role models and live life recklessly and show no one respect. Drug and alcohol abuse. An uncertain economy or job outlook. Political discourse. A feeling of helplessness. Missing or not involved parents. Websites that promote violence. So many triggers that can influence so many susceptible.

The knee-jerk reaction to shootings is pass a law. Blame the gun. So far that has not worked and has yet to address the real problem. In order to answer a question, you must first understand the question. The question is not what means are we using to kill/harm each other, but rather why are we doing so in the first place. Until that question is addressed the senseless acts of violence will continue.

I wish I had the answer, but I do not. I ask why no one calls authorities to shed light on violent acts brewing before they happen? After 9/11, see something, say something was the word. As it should be now with our citizens suffering mental health issues making them a danger to themselves and others.

How many rounds a firearm holds or how it looks are distractions from the real issue: Why is it used to harm others to begin with? Why would any sane person want to harm a child or

a fellow human?

The recent mass shooting in Texas by an illegal immigrant, who was previously deported four times shows media bias at its worst. Governor Abbott spoke about the persons involved being illegal immigrants, victims and suspect, and the media was quick to criticize him. That was telling and showed their bias and agenda. It is now several days after the shooting and the suspect has finally been apprehended and still no one has asked where an illegal immigrant got an AR-15?

Why pass more laws if the ones currently in effect are not enforced? No laws kept the suspect from coming back after being deported FOUR times. No gun laws seem to have stopped the suspect from acquiring the rifle.

The question should be asked of how many more must die before we stand up and take back our country and put bad guys where they can do no harm.

Thank you for a forum to express my thoughts though we may disagree.

With respect and kindest regards, Ronald Goss, retired, Mena

Want to share your opinion?

The Polk County Pulse welcomes letters to the Editor addressing any topic of interest to our readers. To be published, letters must not contain obscene or libelous language. Letters do not reflect the viewpoints or opinions of Pulse Multi-Media.

The letter must include a signature to be considered for publication. Signatures will NOT be held out by request. Letters will be restricted to 500 words. Any letters longer than 500 words will require purchase of advertising space.

The following contact information is required when the letter is submitted: NAME, AGE, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER.

Letters are published at the discretion of the Editor and Publisher.

Letters may be submitted by e-mail to news@mypulsenews.com; mailed to P.O. Box 1450, Mena, AR 71953 or dropped off at 1168 Hwy. 71 South, Mena, AR. A drop-box is provided by the front door for after-hour convenience. TO