Ahem, so where is the 'big splash'?

Sorry, it’s been awhile. I’ve been busy…

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Rumor had it that Dover Mayor Richard Homirghausen and his City Council were going to make a “big splash” with an endorsement of the new high school proposal. I thought maybe there’d be the “big splash” at the caucus meeting the last Monday in September, but there was nothing.

Then I thought that maybe council was going to splash at its regular meeting last Monday.

Nope.

I give up.

At this point, whatever council decides to do is rather moot. Absentee ballots are mailed out beginning Wednesday (Oct. 12), which means people can immediately vote. No longer is the general election date hard and fast. And I suspect most people have already made up their minds about all the high profile races and issues, including the Dover High proposal.

Evidence, however, suggests that at least three members of council – Justin Perkowski, Shane Gunnoe and Greg Bair – have publicly supported the project either by wearing a “We Are Dover” shirt or by writing a letter to the editor.

If any other readers have seen public evidence of support from other council members, please let me know and I will add their names to the above paragraph.

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A friend of mine suffers from trigeminal neuralgia – severe facial pain – and depends on opioids for relief. He would like everyone to know that not everyone who uses opioids is abusing them. For him, using opioids allows him to function and survive.

Trigeminal neuralgia has been termed “the world’s worst pain.”

Medical marijuana might provide my friend some relief, so he was incredulous when both Dover and New Philadelphia city councils banned the sale of prescription marijuana well in advance of the actual implementation of the law.

For my friend’s sake as well as for other sufferers, I hope both councils will reconsider their decisions.

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I was asked what I thought about plans to rejuvenate Dover’s downtown and restore the riverfront to some sort of turn of the 20th century glory.

Neither project will mean much if the community fails to approve a new high school facility. As soon as we’re on track for a new school, I’ll get excited. I might, however, go into a state of euphoria after the new traffic signals are turned on and synchronized.

“Synchronized” is the keyword.

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There seems to be some confusion over why my commentaries no longer appear in the Bargain Hunter.

One of my readers said he called the publication and was told that I left on my own accord. Another reader heard I was fired.

OK, I was never an employee of the Bargain Hunter, so I couldn’t have been fired. Heck, I’ve never been inside one of its offices. I write at home, sometimes at the dining room table, or at the kitchen counter. No fancy office for me.

With a handshake five years ago, I agreed to allow the Bargain Hunter to publish my column on a weekly basis for a modest fee. The deal, at least as I understood, was that the BH would adhere to a hands-off policy and respect my ownership of the column, which for the most part it did – until recently.

As a result, our relationship soured, and I sought a divorce. There was an attempt at counseling, but in the end it didn’t work out. Sometimes you just have to move on.

Tell your friends who are missing me in the BH to Google “dick farrell blogspot” or “dick Farrell blog” and they’ll find me. For those folks who depend entirely on print for their news and opinion, well, they’re out of luck.