After extended 'vacation,' back on the blog beat

Edited and updated Jan. 29, 2017, at 12:15 p.m.

I saw on Facebook a thread on which people lamented the fact that Dover City Schools were going to use eminent domain to acquire the Dairy Queen property, which sits in the footprint of the new high school campus.

This should not be a surprise to anyone and underscores my belief that people actually don’t absorb the news. They just scan it and believe what they want to believe. To hell with the facts.

The David Angel family of Dover owns the property, which is now being managed by Angel’s son-in-law and daughter – Dave and April Angel-Yoder. I’m not sure whose name is actually on the property, but over the years it’s been operated/owned by various members of the Angel family.

When the possibility was raised that the property might be needed if Dover were to construct a new high school in the neighborhood (which subsequently proved to be what voters wanted), Angel assured the Dover Board of Education that he would work with members on a price for the property.

As the property changed hands over the years, the value of it remained constant – about $160,000.

All the other property owners in the path of the new campus settled with the board on prices for their properties and to my knowledge did so willingly.

That leaves one option for the school district to acquire the Dairy Queen property – eminent domain. My guess is that the Angel family will net $160,000 or a little more.

And now the people who have only been scanning the news rather than actually reading it are boo-hooing on behalf of the Angel family.

I’m never surprised by such developments. People read headlines and watch TV (see Trump). That’s about it.

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Speaking of the news, GateHouse Media has parted company with Times-Reporter Editor Melissa Griffy Seeton and at least a couple other GateHouse Ohio staffers.

GateHouse is a vicious cost cutter and another round of layoffs indicates that it’s been another year of diminished returns. And I think we’re a little closer to the possibility of a non-daily newspaper serving our area.

Good luck to Melissa in whatever endeavor she undertakes.

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Congratulations are in order for WJER and radio listeners throughout the Tuscarawas Valley. The longtime Dover-New Philadelphia station is an adding a FM version after selling off 101.7 10 years ago. Hard to believe it's been so long. The FM station will offer a mirror of the station's AM broadcast.

By the way, if you’re interested in a daily news briefing without forcing you to sort through honor rolls and sports stories, check out WJER’s website and bookmark its news page. That takes me to my next subject…

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As primarily a consumer of news and information, I have to indict newspapers, TV stations and major electronic news outlets for their horrible websites that have become bogged down with pop-up ads, unwanted videos and irritating electronic billboards urging readers to subscribe.

If you’re lucky, maybe you can read the story after dealing with the clutter, but you’re better off getting your news feed from social media if you’re on a mobile device, or Microsoft’s new Windows 10 news feed if you’re using a laptop. The Windows 10 news feed offers numerous stories, photos and editorial cartoons from numerous sources without the annoying clutter.

Sorry, newspapers. And, no, I’m not subscribing to 10 different websites. Quit asking.

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Early reviews of the plans by the new owner of Atwood Lodge and Conference Center are mostly positive. The general reaction to the idea of turning the lodge into an alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility is “we’ve needed something like this for a long time.”

I’m OK with it as well and apparently so are a number of investors. I’m told that rehab centers generate a fairly decent return on investment.

Based on the amount of money put into New Philadelphia’s Hospice facility – a former nursing home – I would think such a conversion of the lodge into a rehab facility would cost upwards of $5 million to $10 million. So, the project will need a significant infusion of money to succeed.

I’m curious what will happen to the facility’s liquor license. Does it die with the resort, or can it move on to somewhere else? Let me know if you know.

(Update: From MWCD Director John Hoopingarner: "The liquor license at Atwood Lodge is a hybrid of sorts. If you recall, the area around the lodge was 'dry'. As the lodge struggled in the late '70s, conservancy district officials appealed to State Rep. William Hinig.

"He helped spearhead legislation that created the opportunity for publicly owned hotels of 100 rooms or more to obtain a liquor license without having to go through a local option election. This legislation helped Atwood Lodge and several other remotely located state park lodges as well.

"The thinking was the ability to serve alcohol would improve business. The license at the lodge has been maintained as such. Radius Hospitality (former operators of the Lodge under agreement with Carroll County) does not own the license, nor are they able to use it elsewhere. Because the lodge is now privately owned, the liquor license effectively evaporates."

Thank you, John.)

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I can’t put my finger on why I’m losing interest in Facebook – maybe it’s the dogs and cats -- but I’ve mostly moved to Twitter for discussion on the issues. On Twitter I can respond briefly with zingers. I love it.

Some -- not all -- of things I’ve seen and read on Facebook border on being ludicrous, not including the dogs and cats and those tasty-looking meals at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Fake news reigns supreme and the idiots who blame mainstream media for all problems are about all I can take.

(If you remember, I was a longtime member of mainstream media and my goal and that of everyone I worked with and knew in the business was to deliver the truth. I don’t think that’s changed.)

There are also a large number of Facebook users who want to escape from political discourse, posting pictures of their kids, grandkids, food and, of course, dogs and cats. They don’t want to read about politics. And it’s probably why “Dancing with the Stars” continues to be a TV ratings winner – escapism.

So, I’m trying to limit my Facebook issue-based posts while using Twitter to answer the Great Orange One’s tweets. After all, he’s not reading my Facebook posts. At least I don’t think so.

You can follow me on Twitter by searching for dfarrell_dover.

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For the life of me, I can’t figure how some of my friends, neighbors and family members cast a ballot for a man who mocked the disabled, who is the world’s biggest narcissist, who is a bigot, who is a liar, and who obviously has some mental health issues.

He’s pathological.

Vocabulary.com defines “pathological” thusly: “If something is caused by a physical or mental disease, it is pathological. Someone with a pathological compulsion for cleanliness might scrub the floors for hours every night.”

Trump is a pathological liar.

And he has surrounded himself with men and women, including but not limited to Sean “Baghdad Bob (reincarnated)” Spicer and Kelleyanne “Propaganda Barbie” Conway, to provide the masses with “alternative facts.”

Any of this scare you?

If it’s not obvious to you, well, maybe you’re part of the problem. And don’t be leaving me hate notes on Facebook. I don’t want to read them.

The man has been president for a week and every day brings a new concern. A couple days ago, we’re told the government is going to probe dead voters because Trump can’t handle the fact he didn’t win the popular vote.

Yesterday, he banned some Muslims from entering the United States, although not from the countries that gave us the 911 terrorists. He’s handpicked a few Muslim-populated countries (seven to be exact) such as Iran and Iraq. We shed a lot of blood in the latter country to free its population from a demagogue. Now we won’t let their citizens into our country. Trump also is irked we didn’t steal Iraqi oil.

Meanwhile, countries that host a Trump investment get a pass.

Expect more daily consternation.

Meanwhile, a plurality of voters doesn’t seem to care. I’m hoping that fact changes sooner rather than later because I really think Trump is a danger to the Republic.

After hours of research and watching and listening to Trump voters interviewed on cable TV, it’s apparent that the Great Orange One spoke to a lot of one-issue voters.

He got the pro-life vote (see religious right).

He got the gun vote (see National Rifle Assn. rolls).

He got the under-employed vote (see Walmart).

He got the vote of depressed small-town inhabitants (see Wilmington, Ohio).

He got the vote of coal miners and their families (See West Virginia).

He got the military vote (See communities outside U.S. bases).

He got the Mexico border population vote (See Arizona).

He got the oil vote (See pipelines).

He got the traditional Republican businessman vote (See marketplace regulations and stock market numbers).

And he got the racist and dumb vote (see angry white guys afraid of people who don’t look like them and people who weren’t paying attention in school).

Throw in the people who wasted their votes on third-party candidates and we have a Trump presidency. Yeah, it’s their fault, too.

God help us.