BELLA VISTA — Vote for J.D.

There is an old adage from the airline industry that sums up consumer perceptions: “If you can’t keep the bathrooms clean, how can you possibly maintain jet engines.”

We need a Bella Vista City Council (and, by the way, Property Owners Association board members) who understand that the rules they make also apply to them. If you are not in compliance with city codes and regulations, you cannot run for an elected city or POA position.

We the people of Bella Vista need people who can bring proven professional experience and knowledge from the business world to help as our city develops. Bella Vista needs people who understand that without uniform policies and procedures, we have a government that will not have the confidence of the citizens. Bella Vista needs people who can help protect our assets - our employees, equipment and facilities.

Bella Vista needs someone like J.D. Shrum. J.D. has both knowledge and experience in developing policy and procedure in hiring, reviews, salary structure, disciplinary/ grievance and advancement. J.D. has business experience in developing long-range plans and annual budgets. J.D.’s experience encompasses varied businesses and states.

J.D. is a long-time Bella Vista resident, who is currently teaching our next generation of leaders. J.D. and his family epitomize what we need here in Bella Vista: community and service.

We have known J.D., Barb and their children for many years and have seen their children develop into mature teen adults.

We support J.D. Shrum for Ward 1, Position 2. J.D. is a person of his word with a commitment to help Bella Vista continue to develop as a city we are proud to live in.

Bill and Pat Middleton Bella Vista Choose experience

The runoff for city alderman between James Shrum and Julie Hull will give voters a chance to select experience vs. no experience.

I hope that people will choose Mr. Shrum’s experience because it is the future of our city we are voting for.

I would also encourage everyone who voted onNov. 2 to return to the polls to prove that we do indeed care about the future of Bella Vista.

If your plans include travel out of town for Thanksgiving, please vote early.

John Giggy Bella Vista Thank you all

I want to thank the people of Bella Vista for their support during the campaign and at the polls on election day. The confidence you have shown by re-electing me to the Bella Vista City Council is very much appreciated.

As your representative, I will continue to work to have the City provide the municipal services needed at the most economical cost possible. That has been one of my goals for the last four years and that effort will be continued.

Initially, a big part of that effort will be to continue reviewing all the options available to accomplish daily street maintenance.

That will include discussions with the Property Owners Association to explore ways we can work together to assure there is no duplication of cost to the citizens of Bella Vista/POA members.

There are many other matters the new City Council will address during the next two years, and as a conservative, I will always look for ways to minimize costs without sacrificing quality in order to keep taxes as low as possible.

Please let me hear from you on matters that interest you. I need your input and will always listen to your point of view.

Earl Berdine Alderman, Ward 3, Position 1 Winning candidate appreciates support

The elections are over for the most part -there is still a run off for one seat. And no matter who you vote for, it is important that you vote.

History proves fewer folks vote in a run off than in the general election, so it is very important that you get out and vote for your favorite.

I would like to thank all of those who voted for me. I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of ballots cast and I hope I can do the job you have elected me for.

I will make every effort not to let you down,judgement and common sense.

I would also like to thank those who said prayers for me on my recent back surgery. So far, so good, and the doctors are more than pleased with the results up to this point.

Thanks again. I will do my best to fullfill the job you elected me to, to the best of my ability.

Jim Wozniak Alderman elect VP defends work

In response to the letter to the editor by Mr. Burvee dated November 3, 2010.

We are the contractor performing renovation work at the Highlands Country Club. This letter is written to present facts not opinion.

We take orders from the Property Owners Association management staff and start work when they say so. We presented a two-phase construction schedule before beginning the work and we are currently well ahead of the scheduled completion date.

The sequencing of work, although appearing to be hit and miss regarding work force levels, is progressing as we planned, in two phases to minimize impact on the restaurant and pro shop activities as much as possible.

We would have preferred to shut down the entire building and push to finish in “days” not “months,” but that was not an option and likely would have been disastrous for the restaurant and the pro shop as both have remained open every day during construction.

Mr. Burvee refers to a lack of progress when he visited. We completed work quickly on portions of the project, but were unable to complete work for which we had no materials. Specialties not specified by us, such as recycled vinyl flooring, had to be shipped from overseas. Custom fabricated fired-steel countertops took many weeks to fabricate. Custom lavatories, light fixtures and ceiling fans came from out of the country as well. When items must go through U.S. Customs, no ordinary person can push that along, although we did try.

Mr. Burvee notes on the day he visited the country club only one person was working. A separate contractor, not under ournotes a “lonely man” was the only one working. That man was not working for us, but for that separate contractor. We had as much concern as Mr. Burvee for the length of time taken to remove existing wallpaper in preparation for the special wall finishes.

We have a spotless track record regarding safety, cleanliness of job sites and supervisory expertise despite the statements of Mr. Burvee. We have full time supervision on the job site when we have work underway. We have coordinated our work daily with the POA, restaurant owner and pro shop management. The project manager for the POA is an extremely hard working, dedicated individual who has earned our respect and admiration for his help and guidance in dealing with a very complicated project.

We would invite everyone to come see the work, visit the restaurant and the pro shop now or when the work is completed. Once you see your newly renovated facility, you can then make up your mind whether or not we or anyone else involved in this project deserve credit or blame.

And by all means, please do schedule your events in the restaurant for Christmas and beyond, as the facility will be completed long before then. On that you have our word!

Mark Clinard Vice-presidentVeterans say 'thank you'

Thank you for the Veterans Day event for Cooper School at the Wall of Honor.

A great big thank you to: American Legion Post 341 and VFW Post 9063, both of Bella Vista; Veterans Council of Northwest Arkansas directors; Bella Vista Honor Guard; Bella Vista Property Owners Association; Bella Vista Cooper grade school staffand students; weatherman; 188th Squadron of Fort Smith for the flyover; Dean Crowder Construction Inc. of Bentonville, which provided the safe walkway to the Veterans Wall of Honor with orange barrier drums and fencing; local law-enforcement agencies; Bella Vista Ambulance Service; the media; and Arvest Bank, which furnished 800 small flags.

Leonard Eisert Veterans Council of Northwest Arkansas

Opinion, Pages 6 on 11/17/2010