Small Town-Big Heart

The new green entry signs have arrived and are on four of the Welcome to Hudson signs located at M-34 and US127. The signs represent the new slogan adopted by the City Council in 2007 for the community. The slogan of Small Town-Big Heart, replaces our  former slogan of Happiness is Hudson.

The new slogan is the brainchild of Rob Hall, and enthusiastically supported by Ed Engle. Rima Manufacturing donated the funds to acquire the signs through Michigan Department of Transportation. You will begin to see the slogan used throughout the City and on our various publications, advertisement and communications.

Wrong side of 50, preventing colon cancer

This may fall under that category of ……… too much personal information, but discussing colon cancer is necessary. 50 passed me by a few years ago, and I’ve been avoiding that dreaded Colonoscopy test. Annually, I’ve had the fecal occult blood test, which is no big deal, and should be part of your annual or bi-annual physical exam.

Recently in a conversation with my daughter, I mentioned that I had not had my first Colonoscopy exam, and was putting it off. Nothing was wrong, so why should I have it, since I had the blood test yearly. On a recent office visit to see Dr. Schmidt, I mentioned it to her and she urged me to be tested, since “I was at that age”. The doctor made a referral, and within a few days, I was scheduled for the exam to take place at Bixby hospital.

The colonoscopy test is called the gold standard of colon cancer screening. The colonoscopy examines the entire length of the colon. The patient is sedated for this more invasive procedure. Before the test, you are required to adhere to a clear-liquid diet for up to 48 hours and undergo a colon-cleansing preparation to clear any stool.

The cleaning out process is the worst part of the entire procedure.

Basically the day prior to the test, is devoted to the cleaning out process. A rather unpleasant process, that quickly follows drinking some rather nasty tasting ginger/lemon flavored gunk.

The process for me other then the clean out was simple, easy, and comfortable. A friend drove me to Bixby, for a 9 am arrival to the outpatient clinic. Nurse Judy answered my numerous questions, and was very respectful of my privacy. The entire stay at Bixby was no longer then 2 hours, and after a very pleasant sleep, I was placed in a wheel chair and wheeled out taken to my friend’s car, and on the way home.

After the brief sedation period, I never felt a thing. The after affects were zilch. Did not experience any discomfort or inconvenience, just was starving.

So rather you are male or female, after age 50, the screening is vital.

In my case, the findings were clear, no polyps were discovered, and good to go for 10 years. In some cases, if a family history exists, then your doctor may advise a more frequent screening.

The day following my exam at Bixby, I received a phone call from the Bixby nurse, checking how I was doing, if I was having any after effect or problems, and seeking feedback on the clinic. Based upon my experience, the Bixby facility and equipment were excellent, and Nurse Judy, the doctor and other hospital personnel excellent, and I had a pleasant one-hour dream free sleep.

So whichever side of 50 you are, it is time to be tested.

Power Pole

Have you noticed the tilting power pole, located on Lane Street at the entry to the alley, next to the Posey flower shop. Most likely the pole has been in place since the 1950’s and has been hit and ravaged by age, and has been titling more each year.

Each time I sit in the barber chair at Bills barber shop, Jim Taylor points out the pole, and each time, I let Jim know that I was working on having it replaced.  The contacts with Consumer’s Energy began about 11 months ago. I kept urging the Consumer engineer’s to check out the pole and it would be obvious that a problem exists.

On the afternoon of Thursday, May 8th Consumers Energy will be replacing the pole, which will require a 3-4 hour power out for the entire block.

A back up rain date has been scheduled for May 15th at the same time, in the event that it rains on the 8th. The block bordered on Main Street, N. Church Street, Railroad St and Lane Street will be affected.

Consumers will be sending a notification to the effected electric customers. The date and time selected was purposeful, hoping to avoid the busier business times for our two restaurants on that block of Main Street.

While the pole replacement will be an inconvenience on May 8th. If the pole tilts further or is hit, then we could be dealing with a power out for much more time and much greater inconvenience. Hopefully after May 8th. Jim Taylor can think of something else for me to work on.

MDOT- May 13

In February, we learned that MDOT had conducted an unannounced traffic study, which they call a traffic warrant for the intersection of Main Street and Church Street. The outcome of the traffic study was that traffic on Church Street was inadequate to justify a traffic signal at the intersection. MDOT advised that the signal would have to be removed, or the City would have to pay the cost to maintain and upgrade the signal.

A couple of weeks ago, The Museum Curator located some old newspaper articles, that noted a traffic light at the intersection as of 1905, and a replacement of one around 1915. From what I can gather several signals were located along Main Street, one at Oak St, Church, and Market, and others as well.

MDOT has notified us that they plan to conduct a second warrant traffic study on May 13, and perhaps May 12th. It will be evident, when you see the black cable laying a crossed the street.  Now that the street construction is completed, and the street fully re-opened, and league activity at the Thompson Park is in full swing, use of the street should be much greater then when the study was done in November, 2007.

It would be beneficial while on your various journeys on the 12 and 13th of  May, to route your travel along Church Street in both directions, throughout the day. The study needs to reflect usage throughout a 12 hour period, and not just a peak period after 3 while the park is in use.  May 13th might be a nice day for some travel along Church St……..Hope to see you.

Mayor Exchange

The City will be participating in the Michigan week program again this year. The annual Mayor Exchange program has matched the City with the Village of Paw Paw. Hudson will host Paw Paw village President, Roman Plaszczak and Village officials on Wednesday, May 14th and contingent of City officials will journey to Paw Paw on May 21st.

Last year the city participated in an exchange with the Village of Bellevue, after not having an exchange in several years. We had an excellent response to the program last year, and it was quite educational for each communities leaders.

Web Sites

Credit card offers seem to arrive weekly in the mail, along with those easy to use convenience checks. The small print on the reverse side of those “convenience checks” will tell you how much that convenience will cost you. Here are some web sites that will help you seek out the most favorable credit cards, which would be best for you. The sites tell you the various interest rates if you carry a balance, what fees apply if you pay off your card each month, card benefits and points that apply for air travel and other benefits.

www.bankrate.com:www.cardratings.com:www.lowcards.com:

www.indexcreditcards.com

I read an interesting article recently in USA today newspaper concerning the 10 financial myths. Can’t say how I did on the myths, but it was insightful. You can sign up for a free online money newsletter for a free managing your money newsletter at www.usatoday.com

Book to Read

For those of you that are retired or near retirement, the following book will be of interest to you. I’ve asked the Hudson library to order a copy.

The book is: Reinventing Retirement, 389 ideas about, by Miriam Goodman Zero Day Threat: The Shocking Truth of How Banks and credit bureaus help cyber crooks steal your money and identify, by Byron Acohido and Jon Swartx, Union Square Press.

This is an occasional column written by Hudson City Manager, Frank Goodroe.
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