As most of you know, "ARC" stands for "Area Recreation Center" and refers to the effort to plan and raise funds for a swimming pool and recreational center. This work first began in 1998--before the term "ARC" was ever coined.

At the Council meeting on Dec 2, a resolution was passed in order to appoint a new ARC Committee. I wrote the lead-in to that resolution. The "lead-in" explains what the resolution is about. It wasn't easy to write.

It had already been reported by the local media that the ARC group was to be discontinued or disbanded. But, I found it too difficult to use these terms because I didn't feel that they truly fit the bill. 

Instead,  I decided to write that the ARC Committee was to begin "anew."

I suppose that it is accurate to state that the previous ARC Committee, under the previous set-up has been discontinued. It is also accurate to say that the concept of a $6.1 million, 45,000 square foot indoor swimming pool and recreation center is no longer the only concept that will be considered.

But, in another sense, we are beginning anew. We can note that the concept of an area recreation center hasn't been retired. The only thing that has been retired is the prior concept that there is only one plan for what an ARC might be.

And, while the ARC Committee's 7-person membership is now open for appointment, past members of the ARC Committee have not been precluded from applying for appointment to it.

We have to face facts and economic reality. The $6.1 million project was given a chance but lost steam to the point where other possibilities need to be considered.  The Council's resolution of Dec 2 was meant to formalize the role of the ARC Committee, set the size and terms of its members, and create opportunities to consider different tracks.

It will be the role of the reconstituted Committee to try to find the right track for a project in Maquoketa. This effort will take people with organizational skills, an understanding of the sort of project that will be feasible here, and the tenacity to take the project to its completion.

But, more importantly, the ARC needs people who believe that the City's future as a community that can offer diverse recreational opportunities to its citizens depends on its ability to provide a swimming pool and related recreational facilities.

If you feel that you can help, applications for appointment are available at City Hall.

I didn't really plan on using this column to do movie reviews, but, in this case, I'll make an exception.

My mother-in-law came to visit us during the Thanksgiving weekend. During that weekend, we decided to take in a movie at the large theater on 53rd Street in Davenport. We intended to go to the "The Emperor's Club." But, while in line for our tickets, we noticed that movie after movie was being sold-out.

My wife came across one little boy and his grandmother. He desperately wanted to see "Harry Potter 2." When it sold-out, his grandmother said that it was the third showing that day that they had tried for and was sold-out.

When our movie sold-out, we pretty much had to go, by default, to a George Clooney movie called, "Solaris."

This was a bad movie. Two thumbs down. If I had more than two hands, those thumbs would be down, too. During the movie, I actually took off my watch and held it in my hand, so I could check it more easily.

It was one of those movies where the audience doesn't laugh or clap or gasp or react to anything, except its ending by saying things like: "I want my money back," and "Don't actors know a bad script when they read one?"

As we were driving home, I wondered if the little boy and his grandmother went to that movie by default as we had done. I wondered how many other people went to that movie because their first choices were sold-out.

It would be ironic if this movie was successful at the box office only because everybody's movie of choice was sold-out.

This is the first column that I've written since the World Series ended. I watched parts of it, but I'm not as much of a baseball fan since the players' strike that occurred some years back.

As I glimpsed the games, I noticed something that I've noticed before: You can't seem to find one camera angle where someone in a uniform isn't spitting. I've never understood this about baseball players. I don't understand their need to do it. I especially don't understand why someone who's been sitting in the dugout all night needs to.

I've heard that President Bush is a baseball fan, and once owned the Texas Rangers. I assume that he watched the Series, but, if I were he, I think I'd think twice about inviting the winner to the White House.

I doubt if the carpets could take it.