Gipson @ Commissioners Meeting "Noise" and "Keep it a Park"

Lynn Gipson implied that no private enties want to run Sparta. Now he says that since it was meant to be a park it should stay a park.

Also discussed was a noise ordinance for the whole county.

http://www.randolphcountyheraldtribune.com/article/20151010/NEWS/151019993/0/SEARCH

My question then is if it was meant to be a park and we want it to stay that way then why did the ATA give our money to a park in the State of Illinois? Why did the ATA/HOF give a $2.1 million dollar building to the same state?

 

FG, Maybe someone with more authority should be asking the leader that question. Bring some heat down on them, I'm sure there is more than one in that group that would rollover to save their own a$$es. It should have all of the offenders a little worried. They should be. Roger C.

 

I read the article. Interesting quote by Gipson.

In a previous interview with the Herald Tribune, Gipson said he didn’t see a private entity “working their asses off to break even.”

 

Lynn ( The Talking Head ) Gipson all of a sudden can't see why anyone would want to "work their asses off to break even" ... It appears the drugs (kool aid) must be wearing off and the man is waking up to reality by making that statement on not elaborating on the 10 / 12 million dollar figure into the region and local economy that he must have nightmares about ... It will be interesting if they start charging a fee to enter but it will help with the differential of money generated ... If they had 3,000 people attend at $2.00 each that would be an additional $6,000 to offset the $ 12.5 billion budget deficit, now the problem is getting 3,000 people to attend ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

I keep thinking about this and the more I think, the more agitated I get.

Sure, the Trapshooting Hall of Fame is a separate entity from the ATA, but the ATA, OUR organization, gave the THOF $250,000.00 towards the State owned building, and then could not pony up some extra money for the shooters at the 2015 GAH.

Somehow I don't agree with wasting money by Robbing Peter (the shooters) to Pay Paul (the THOF / State).

Dang, If I were a top dawg shooter like for instance Brad, and I was able to attend the GAH, that part wouldn't have set well with me.

Seems to me that is one large reason Brad had dropped back, and isn't shooting much any more (correct me if I am wrong). They have taken the prize money away and replaced it with trinket trophies. Sad.

How many more shooters will the ATA lose because of these shenanigans ?

 

The grand has become a social event as opposed to a Championship Competition with the exception of some of the Top Guns that fortify their bank accounts and pay expenses for a nice vacation to promote their clinics ... The trinkets are a way of showing that they were there as if that is a big deal, the Glory days are long gone and will sooner or later be long forgotten ... I used to make it a point to buy a hat or a tee shirt at the grand and that showed that I was there as if anyone really cared except me ... The ATA is their own worse enemy when it comes to promotion and retention of the sport and its members ... The EC, some of the BOD, Ex Officio's are feeding well off of the common folks and that is all they really care about ... The members are the ATA not the other way around, but you would never know it ... If they (ATA) keep losing members and clubs participation they will be belly up in a damn quick hurry, in the mean time they can exist on the daily fees collected by the clubs at the local shoots if they limit their spending ... There are a lot of Members who have had a belly full of the ATA and the way is has been operated for many years, which has not been in the best interest of the members and that is a huge problem ... The ATA has to be run like business with no ups, no downs, and no extra's, get what you pay for and cut the Fat Cats off at the knees and let them or make them pay their own way for a change ... Shooters do not want to donate money to fund and keep the EC and some of the BOD feeling good, lets them fend for them self and go from there ... Hope someone is keeping an eye on the money they have on hand and invested so it don't grow legs and be gone one day and no body will know anything ... Once they lose the trust of the members its really difficult to get it back again and suspicion reins supreme ... They got the Fox guarding the Hen house or so it appears ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Gipson states publicly the place is going to lose money! Even with a private entity.

 

ROBERT GEHL
OCTOBER 17, 2015
In liberal-controlled Illinois, their inability to balance a state budget means they’re reneging on lottery ticket winners – essentially telling them “tough.”

And even though thy haven’t paid out more than $288 million in winnings to thousands of residents, they’re still selling tickets.

The state announced they weren’t paying out any tickets worth more than $600 until the budget impasse is resolved, but not only are they selling tickets – they’re paying for advertisements telling residents to buy more tickets.

One winner, Susan Rick, told INSIDE EDITION: “We won. We finally can have a comfortable life. Suddenly you’re gonna the rug out from underneath us. We had a ticket for $250,000.”

A group of Chicago city employees had joined a lotto pool and won a million dollars – but they still haven’t seen a penny of it either.

Rhonda Rasche, a 49-year-old hospital clerk, said that after winning $50,000 in a scratch-off lotto, officials told her she’d receive a check in the mail in four to six weeks. That was a few months ago.

“I’ve been waiting for a check for $50,000,” she said.

Rhonda has joined the other lotto winners who are suing to get their money.

Zimmerman, their attorney, said: “If any private business would engage in this kind of conduct selling tickets and not paying out the winner. The state would shut them down and indict them for fraud.”

HotAir made the point that 59 cents of every dollar in revenue from the sale of lottery tickets is supposed to go to pay for prizes.

So if 59 cents on the dollar is supposed to be going to pay out prizes and the prizes are based on the volume of sales, how could they not have enough money to write the checks for the winners? I’m guessing it’s because the lottery money is not, in reality, segregated in some separate account. It probably goes into the fungible pool of state money from which all payments are drawn. This isn’t much different than the mythical “Social Security Trust Fund” which Democrats love to talk about. It doesn’t exist, of course, except in the form of a stack of IOUs known as “special Treasury bills” which are only worth as much as the federal treasury which backs them.


Got to start feeling like they are in deep doo, doo very soon ... They also stopped paying pensions until the budget gets passed ... This cannot be good folks, please pass the kool aid ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

After reading Robert Gehl's article I've decided Illinois is fertile ground for a Taylor's led ATA EC. Just how dumb are these people to keep buying lotto tickets when the state ain't paying off. I bet greentitian is still buying um everyday. I used to feel bad for the people of Sparta getting sold a bill of goods by the ATA but I'm rethinking that. You just can't make this shit up.

Brad's friend (I hope) and WPT I agree 100% with what you said. I'm not sure the Kool Aid bunch is smart enough to ever see, let alone admit THEY WERE WRONG. As long as I'm alive though I'm not going to let them forget. Pretty soon they'll just dissolve away like a wart with Compound W on it.
But I'll be there to remember, and remind all about just how stupid people can be. Brad

 

Geez Brad, you're so far beyond probation, shunning and such that they are probably considering banishment but have nothing left to banish you from. Although I see a different approach coming in the near future. Something along the line of, "Hey Brad good to see you again. It's been a while but as we've always held you in high regard we thought perhaps you might be willing to see if you could set up a meeting for us with you and Mr Fishburn before we have have to start dealing with those idiots from Texas again." The future is always interesting unless your the one always apologizing for your previous stupidity as I see some ATA fellows might be doing.

 

The problem is the ATA, EC, and relocation committee fail to recognize the fact that they made a mistake and feel its all the members fault for not showing up and supporting them in their decision, they have an insider telling them to not worry all is well and the State of Illinois is only in a power struggle over the budget ... There are mounting law suits against the State of Illinois Lottery for not paying the winners their due and the system is broke (as in "NO MONEY" honey) and the States budget deficit is standing at $12.5 Billion dollars and mounting ... I hear there are some great recipes for "Crow" but none that do not leave an after taste ... "The ATA owes it to their members to have a grand" (quoted from Lynn (the Talking Head ) Gipson) in one of his interviews,and they have high hopes it will be in Sparta for many years to come ... I have seen a few statements as of late by Lynn Gipson and it appears the drugs from the kool aid are wearing off when he said "nobody wants to work their asses off to break even" or as the case with the WSRC ( lose $1.9 million annually) to provide a play ground for trap shooters ... The State has tabulated the revenues to be" less than 1/2 of the Stated 10/12 $ million dollars brought into the local economy and region from the grand" per their web site ... My up graded new and improved WalMart calculator does not come close to those figures but they have good calculators and are probably more accurate when all is said and done ... The dismal performance of such an outstanding facility (WSRC) has everyone scratching their heads and other places as they patiently wait for the word that all is well in Fantasy Land and they are back on track heading in a "Fantastic Direction" once again, till the next time ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

llinois comptroller: cash crunch will delay pension payments

By Karen PierogOctober 14, 2015 4:25 PM

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By Karen Pierog


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois will have to delay a $560 million November payment to its pension funds, and may also delay or reduce a similar payment in December, state Comptroller Leslie Munger said on Wednesday, blaming a cash crunch stemming from the state's budget impasse.

"The fact is that our state simply does not have the revenue to meet its obligations," Munger told a news conference in Chicago.

Despite the delay, state pension funds will be paid in full by the time fiscal 2016 ends on June 30 using money from heftier revenue months in the spring, she said. Illinois has the worst-funded pensions and lowest credit ratings among the 50 states.

The state is making monthly payments on bonds, which are a top priority for the limited state dollars, according to Munger. She said her office is also required under 14 court orders and federal consent decrees to make payroll and pay for certain healthcare and social services at fiscal 2015 funding levels even though fiscal 2016 revenue will be $5 billion less due to lower income tax rates that took effect on Jan. 1.

Munger urged the governor and state lawmakers to approve a budget that would allow Illinois to regain its fiscal footing.

The battle between Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and

Democrats who control the legislature has left Illinois without

a budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1.

The pension delay underscores the severity of Illinois' fiscal crisis, which has been exacerbated by the lack of a state budget.

Illinois' debt service payments on bonds total $3.4 billion

in fiscal 2016, while payments to its five retirement systems

total $6.8 billion, according to a May budget analysis by the

Chicago-based Civic Federation.

A spokesman for the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), the largest of the state's five pension funds, said the delayed payments would not affect the $46 billion pension fund’s operations or imperil the distribution of annuities to the 103,000 retired teachers now drawing pension checks.

"If they say we’ll get the money by the end of the year, that’s terrific,” TRS spokesman Dave Urbanek told Reuters. “We have enough money on hand in the trust fund now to pay all the pension payments."

He added that the fund will probably have to sell "a few more assets" to bolster cash flow going forward than it had planned.




As the World turns, it just don't get any better ... Petition the State to open the WSRC right now if not sooner ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

I'm starting to be depressed. I've tried to get some action from the kool aid drinkers the last couple weeks to no avail. I'm putting out a "silver alert" for bigdon and greentitian and an amber alert for hunter44, what am I going to do this winter for entertainment. The quiet is deafening. Of course I can understand why they don't want to be on here, these guys should know how that Michigan punter feels. Bigdon should be happy about that.

I want to commend everyone on here that's putting out newspaper articles and such. Words mean things, facts mean things, and it appears that reality is starting to mean things but I'm afraid we may have over fished the pond. Remember buy those lotto tickets. Brad

 

Does "ATA Lives Matter"?

 

Brad, you might want to keep your schedule flexible for the next couple months. I see questions directed at you pretty soon. Questions like, How many more fields can he put in? How many camping spots did you say he had? Definently see a increased interest in the state of Ohio from the same people who have always been able to make a decent decision after their initial ten or twelve decisions went to shit.

 

Seitz9010, Questions like you speak may have already been asked, and more than once. The thing about questions sometimes the asker doesn't like the answer or the price, though not financial, is one to hard for the asker to swallow. Brad

 

Very true. I can tell you for sure there is a growing number of shooters who really don't care about Sparta anymore. The drama, the inconvenience, the raised prices and other things have really dampened the enthusiasm. Even if the Sparta mess is cleared up some have already decided on a different shooting schedule next year. Actually to the benefit of some of the smaller but we'll run shoots. You really can wear shooters out and the ATA and Illinois are doing a great job of it. The group of shooter I hang with will not be at Sparta next year but they will be at the CC for their first time. Things change over time and I think the number of shooters that would support a new location for the Grand is growing quickly and steadily.

 

I was up at the club and was talking to a few of the shooters who made the trek to the grand on and off for the past several years, not one of them will be going back if the shoot stays in Sparta after all of the drama, confusion, and increased prices ... They all said the facility was exceptional but not worth all of the added driving and hours getting back and forth ... Not one committed to going back again if it was free ( I seriously doubt that) but that is what they had said in the course of conversation ... There were numerous comments about the HOF building and not one person seemed to be impressed, actually thought it was more of a joke than a planned project ... There were probably a dozen shooters talking and laughing about Lynn (The Talking Head) Gipson and his comments about the "Fantastic Direction" and amount of money generated by the facility when there is nothing to spend that amount of money on in the area ... It will be interesting to see what the State of Illinois does but I have serious doubts that many who have been there will go back after all of the BS ... I had it on my bucket list, not to shoot, but to just check it out so I guess I can cross that one off and more it to the "Who Cares Column" ... I got many compliments on my posts which kind of surprised me, and they are all now on this site rather than the dark side with the kool aid drinkers ... Funny how things get around and how quickly ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Ok guys, keep looking, the other players must be here somewhere?