‘No Thanks’ On Skydiving Trip
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
Don’t mention this to Don Dalrymple, but I’m thinking about chickening—er, I mean backing—out of a planned skydiving trip later this month. It sounded good when I half-heartedly committed back in a February column. Don had issued a dare—or maybe a challenge—for me to jump out of an airplane.
“It would be great—and a business expense for the newspaper—if you write about it,” Don argued.
I’ve written before about the octogenarian’s skydiving adventures—two of them, to be exact. One when he turned 80, and again at 85. I also shared a photo when he bought a Corvette convertible earlier this year. It’s hard to describe Don, but the shirt he was wearing when he dropped by the office Tuesday morning helps. It was ordered from Temu and reads: “I MAY BE WRONG BUT ITS HIGHLY UNLIKEY.” The typos on the cheap, China-made shirt makes it even better, Don declared.
Back to skydiving. I decided last month I was out on this adventure after reading about a skydiving plane crash in Tennessee shortly after takeoff. The incident occurred on June 8 with 20 people onboard, including crew. It hit the ground hard—one wing snapped clean off, the nose was crumpled, and debris was scattered everywhere. There were several serious injuries, but miraculously no fatalities.
I’m not sure if the crash involved the same skydiving outfit Don and his son have used in the past, but from what I’ve read, many planes used for skydiving are older models. And besides, I know my wife wouldn’t be thrilled about the plan—at least I hope she’d object!
Moving on, the first Board of Aldermen meeting of the new term was held Tuesday night, shortly after we put this edition to bed. There’s been a lot of buzz lately about the challenges ahead, especially for the city’s electric department, which I expect to be a top item on the agenda.
Revenue from the electric department has helped subsidize other city operations for years. Now, it seems the consensus is shifting toward retaining some of that money to reinvest in the power grid. From what I hear, over $600,000 is transferred out of the electric department each year.
This payment, known as a payment in lieu of taxes (PILT), is based on the taxable value of the electric grid. If I understand it correctly, the electric department is already paying the maximum allowed under this formula. Going forward, the challenge will be weaning the city off that money. I think that’s going to be priority one—and it’s a good move. Stay tuned.
