Woolston: Success of Zerkapalooza proves people don't want hearing

How does Mike Woolston know that the citizens of Joplin do not want him to have to go through a hearing in which it is determined if he committed ethical violations and should be removed from the City Council?

He saw the proof on Main Street last weekend.

"The apparent success of Zerkapalooza event by private citizens this weekend is an indication of the desire of our citizens to move forward," Woolston told the City Council Monday night.

Woolston did not elaborate on how he reached that conclusion. Some possibilities:

-The appearance of "Free Woolston" bumper stickers at Zerkapalooza, though reports indicate there was an equal number of "Nothing is Free With Woolston" bumper stickers.

-Woolston saw many people not moving backwards and naturally assumed that they wanted to move forward.

-A man looking suspiciously like Woolston worked his way through the crowds saying, "I can tell you one thing about Mike Woolston. He never bought any property from known gamblers 20 years ago. And that wasn't the dog on my lap when I was driving downtown. Wait a minute, let me rephrase that. The Joplin Globe loves me. Let's move forward."

The accompanying video picks up the City Council meeting right at the time Councilman Ben Rosenberg read the list of charges against Woolston, The hearing is scheduled for next Monday, August 31, at City Hall.

***
A signing for Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud: Greed, Corruption,and the Joplin Tornado, which details activities of Mike Woolston during the time in question, will be held 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Always Buying Books. The book is available locally at Always Buying Books, Changing Hands Book Shoppe, and The Book Guy in Joplin, Pat's Books in Carthage, and Cato's Connection in Lamar. It is also available in e-book and paperback formats from Amazon.com.