www.JohnAry.com

I’m selling all sorts of stuff before Stacey and I make the big move to Austin.  Make me an offer on any of this fine merchandise and I’ll probably say yes.

  

A friend of mine told me I had to meet James, the owner of Shawnee Auto Trim over at 1019 West 6th Street. He builds dinosaurs out of unwanted or recycled automotive upholstery. I swung by his workshop for a look at his work and was blown away. The 1/2 scale flying dinosaur was the first piece to catch my eye. He then showed me the head piece to a giant Stegosaurus model he’s also working on. Mr. Boydston has several pieces completed that will soon go on display in a new museum in Paxico.

As a young professional living in Topeka, I see the vital role downtown plays in retaining young people and creating public pride. I believe that downtown is a clear reflection of what a community thinks about itself. Our streets and infrastructure in the Capital District have been left unattended and now cause distress for business owners (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=601066132079) and apathy among life-long Topekans. We’ve witnessed an emerging renaissance in the last 2-3 years as community members continue to invest their time and money into downtown, because they see the vital role it will play in the future of Topeka. Mars North America sited downtown revitalization in their press conference as one of the reasons they’re building a new plant here (http://youtu.be/YIQ2xbMn-LU?hd=1). When Topekans were polled in February, they overwhelming supported redeveloping the Capital District (http://youtu.be/xWTL5A4AhFA?hd=1). We want a vibrant downtown.

Please support efforts to evolve our downtown. Please approve funding to conduct the first phase of revitalization in downtown Topeka. Thank you for your time and service to Topeka.

Sincerely,

John Ary