**City Council Spends $50,000 on a Giant 'Phoenix' Statue While Our Kids Play in Broken Parks**
OH, for crying out loud. Just saw the city’s new budget update. They’ve approved a $50,000 steel “phoenix” sculpture for the roundabout near Main Street. Meanwhile, the basketball court at the community center still has a hoop that’s been hanging by one rusted chain for two months. My neighbor’s kid slipped and almost cracked his head open on the cracked asphalt last week. It’s not a monument we need; it’s common sense. We need the roads patched and the playground swings fixed. But no, let’s blow the cash on a giant bird for the pigeons to roost on. Maybe that phoenix can rise from the ashes of our school budget cuts, because common sense sure didn’t.