LYONS – Jonathan Todd, one of the leaders in developing ecological waste water treatment systems and cutting edge water purification technology, toured Lyons on Oct. 17 and did a public presentation on his Eco-Machine technology for the public at the town board meeting.

Todd’s systems look like greenhouses. In Todd’s power point presentation, people were seen touring several of the facilities where it was obvious there was no odor and the places were lush with plants.

LYONS – Although Main Street Programs are not a new idea, they are gaining popularity because towns see that the programs can revitalize downtown areas, and merchants find that there is strength in numbers.

Recently Jacque Watson, Lyons economic development and community relations manager, presented some of the ideas behind the Main Street Program to the town board. A meeting to explain the concepts behind the Main Street Program will be held from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on October 27 at the town hall. The meeting is open to the public, merchants and all interested parties. An earlier meeting for stakeholders which includes downtown property owners, merchants, vendors and business people in the downtown area will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on October 27 at the town hall.

LYONS – Although it is not as high-profile as other issues, one of the main responsibilities of local government is keeping public infrastructure in good working order. Most folks don’t spend much time thinking about the condition of our water pipes (unless one breaks on your property) or the roads (unless there are big potholes on the street where you live). With keen competition for budget resources, maintenance is often neglected in favor of other budget priorities. The problem is that skimping on maintenance now ends up costing you more over the long term.

LYONS – The Upholstery Shop, 401 Main St., will soon have a new business in the front of the shop called the Orchard. Georgia English, shop owner, is about to launch the Orchard on November 12 after she does a little remodeling on her upholstery shop located behind the Art Bank on Fourth Avenue.

The new shop will have handmade leather bags, creams and lotions, throw pillows, towels, handmade jewelry by three different jewelers, some furniture from the Upholstery Shop and some of English’s handmade clothing designs. There will be hats, belt buckles, glassware and many other items. A grand opening for the new shop will be held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday Nov. 12.

LYONS – The goal is good food fast at a decent price. Oh, and ice cream. The soon-to-be Lyons Dairy Bar, in the former Dairy Lite location at the Village Central Shopping Center in east Lyons, has been percolating in the minds of Juli and Kenyon Waugh for many years.

The idea was planted in Kenyon’s mind long ago, when his grandfather operated a Dairy Bar off his Pennsylvania dairy farm and was successful at it for 50 years. It was called the Good News Dairy Bar. Although now Kenyon has an MBA and sells satellite imagery, he has never lost sight of the restaurant business.

LYONS – The Wall Street protest movement is sweeping around the globe gathering followers and strength. Despite differences from place to place the protests share frustration with banks, corporations and the widening gap between rich and poor. No one knows where it is all headed but it seems certain to affect us even here in sheltered little Lyons.

At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, this once again raises the age-old debate between capitalism and socialism; individualism and collectivism. And, it comes at a time when the traditional role of local government in economic development is being seriously challenged.

PUEBLO — I awoke in a cold sweat one night last week. I’d had a terrible dream about federal spending cuts vs. tax increases on millionaires.

What made the dream terrible and brought on the cold sweat, however, wasn’t the still-rotten state of the economy or the trench warfare each party has adopted with regard to how to make things right. Nor was it the “occupy” protestors across the nation, or all the millionaires and corporations that pay no income taxes.

Rather, it was that, in the dream, I found myself agreeing with Bill O’Reilly. Yes, that’s right. I was agreeing the often-obnoxious Bill O’Reilly, the guy who tells other people to shut up rather than acknowledge that their opinions are equal to or in any way superior to his own.

LYONS – If you are in the market for a rare, hand-built custom steel-framed belt-driven single speed mountain bike that loves tough terrain then head to Redstone Cyclery in Lyons. If this bike jargon isn’t making sense Dave Chase, proprietor of Redstone simply explains it this way: “It’s a badass bike.”