This has been in the works for a while, but appears a Route 66 museum will be installed at the historic Jasper County Courthouse in Carthage, Mo., by sometime next year, according to the Carthage Press.

Eric Kellstadt, senior transportation planner with the Joplin office of the Missouri Department of Transportation, said MoDOT auditors and attorneys have reviewed the contract between the department, Brad Belk, who will be assembling the display, and Jasper County.

Belk, director of the Joplin Museum Complex, said his attorney was reviewing the contract, and he hoped to present it to the Jasper County Commission for their review on Friday. [...]

Belk said he’s planning an exhibit that is more than just a case of artifacts, but until the contract is signed he can’t even make plans for the display. The Jasper County Courthouse and Beautification Board will likely participate in planning the exhibit.

The MoDOT apparently is being deliberate about the grant because it’s never given money for a museum before. It wants to make sure its p’s and q’s are in place before proceeding.

Route 66 News usually doesn’t post news about murders, shootings and other run-of-the-mill police matters along the Mother Road.

But this incident on Route 66 in Pontiac, Ill., is too bizarre to ignore. From the Bloomington Pantagraph:

PONTIAC — No foul play is suspected in the death of a 54-year-old man whose decapitated body was found in a tow truck early Thursday.

His name won’t be released until relatives are notified, said Livingston County Coroner Michael Burke.

The truck was found near the intersection of Routes 116 and 66 after bystanders called police about 4:30 a.m. to report the truck moving erratically. A chain was dragging from the rear.

Police found the man’s body in the truck, which had ended up in a ditch. His head was in a nearby parking lot.

Police Commander Jim Woolford said a 911 caller reported the truck had left the parking lot of S&R Route 66 Auto Center, 1026 W. Reynolds St., traveled east in the parking lot of Super Gyros, 1024 W. Reynolds St., and then hit a sign before crossing Route 66 and going down the embankment of Mike’s Glass Plus.

WJBC radio is treating the death as a suicide, as this excerpt makes apparent:

A similar suicide was reported in the Livingston County community of Manville two years ago. In that case, A Chicago man strapped a cable around his neck and drove while the other end was attatched to a guardrail.

I’m not completely counting out a freak accident, but WJBC’s hunch is probably on the mark.

I feel sorry for the cop or coroner who had to deal with this grisly scene.

UPDATE: The Peoria Journal-Star also is reporting it as a suicide.

An employee of S&R Route 66 Auto Center tied one end of a cable to a sign in front of the business and the other around his neck, then got in his tow truck and popped the clutch around 4:30 a.m. today, S&R owner Jeff Semmens said. [...]

“He was a pretty good guy,” Semmens said of the man who had worked for him for about four years. “It really freaks me out - I can’t think of why he’d want to do this.”

UPDATE 12/4/07: WJBC radio reports that the county coroner confirmed the death was a suicide. The victim also was legally intoxicated at the time.

The Urban Land Institute gave the city of San Bernardino, Calif., some suggestions on how to revitalize its downtown. The suggestions ran the gamut of more green spaces, denser development and mixed use of residential, retail and office development, among other ideas.

Not all of the city’s aldermen agreed, and provided the San Bernardino County Sun their own ideas.

Fifth Ward Councilman Chas Kelly had what I considered to be the most intriguing suggestion:

“The city is known for two things - one is crime, unfortunately. The second thing is Route 66 (Rendezvous). It’s a tremendously successful event. It puts this city on the map every year.

We’re successful once a year, why just stop? The solution for downtown is to capitalize on the success of Route 66 year-round. You hold a weekend event once a month. One weekend could be a Corvette weekend, one a low-rider weekend, one a Harley Davidson weekend.

What do these weekend activities do for downtown? It brings people to the inner part of the city. Currently, there’s not an abundance of restaurants, there’s really nothing to do in the inner part of the city. There’s the California Theatre and Cinemastar, that’s it.

These weekend automotive events will attract more restaurants. It will also attract specialty shops that deal with vintage and specialty automobiles. When you have a year-round venue downtown it creates something that is going on, it creates activity.

If you did that, 10 years from now downtown will be thriving. You won’t see anymore empty shops downtown. The events will create synergy by attracting other businesses to capitalize on downtown crowds.

The opportunities are endless for downtown. The city can partner with big car clubs to help market the city and get the word out on what’s happening here.

It could put us on the map as a tourist destination and the tourists that come in will spend their money here, fill our hotels and restaurants, and the tax dollars stay local.”

So … what do you think?