Who knew naming a street after an astronaut would be so difficult? That’s the gist of a Burlington (Iowa) Hawk Eye article about a city council meeting in that small Mississippi River city that took up the issue of renaming a street after STS-114 pilot, and Burlington native, Jim Kelly. The council seemed all set to rename an existing street, Mason Road, to Kelly Way, until a councilmember objected that the street was named after a former chief justice of the territorial court in the early 19th century. With the possibility that a street in a new subdivision will be named after him, the council voted to table the renaming resolution until January, much to the disappointment of one councilman. “It’s giving an honor to a gentleman from Burlington who, at the wish of his government, got thrown off this planet twice,” said Mike Campbell. (“Thrown off?” Oh, whatever…) He added the he believes that if Kelly had attended the hearing in person, as was rumored, the street would have been renamed.
