Question of the Week: Earthquake: rock your world or just a snoozer?

By DUANE NOLLEN
The Oskaloosa Herald

OSKALOOSA April 21, 2008 04:14 pm

— By an almost 2-1 ratio, those readers who answered this past week’s Question of the Week: What will you do with the economic stimulus check? SPEND IT or SAVE IT, answered SAVE IT.
Thirteen — 37.14 percent — said SPEND IT while 22 — 62.86 percent — answered SAVE IT.
The Question of the Week poll is not scientific and only reflects the opinions of those Internet users who have chosen to participate. The Question of the Week is just another way the Herald’s readers can voice their opinions about issues that affect them.
This week’s Question of the Week deals with the earthquake in southeast Illinois.
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake centered near West Salem, Ill., shook the Midwest out of its nighttime slumber at 4:40 a.m. Friday. The earthquake could be felt as far away as Des Moines — 450 miles from the epicenter in southeast Illinois, the Associated Press reported.
I felt the tremor. I was semi-conscious — I did not want to admit to myself that I had awakened before my weekday 5 a.m. wakeup alarm — and I could feel my bed vibrate through the bed frame. I was wide awake then. However, nothing else in my bedroom shook.
The AP reported that the quake was a 5.4 magnitude, but later the U.S. Geological Survey revised its reading to 5.2. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the largest historical earthquake in the region — a magnitude 5.4 — caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.
What’s interesting is that the quake is fairly close to the New Madrid Fault that runs under the Mississippi River in the Southern Missouri-Tennessee-Kentucky area. I wonder if this is a precursor to something there or just an isolated event.
What do you think?
This week’s Question of the Week: Earthquake: rock your world or just a snoozer? Your choices: ROCK YOUR WORLD or SNOOZER.
People can vote on The Herald’s Web site, oskaloosa.com, from Monday through noon on Friday. Then, votes will be tallied and published the following Monday.