Keep Love
Weekly Update #218 3/24/2024 to 3/30/2024
This week, I saw the joys of finding an Easter Egg in the eyes of children and adults alike. Before that though, let me share some of the positives from my week serving as mayor of Seymour.
This week, I spent a morning with Seymour Fire Department as they went about their usual tasks. Besides having a great breakfast, I had a chance to sit in on their monthly meeting with Jackson County EMS, where they reviewed some of last month's runs, how they were handled, and what could have been done differently to improve the quality of care on future runs. It was interesting to see the two who work together every day come together as they do each month for the betterment of emergency medical services in our area. Thank you to both groups for the work that you do and the care that you provide in our community.
Twenty-nine times we have had the Good Friday Prayer Breakfast here in Seymour. The mayor has served as the master of ceremonies during the event over the years, and this year was my fifth year being the MC. With an assortment of pastors from around the area it is always interesting to hear the different styles unfold for those in attendance. We were also blessed with hymns from the Lutheran Men’s Chorus during the event. For those in attendance, I hope you enjoyed the start to your Friday and that it helped set the tone for your Easter weekend. Thank you to everyone who has participated past and present because the event would not happen without your help.
As I sit down to write this week's update I could have chosen to skip over the council meeting, but it and the actions of some after it have been a big part of the week. The meeting itself was a chance for the community to join in the conversation that is our future. Some came with good questions that led to follow-up conversations on various topics. If I said I wasn’t disappointed, it would be a lie. I expected most of what we saw unfold. I also expected the council to propose something that would dive into the Brookings Study and bring forth what they see as good pieces and oppose that which they see as otherwise. Instead, what was presented was a resolution that blanket cancels the work put in by the around 100 residents involved in the study and city support of the 19 area organizations who were trying to explore the ideas presented in the 13 tasks in the study and instead “exploring alternative economic development strategies.” Perhaps council will change its view and dive into the study to see the many good pieces presented from community input that led to its release back in September of 2023. Perhaps they won’t, and we will wait six to twelve months as new alternative options are explored and funding secured to redo work that was already funded by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation via the State of Indiana during the Brookings Study. Only time will tell, but until I hear otherwise, I will move on and keep working on our usual areas like public safety, roads, and sewers like we do on a regular basis.
Happy Easter, everyone, this week I watched as kids young and old smiled and laughed hunting Easter Eggs at events big and small. I even heard as someone shared at city hall about rarely getting eggs as a kid. Then a coworker went on to hide eggs around the office to give them a smile and a chance to find them now as an adult. I also had a few moments this week that are what I call God winks where in the chaos I found random comments or references to scripture that were what I needed to read when I needed to read them. One of those was this from Oscar Wilde, "Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and a richness to life that nothing else can bring."