Commencement
Weekly Update #225 5/12/2024 to 5/18/2024
With two graduations in as many weeks and Seymour High School's ceremony coming up next weekend, commencement is on my mind. Before we start on that though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
Paving season is upon us with road closures starting to expand as they pick up steam. West Second Street will start to have some lane closures on or after May 20th and continue throughout the warm weather as the project gets fully underway. Everything prior to June 3rd should be shorter closures as they complete utility work. After June 3rd closures will then be longer as they try to get the intersection of Community and 2nd completed over the summer months before heading back to school in August. Much like the Highway 50 work a few years ago, it will be a headache as they work on it, but will be nice when they get it done. Remember to be safe as you travel around worksites so everyone has a chance to get home at the end of the day.
I hope you had a chance to attend the first City Jam concert of the year hosted by Seymour Main Street. The concert series runs on the third Thursday of each month through September and brings in regional acts for the community to enjoy. With Sounds of Summer kicking things off I can only imagine the rest of the series will be a good time. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this month as I was helping on another project that night and will share more later in the update about that. To all the volunteers who make this series happen, thank you for your hard work and dedication.
Recently, Seymour Parks and Recreation received a Jackson County Visitors Center grant to help on a three-year lighting plan the park board committed to earlier this year. The overall project will update existing lights at ball fields and the city pool with LED fixtures and add lighting at Freeman Field Recreational area so fall soccer doesn’t finish in the dark as it has the last few years. While the investment isn’t small, the cost savings will be substantial over the years to come. Thank you to the Visitors Center board for the grant. It will be well used.
Speaking of Parks and Recreation, the project I mentioned a few paragraphs ago was helping to get paint on the floor of the pool before the rain came on Friday morning. It amazed me how much difference it made, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like underwater very soon. The pool staff worked to prep everything before the two and half days of filling happens early next week. Just in case you are curious, Seymour City Pool holds roughly 550,000 gallons of water. The new kiddy area is set to open along with the main pool next weekend, weather and some final inspections permitting. Shout out to all the staff that make the pool a possibility each year as it takes many faces to get it ready and keep it open.
Commencement is often considered the end as in a commencement ceremony where graduates are given a diploma or degree. Often though, you will hear a speaker talk about the beginning. Congratulations to all who have recently or will soon receive their diplomas or degrees. Today though, I think about the beginning. The beginning of summer with all sorts of new options in our parks: several new playgrounds are ready for summer fun, the start of pool season at Shields Park with a new kiddy area, and the soon-to-open splash pad at Westside park. These are just a few that come to mind. I hope you will take a chance to visit all our area parks this summer and see what is new and which updates you like the most. Today, I will leave you with a three word Mark Twain quote and encourage you to think about our parks system as you read it, "Explore. Dream. Discover."