Services
Weekly Update #230 6/16/2024 to 6/22/2024
It is amazing when you realize how long some services have been taking care of our community. Before that let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, outside factors win the moment. That happened this week with the ribbon cutting at Westside Park. We had a chance to celebrate the investment with all our partners, from state to local as we officially opened several playgrounds and the future use of a splash pad. We would have loved to allow the kids to play in the splash pad, but the electronics that control it didn’t allow us to. We believe all the controllers have been sorted out and are now talking to each other properly so the water can be kept at a quality that will soon allow the splash pad fun to begin. This didn’t stop us from celebrating with the help of the Fraternal Order of Police serving free hot dogs, sno cones, and nachos to everyone in attendance. The kids enjoyed the bouncy house and the new playground and had a good time celebrating with Park and Recreation.
This week, we finally seemed to make some progress on the transfer station project we have been working on for over a year. As we worked through some questions and found some answers, and sent back other pieces for review, we are almost ready to submit updated plans again. I would say stay tuned, but it seems every step is measured in months instead of days. Thank you to everyone who has been plugging away at this project; it is appreciated.
This week, I was invited by Governor Holcomb’s office to attend the Hoosier Huddle. This was a chance to attend educational sessions and meet with state and local leaders to discuss the state’s Next Level Playbook and focus on some of the state's hopes for 2024. Two of the sessions I had a chance to sit in on, that I have been focused on for several years, were housing and substance use disorder related, and I walked away from both with new information to follow up on for future conversations.
This week, one of my stops was for Meals on Wheels, as I attended their volunteer appreciation picnic. I can remember when I was a kid and my grandmother would have a random person I had never met deliver food to her house. I would usually ask something like any kid of single digit age would do like “Who was that?” after they left. She would tell me that it was Meals on Wheels and that they brought food to help out seniors. I never really thought much about it as a kid. This memory came rushing back as I learned that, here in Seymour, Meals on Wheels will be celebrating 50 years later this year. For 50 years they have been helping seniors with a meal and a few minutes of company since the early 1970s here in our area, helping seniors stay at home longer by helping keep them fed. Volunteers have been helping their friends, neighbors, and even complete strangers for half a century. Today, I will leave you with a quote from Canadian curler Sherry Anderson, "Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless."