Smile
Weekly Update 1/1/2023 to 1/7/2023 #154
Have you ever seen something that just makes you smile and continue to smile later as you think about it? Before I share a recent moment though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best smalltown in America.
This past week was the first Mayor’s Youth Council meeting of 2023. They had a chance to learn about Child Care Network and the new child care center that is opening this week. The definition of a childcare desert is three children for every seat that is available. Jackson County was above the seven-to-one range as work was underway to launch the current project. It is always fun to watch as the kids ask questions and learn about our community. Thank you, Child Care Network Executive Director Kate Garrity, for the tour and for sharing your knowledge with the next generation of leaders.
Wednesday, January 4 the city team gave a presentation to the Indiana Department of Transportation. We have done similar presentations for several years. This year, we presented the final phases of O’Brien Street on the north side. O’Brien from 4th Street south is part of the 2020 and 2022 awards that we received and are working on currently. The total project cost is pretty close to $11.25 million and is an 80/20 grant. This is another chance for us to bring tax dollars that will be spent somewhere on roadways home to Seymour to make our community better. While we are on the topic of roads and grants, we also submitted our Crossroads Community Matching Grant a few days later. This work submittal was for $2.3 million and is a 50/50 grant of up to $1 million in matching dollars. While we are not guaranteed any awards, we are always hopeful that our efforts will receive at least a portion of our requests. Thank you to everyone on the team that puts in countless hours preparing to apply and even more hours each year managing the projects when we do receive grants. We could not do it without your hard work.
Wednesday, I also took a few hours off to submit my paperwork as a candidate seeking reelection as Mayor of Seymour. Even with all the headaches serving as mayor can give me, I truly have loved working with so many great people over the last three years and look forward to the opportunity to serve again.
Each of the previous paragraphs has had something that makes me smile as I look back, but that isn’t what I was referring to in the first paragraph. Saturday was the Seymour Noon Lions Club 40th Annual Special Olympics Basketball Tourney. As a volunteer with Jackson County Special Olympics and a member of the Seymour Noon Lions, it was easy for me to get involved. After helping set up, fellow Lion Curt Staley and I claimed our table to keep score on the 5 on 5 games. Midday, we got split up as I was asked to officiate 3 on 3. As much fun as I have working with Curt, I am glad that I had a chance to get to see #5 from Lawrence County play a few games with a center-court view. This young man didn’t score many points, but everything he did he did it with a smile. When he did score, he came back with an even bigger smile. Just typing the last couple of sentences brings a smile back to my face. Today, I want to leave you with a quote from Marilyn Monroe that maybe #5 has figured out already at a young age; "Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about."