On our back page, you’ll see a photo feature that chronicles a very clever engagement scheme that John Wells managed to pull off on his girlfriend Friday afternoon. With so many people “in” on the secret plan, we all wondered if she might get wind of it before we could actually make it happen. But she was very surprised when she saw the big sign hanging on the bridge and it was a lot of fun to witness. They haven’t set a date yet, although they’re talking about next July. Congratulations to John and Cassie--and I hope your marriage is as successful as your engagement!

Now...on to a bit of a more serious issue. While I was in Nashville, someone e-mailed me and asked if I had seen the comments on Facebook regarding the pros and cons of living in Guernsey these days. For those of you who may not be familiar with Facebook, it is basically like a big room with a whole bunch of individual chalk boards. If we have accepted each other as friends, we can read each other’s boards. As time progresses, there are more and more comments to read on your chalkboard as people write to you and you write to them. If one person makes a statement, everyone else can comment and then all the comments are linked to that original statement.

In this particular case, the original statement was made in regard to a personnel situation with the Town of Guernsey. It basically stated that Guernsey was a pretty lousy place to live. Within less than a day, there were 21 additional comments made by others, mostly by peole who live here currently or have lived here previously. After several very negative and frankly, ignorant remarks about the community and work that’s been done to improve it, I was relieved to see that a few others spoke up about the positives and defended some of the attacks.

Now I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion about things and my experiences aren’t necessarily the same as others are, nor are theirs the same as mine when it comes to living here. But one thing that certainly caught my attention was the fact that the names in front of some of the most critical comments about the town’s government and the town’s projects and activities are names I have NEVER seen on a political ballot, a volunteer list for anything or even a letter to the editor. And based on their comments, I got the distinct impression that they don’t feel like they matter or that their opinions matter and I find that very disturbing. Every person in this community has the right to speak up and be heard, provided they do it in an acceptable, respectful manner. But it isn’t just about speaking up. It’s about following through to get the results. We don’t all have the same ideas or goals, nor should we. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work together. I can’t even count the number of times we’ve asked for volunteers to help with projects--not just after all the parameters have been decided but well before, in the planning stages. If you don’t want to be a part of the community and help make it a better place, that’s your choice. But don’t whine about how it’s all so wrong if you’re not willing to lend a hand to help. Based on some of the comments, you would think that there are perfect communities out there and it’s just a matter of moving. Hmmm...interesting idea. These days, when I don’t know about something, I get on the computer and “google” it. So I decided to google Perfect Places to Live. And guess what came up? Nothing within those search terms. In fact, I only know of one place that’s perfect to live, and you have to die to get there so I’m not sure that’s a great option, at least right now.

If you’re not satisfied with the way things are here, then you have at least two choices. You can get up and away from the computer for a while and spend some time volunteering to help make this a better community. If that isn’t the option you’re looking for--then here’s another observation I’ve made. U.S. Highway 26 not only runs into town but it runs out as well. Get on it and get going. And good luck on finding that perfect place to live. You’d better have plenty of money though because you’re gonna be on the road awhile.

We’ve got an election coming up very soon. I hope the voters in Guernsey will take a serious look at what’s been accomplished in this community over the past three years because it’s substantial. And it hasn’t just all been the obvious, cosmetic projects. Much has been done on sewer and water projects. The police department has upgraded all the ordinances and is working on some special grant funding. And one thing I’ve noticed about this council in particular is that despite the fact that they don’t agree on everything, they do work together well and they can agree to disagree without holding personal grudges. Frankly, I think they do a better job of that than many of the councils we’ve had in the 25 years I’ve lived here. This is not to say that new people won’t do the same--that’s not my point. But I think we do have to recognize the fact that we don’t have continual conflict. I have been to council meetings in the past 10 years that were very uncomfortable, simply because of the tension between individuals up front. When we have people who can’t get along in the most basic of situations, how much do you think they’re going to accomplish when they have to deal with bigger issues? Conversely, I don’t think we should assume that because someone’s not extremely vocal that they aren’t good for the town or aren’t contributing. Still waters can run very deep.

The best thing we can do is attend the candidate forums and ask questions. Find out what the candidates stand for--what they want to do--what do they bring to the table that can help all of us? We have some excellent choices but we need to be informed to make the best decision. Save the date--August 12--and plan to attend.

Have a great week and be good to each other.

For the complete article see the 07-27-2010 issue.

Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 07-27-2010 paper.