I would like to thank Lisa Phelps for her article (“The snowball”) in last week’s paper. Many things were said at the last council meeting in Guernsey. Some things were said during the meeting and much more after it was adjourned. Lisa mention that “the lifeblood of the community is at stake, and if people aren’t careful, the fabric that holds us together can be shredded with unkind or thoughtless words.” I am not sure if any of us could have said it better.
Once those words are spoken, you cannot take them back. We all need to take a look at the entire picture of what will be affected in our little corner of the world. The grocery store closing has made a difference in all of our lives. Not just that we have to go out of town to buy our basic foods but how will this affect our senior citizens, our young families, those that have lost jobs, our schools, the ability to grow our community and our real estate values.

Rev. Elizabeth Morgan gave a message at last year’s Baccalaureate event that is a harsh reminder of just how our words can change the direction of an event. I will quote some of her message to our graduates last year: “You don’t need me to remind you that we are living in a difficult and broken world. Anger is everywhere, and it often seems as if people have forgotten how to get along with one another. These days it doesn’t take much for the smallest disagreement to escalate into a war of words and worse. The scary thing is, it’s very easy for our words to become weapons.”
We are resilient. Can we also be forgiving? I pray we can move forward and work together for the good of the entire community.

Penny Wells
Guernsey