Small town values

There have been a lot of accusations about conspiracies and underhanded dealings going on with the city council here of late. As a point of discussion, I would like to offer up a discussion of what people in the town think of the phrase that greets visitors and residents as they come into town.

What does the phrase, "Small town values, Big time opportunities" mean to you.
Anonymous posting will be allowed for this question, but the answers will be posted only if they reflect what the values are, not what they are not.

To me, small town values are reflected in neighbors who greet each other with a hearty, "Hello," or, "Howdy neighbor." People who are genuinely interested in the state of their neighborhood and community, and those who seek to educate their neighbors about the benefits and costs of policies in an open, frank and respectful manner. Small town values also means that differences are resolved, even it it means two people can disagree about a subject, but appreciate and respect the difference and maintain respect for one another.

Big time opportunities means creating an atmosphere of commerce, choice and business opportunities that foster employment stability, and and a desire to attract others to join our community. Big time opportunities means having increased employment diversity and solid educational opportunities that foster curiosity and entrepreneurship and create a desire to remain in the community with a sense of desire to build it up.

In a larger sense, the two concepts work hand in hand. When a solid basis of trust and community exists, many good things are possible. It is possible to have a strong sense of pride in one's community and have a reasonable disagreement over policy choices without losing one's sense of belonging, or without the need for non-positive interactions.

We have seen enough virulence in recent weeks over policy choices or the manner in which those policies have been shepherded through local government. Let's all take a brief step back, given the knowledge that has come forth at last week's council meeting and take a more productive, and less inflammatory approach to solving the issues that confront our community. I believe that enough people out there would rather seek a conciliatory tone than one that appears to be increasingly more divisive and non-collegial.

I don't know why the signs were put up at the entrances to the city, but I am sure we can do more to live up to the credo contained upon them. What do you think?

Micheal Rowland