Scott Swanson
Here it is, the beginning of a new year. Seems like we just celebrated the start of 2007 but maybe I’m just getting old. My mother used to tell me that time speeds up as you get older (and, she neglected to add, busier).
So here we are, looking at a whole new year before us, a truly blank slate. As community journalists who spend a lot of time on the run, from this event to that, we don’t get a lot of down time to reflect on the future. But it will be interesting to see what happens this year.
I’ve been encouraged, which should not come as a shock to anyone who’s been reading this page in the last few months, by progress that’s been made in moving Sweet Home from a town decimated by the collapse of much of the local timber industry, almost 20 years ago, to a future that would leave it less dependent on the ups and downs of wood products supply and demand.
What happens will depend on us, though providence will certainly affect the outcome.
What are we going to do with this new year?
Here are a few resolutions, not so much for each of us personally, but for residents and business owners in the Sweet Home area corporately.
– Preserve public peace. When we open other area newspapers and read about some of the discord that’s happening, particularly in the next town down the road, we can only be happy that our local city officials and school district officials don’t play the same games. It hasn’t always been this way in Sweet Home, but right now we enjoy officials who carry out their public duties in a positive and forthright manner. We’re not talking about Yes Men (or women) here – that’s a danger too. We want officials who have backbone and who identify and solve problems. But they can do so without rancor and we appreciate that. Let’s make sure that continues.
– Promote public progress. The announcement last month that the Sweet Home Economic Development Group is working on closing a deal on the purchase of a permanent home for the Sweet Home Jamboree was good news for those of us who see the Jamboree as a key to continuing the climb up the ladder for Sweet Home.
So here’s hopes that things continue smoothly this year in the effort to get this show down the road. If Sweet Home can establish an entertainment venue that will draw people not only for future Jamborees but also for other events – musical or otherwise, that promises to be a foundation for other good things in this town. That’s why getting this building block into place is so crucial and why we residents and business owners in Sweet Home need to do everything we can to make sure it happens.
– Promote prosperity. Of course, the corollary to the SHEDG property acquisition is how the rest of Sweet Home can benefit from a new Jamboree venue. That will depend on people’s foresight and entrepreneurial ability. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there’s money in tourism, but we also know that, even with facilities to host events that will draw visitors from out of town, the flow will wane during certain times of the year. A key ingredient is not only to bring people to town but to establish businesses that will provide goods and services that appeal to those visitors. We need to give them more than one excuse to come to Sweet Home. We’ve already seen progress – particularly new restaurants and businesses such as the Steelhead gym that provide more options for tourists looking for something to do. We just need more.
– Promote public participation. If Sweet Home moves ahead, it will be because people who live and work here are involved. There will be informational meetings. There will be planning. There will be a need for people to participate at all levels. If we’re going to be anything but a once-thriving timber town-turned-bedroom community, it’s going to take participation.
Think about what you can do to help things move forward.
Happy New Year.