Scott Swanson
It’s Thanksgiving.
This has been a crazy year, with wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters of historic proportions, human frailty in the headlines, and lots more to preoccupy us with uncomfortable thoughts. Many of us have experienced personal lows.
Amid all that, it’s easy to forget that a lot of good stuff has been happening as well, at least locally.
So I decided to compile a list of things that, at least personally, I think we Sweet Home-area residents can be thankful for. They’re in no particular order.
New Leadership
It’s no secret, to anyone paying attention to public affairs, that we’ve had a vacuum of leadership in Sweet Home over the past couple of years as, for various reasons, prominent city and community leaders have disappeared from the scene.
In a small community, particularly, that takes its toll and I think it has here. I’m not the only one. I’ve heard it frequently from people who are interested in seeing Sweet Home progress economically and otherwise – attracting new businesses and jobs, making good use of all that former Weyerhaeuser and Knife River acreage down by the river, seeing our schools improve, and much more.
It takes people with time, insight and energy to get things done and we’ve been a little short lately. But empty seats have been filled at City Hall and in our school district over the past year or two. Our Chamber of Commerce is being re-invigorated and refocused with a board full of experienced business professionals and volunteers.
I’ve personally been involved with the Sweet Home Area Revitalization Effort (SHARE) since the ad hoc committee of residents and representatives of local government entities, all of whom are committed to working to make things better in our community, was founded in 2008. Frankly, I think all those involved over the past couple of years agree that we’ve just kind of been lurching along, with a lot of empty seats at the table. But they’re full now and the difference is, well, something I’m personally very thankful for.
Good things are happening.
Old Leadership
I’m thankful as well, and I think we all should be, for the veteran leaders – in government and otherwise, who have and continue to help make Sweet Home what it is.
Local leaders’ engagement in the Boys & Girls Club has made a big difference.
The Health Fair, which has turned out to be a pretty significant community event since it was founded last year, is another example of local movers and shakers stepping up to meet a need, helping to improve our community’s relationship with Samaritan Health, which provides most of the healthcare for local residents, and reaching out to those in our midst with needs that haven’t been met.
Another example, cited in our City Council report starting on page 1 in today’s paper, is Pat Gray. Not only has Sweet Home been blessed with steady financial management during Pat’s tenure of 26 years, but she’s contributed in a lot of other ways. Pat is a unique person, a canny numbers whiz who also has a talent for organizing fun runs that are – especially for people who aren’t serious runners – actually fun.
Let’s see: This year Pat and her cohorts organized the Sweetheart Run for Valentine’s Day, the Superhero Run in April, the Zombie Run just before Halloween and, for good measure, the Eclipse Run, which was held in conjunction with the above-mentioned Health Fair in August.
Like I said, these events aren’t just for people like myself who only really care what it says on the stopwatch when we finish. They’re for everyone and they’ve been effective in getting people outside and on their feet – because it’s fun.
I’m really thankful for people like Pat, who contribute beyond what they’re paid for.
There are plenty of others I could mention, but I’m limited in space here.
Growing Business Community
Speaking of the economy, I’m thankful for the progress in business development we’ve seen in Sweet Home.
We’ve seen a local manufacturing firm, Radiator Supply House, move to a larger facility in Sweet Home to accommodate its growth. We’ve seen Hoy’s Hardware undertake a significant expansion in an attempt to serve local contractors, for many of whom business has been booming. Dollar General is about to open a new store here. We have local eateries, some new, that have raised the bar.
Lest we forget, I’ll just note that in 2009 SHARE and the city commissioned a Downtown Retail Market Analysis to gauge what local needs were in the minds of residents and business owners.
The study found (not surprisingly) that most local residents shopped elsewhere and that the biggest needs they cited, things they couldn’t purchase locally, were apparel and shoes, arts and craft supplies, music and CDs, electronics, appliances, linens and towels.
They said Sweet Home needs a steak house and a bakery, a coffee shop and more family dining. There was more, but those were the biggies.
Well, fast-forward to where we are now and, hmmm, we have Hoy’s and Bi-Mart, which, between them, sell most of the items listed above. Dollar General and other established businesses will or already are adding to that mix. Yeah, we also have Amazon, but local stores don’t make us wait two days or more to get what we need.
I’m thankful for that, especially last week when I was working on a project in my driveway and needed a good drill bit right away.
The fact is, the quality of life in Sweet Home is improving and we’re all beneficiaries. It’s nice not to have to drive 30 miles for some small item. It’s nice to have more restaurants, with a wider variety of food. It’s nice to get a freshly made doughnut or a good cup of coffee.
Personal
I would be remiss not to add that, on a personal level, I owe a lot of thanks to God as well.
As many readers may be aware, my wife Miriam underwent treatment for cancer during the first half of this year and it went as well as could be expected, for which I’m thankful. She’s not fully recovered yet – that chemo is nasty – but the newspaper has come out each week – or, in Lebanon, month – and God’s provided for us and our great staff.
I’m thankful and it’s good to remember why. I hope you can too.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!