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With two more empty
store locations on
Main Street
now vacant, and two businesses with for sale signs in the windows, it
would be easy for someone to say that Grantsville is dying.
Only if we
let it.
Now is a
time for rebirth and renewal, and it would seem there is nowhere to go
but up. Shall we just shrug our shoulders and let the county seat wither
away?
The mayor
and town council are moving ahead with water, sewer and street projects.
They are working to plant flowers and to make the town a safer, more
beautiful place to live. They have not given up on Grantsville.
Saturday,
May 13, is an important day for Grantsville. Set as town clean up day,
Grantsville residents are invited to bring their trash and debris from
spring cleaning to the town parking lot from
8 a.m.
to noon.
At noon,
volunteers will be planting donated flowers throughout the town.
Skeptics and
sarcastics will scoff, I know. “Grantsville needs more than flowers and
clean streets and yards.”
Duh, I know
that.
New
businesses aren’t drawn to dirty, neglected towns. Shoppers who pass
through are not inclined to stop and shop or eat in a town that appears
to be dying. Retiring seniors or families looking to escape the “rat
race” are not likely to choose to live in a town full of trash and
surrounded by gloominess.
Development
and growth--for a business or a town--is a lot about image, and
Grantsville’s current image leaves much to be desired.
Flowers may
be frilly, but they brighten our lives, and our town. A neighbor’s
trashy yard can bring down the property values of the whole street.
Broken windows reflect the impression that nobody cares, and when no one
rallies in response for calls for volunteers and help, I can almost
believe that no one does care.
So, on May
13, let’s all put down our political postulations to come together and
serve a common goal. Carry a neighbor’s trash, or plant a flower or two.
Sure, we have bigger problems, but one of the biggest problems is the
way we are divided.
Do you care
about Grantsville? Really care? Then, just for one day, perhaps, instead
of complaining, you’d like to help make a difference. It may be a small
step, but it is in the right direction.
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