Mark’s Musings – June 15, 2016

Mark Fortune

The people of Coshocton County continue to ring the bell when it comes to making great events happen and the volunteer spirit that accompanies that is a huge part of why this is possible.

The recently concluded Hot Air Balloon Festival is just one example. A small but powerful committee of folks that love hot air balloons and good entertainment, but mostly our community, stepped up once again to put on a terrific show – all free of charge. It doesn’t get much better than that. They, in addition to all of the balloon sponsors, the Frontier Power Company, entertainment sponsors and others, deserve our gratitude for another great year and a job well done. Thank you.

Another great example coming up is the Indian Mud Run where Hubie Cushman and his team of volunteers have labored – and are laboring – to bring a lot of folks to our community. It has been talked about often – if we bring enough people here – somewhere – somehow – one or perhaps two of those folks just might have a business that they want to start or relocate to our quaint community.

So that is why it is important to focus on the positive – and when you are sitting at a local eatery or another local establishment – remember that little ears are listening. You know, like mom used to say. Except that these ears are probably adult and are listening to what we think of our own community. And hopefully that is much more positive than it is negative.

Sure, we have our problems. What community doesn’t? But in reality, we have it pretty good. We can boast a diverse group of manufacturers that help people put food on the table and keep a roof over heads. We have a terrific airport – that is once again planning an Air Show in September for the enjoyment of many – we have Roscoe Village with dining, shopping and more. We have a great park with walking and biking and camping.

We have good schools with great teachers, administrators and staff, a low crime rate and people in local government that we trust. We have quality and well trained people as first responders and dozens of dedicated volunteer firefighters. We have a college.

We have our very own Triple Locks Theater, Community Band, Rube Band and some really nice choirs. Yep, we have some pretty cool things right here in Coshocton County.

Oh, sure, we may not have Chipotle but we do have some nice restaurants that are locally owned and contribute to our community.

We have some folks that work hard to ensure that we have a movie theater that typically features new releases.

We have a group of folks that are going to make sure kids of all ages get to enjoy fireworks on our nation’s birthday.

Should I go on? Oh, I know. It’s nice to go out of town once in a while – we all enjoy that. But as I recall my dad saying many times, “Markie, it’s nice to go away but it’s always nice to come home.”

Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion