Mark’s Musings – April 1, 2015

Mark Fortune

City crews have been out in earnest patching and filling potholes. In fact, they were working on Saturday and were also out early on Monday morning. Be sure to say a kind word when you see them.

I thought Notre Dame was going to pull off the upset against Kentucky but that was a no go. Now we have two teams from the Big10 conference in the final four – what do you think – Badgers or Kentucky? It should be a good game regardless as will the Duke versus Michigan State matchup.

I was a little fuzzy on why the Irish didn’t take the ball straight down the lane – trying to draw a foul or perhaps getting an “and one” versus going to the corner and throwing up a desperation three pointer. It was not to be, I guess.

Our community has several issues on the table. A declining population – slowly drifting away – people are not leaving our community in droves. This is still a very viable and solid place to live, work and raise a family. Ask people in our local education systems – all of them – and they will tell you that. There is a reason why people graduate high school, get their education, start a family and then return to Coshocton County oftentimes trading higher paying jobs for lesser paying jobs in order to return to their roots where they know their kids will get a solid education in a strong community.

Yes, we have issues that we face. And there are groups and organizations working on those issues. Whether it is education, crime, an increase in drugs or others, Coshocton County is on the move.

And are our problems really that much different than those faced by larger – or even smaller – communities across the nation? Many of these issues are being brought on by social changes that – when you listen to some of the pundits – are positive but are really changes that are creating a culture that is less family focused. We will continue to see an erosion of our social fabric regardless of how much money the government pours into programs. Do some solid and deep research – that means something besides Wikipedia by the way and let me know what you find out.

And no, I am not standing on a soapbox crying out for mass changes to our governmental policies. Many of these have the best of intentions – I don’t think that our legislators go around purposely trying to create more messes. They are caught up in the same issues that all of us are. In many cases, they are also trying to figure out how to raise good kids that can contribute to a community, and in turn, do the same with their kids and so on. You get the idea.

We need to take a moment to say “Congratulations!” to the state champion Hopewell Indians team for winning the championship AGAIN this year! Way to go Indians. The Black team won the state title again and the “Red” team brought home a third place. Way to go!

Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion