**Date:** 09-09-24
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643 words
As the Seasons Change, So Can We
Soon the hills will be resplendent in a blaze of vivid colors. On some the earliest harbingers of autumn the leaves have already begun to turn and detach from limbs and branches to begin their spiral downward.
In this “even” year, the landscape is dotted not just by splashes of crimson and gold, but by red and blue. These are the other signs of the times. Lawn signs and billboards.
Like the stems of leaves, the moorings of politicians and their supporters grow increasingly tenuous as the days wear on. Detachment and a downward spiral follow.
Facts become elusive. Positivity withers and negativity reigns.
It has already begun.
But unlike the trees that surround us, we are not forced by the season to stop the conversion of sunlight into energy and new growth. And so, in Oneonta we are beginning a campaign of positivity, education, and community collaboration. We are calling it the “Campaign for 25.”
It’s a call to our citizenry to make Oneonta a better place by working together to address these 25 goals:
Celebrate and promote our diversity
Support and care for our veterans
Increase housing opportunity for all
Engage our college population in our city’s planning and success
Commit to respectful, fact-based dialogue
Grow our economy and create new opportunities and support for entrepreneurs
Make Oneonta an engaging and entertaining destination for tourists and residents
Empathically but realistically address the issue of homelessness
Implement a parking strategy that enables convenient connection to Main Street
Dedicate ourselves to collaboration for common cause
Be welcoming of new neighbors and embrace those who choose to live here
Step up to become stewards of our neighborhoods
When confronted by division, be uniting.
Become accepting and supportive of those with mental health issues.
Embrace the potential of our graduates as new generation of Oneonta’s leadership
Support a strong, vital, and growing small business sector
Encourage childcare options to support the needs of young families
Prioritize the environment and sustainability
Understand how our history can inform the best decisions for our future
Encourage visual and performing artists to embrace the potential of Oneonta
Ensure the safety of all by seizing opportunities to assist in that security
Expand youth activities and support those who seek to provide them
Promote healthy opportunities and increase the community’s access to education
Determine new funding streams to ensure the enhancement of our quality of life.
Provide care and support to our seniors to allow them to age in place with dignity
To be sure, there are more goals that could be added to this list, but we’ll start with these.
If you are interested in helping achieve any or all of them, I invite you to contact me. ()
Working together, we can make 2025 a transformative year.
To help facilitate that process we will be holding a series of community education sessions on a variety of topics that are connective to this list.
The first of these is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18th at 6pm at Roots Public Social Club. Our topic is the recruitment and retention of young families, the availability of childcare, and current and planned programming for children and young adults. We will share successes and challenges and examine the financial assistances that are available for agencies and entrepreneurs that seek to offer these services.
Attendees will be provided with useful information and an opportunity to ask questions of the professionals that have made it their life’s work to enhance this crucial aspect of our community.
There is an option to the negativity of this political season. It’s respectful dialogue, and a renewed commitment to the examination and sharing of facts.
Independent of party or affiliation, it’s how we all win.
