By Michael V. Hannigan/HCNow
Like any year, 2017 had its ups and downs, its celebrations and its tragedies.
In the past, I would spend the last week of December sorting the top stories according to the ones I thought were the most important. This year, however, I will leave that for others. Instead, here in no particular order are five things I think I think as we head into 2018.
People Still Care (Part I)
It is fashionable to think that charitable giving is a dying art, but people are still willing to give when there is a focal point to rally around.
In 2017, those rallying points came in the form of a hurricane in Houston and a tornado in Canton. Henderson County mobilized people and supplies to aid in both calamities.
And it isn’t just the big tragedies. Kevin Lilly’s McDonald’s — with a little help from Henderson County Now — raised thousands for this year’s Toys for Tots campaign. But it took someone standing in the drive-thru in the cold asking each passing car to get those donations.
People do care, but they need to know the who and why before they give.
Leadership Change Has An Impact
The fact there’s confusion in Athens City Hall about how to move forward with the Cain Center project should come as no surprise, because the people in power have changed.
The City saw an extensive leadership shift in 2017, with new faces in four of the five council seats through either election or resignation, as well as the city manager leaving for Colorado. The only council member finishing the year in the same place he started is Ed McCain.
To add to the curious feeling of 2017, Monte Montgomery had to resign as a councilman in order to be elected mayor and Aaron “Bubba” Smith was named an interim councilman twice.
In fact, if you include the city manager with the five council members, half the leadership of the City is in place on an interim basis.
In early 2018, this group is expected to make some very important decisions for the future of the City.
TRS is a Big Deal in Henderson County
According to the Henderson County Now website, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is pretty important. The TRS provides retirement and related benefits for those employed by the public schools, colleges, and universities supported by the State.
Our most viewed story of the year was a July 20 post that “Governor Greg Abbott added retired teacher health insurance, TRS Care, to the special session call after State Rep. Lance Gooden urged the Governor to prioritize the issue.”
The July 14 story about Gooden sending a letter to the Governor about the TRS was our No. 7 post of the year.
In the end, the TRS got an additional $212 million in the special session.
Teachers — they are very important in Henderson County.
Deferred Maintenance is a Bad Idea
In the 1970s, Fram Oil Filters told everyone that routine maintenance was the most economical approach with the phrase, “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.”
Unfortunately, 2017 was a reminder that government still hasn’t learned the lesson.
The current example is the City of Athens wastewater system, which residents found out this year needs close to $19 million in repairs and improvements. This came from an evaluation of the North Wastewater Treatment Plant that was forced by state rules when the plant reached 75 percent capacity.
According to officials, the plant would not have reached capacity if certain routine maintenance would have been completed over the years, but it wasn’t.
This is just the latest case. I remember writing in 2011 about the City of Malakoff shutting down a water storage tank because of a rusted-out roof, and in 2017 the City of Kemp was still dealing with the fallout from water issues dating back six years.
Maintenance costs money and is sometimes expensive, it is true, but it is almost always less expensive than not doing maintenance, so perhaps learn from the rusted roof, always carry out maintenance – even if you have to get a professional to do it, for example, various roofing contractors Austin could carry out maintenance for you, and it will still be cheaper than a disaster happening years later due to not carrying the maintenance out. You can discuss with a roof replacement Winston Salem service about the varying types of metal roofing that can be the best to choose.
People Still Care (Part II)
I’ve spent a big part of my career watching city councils and school boards make important decisions without community input.
That’s not the fault of elected officials, they can’t get input from an empty room.
Over the years, I’ve gotten used to the fact almost nobody shows up to take part in our democracy, but I hit a low point in May when just 8 percent turned out to vote in the Athens ISD school board election.
That number stunned me and I left that election disillusioned.
But then a Malakoff resident — Brian Paris — reminded me that individuals can still make a difference when they care about their local government. Paris used the open records law to force the City of Malakoff to release salary information for its employees.
It wasn’t easy and took a Texas Attorney General’s Opinion and some help from County Attorney Clint Davis, but Paris prevailed.
The government does work and is responsive when local residents care and get involved. We just all have to do our part, which includes voting AND staying informed and engaged.
Thank you for all that you contribute to this community.
Great commentary! Henderson County & Athens could be sooo much more to soooo many more. HC and all of its towns could become magnets for so many employers and families. But participation in local government and local decisions are key! We need leadership that listens. But that leadership needs citizens who speak out and join in!