Garden County Nebraska

GardenCoNe.com

Oshkosh, Lewellen, Lisco

Mayor: Cynthia S. Talley 305 West 1st Street, Oshkosh NE 69154 Phone: (308) 772-3686 email CTalley@gardencone.com

August 7, 2007

From the Hall

Sometimes you put things off because you just plain don't want to do them. I have been doing that very thing. I don't want to write my last letter to you as your mayor. We are just starting to make good progress. We have too much left to do. I am out of time. I have no choice but to write now.

I will be resigning as your mayor at the regular city council meeting, which is held on the second Thursday of every month, 7:30 p.m. at the City Hall building downtown. These meetings are always open to the public. I want each of you to remember that you are welcome. You are the reason your elected officials are in the positions they hold. It's called public service. They work for you.

State statute has already decided who will complete the final 16 months of my term. It will be Larry Gette, President of the Council. Larry will be appointing someone to fill his place on the council. I have made suggestions to Larry of possibilities who have expressed their interest to me. I encourage each of you to do the same. Tell him who you think would make a good councilperson or maybe even step to the plate yourself.

I have so many things to tell you. That would take volumes, so I will keep it to the things I feel are vitally important.

First, it's budget time. Our library and ball park crew have worked very hard to find additional funding for their interests. Carol Kyser, the Friends of the Library, Allen Sanford, his coaches and parents have put forth so much effort to make their programs work. I applaud their work. The auditorium project has been an amazing feat. Watching it take a life of it's own has been an awesome experience. Bud Paulsen, Margaret Lookabill, Gwen Jessen, Tiffany Shearer, Winston Corfield continue to do an awesome job breathing new life into a once sad building. We need to work to ensure that the renovation is well cared for and that the building is not allowed to fall back into it's state of disrepair. Now, I am very proud to show it off and have it be the community's centerpiece.

Second, there are some exciting economic development projects in the works. Some are coming to fruition; some are in a very delicate balance.

• The coffee roastery is moving forward. The equipment is being installed as I write this. We are so close to being operational. I can't tell you how proud and happy it makes me to welcome Mike and Mark home.
• There is a very exciting project on the highway that has recently become quite solid. We continue to move bricks and I have found someone to take my place in the group working on this.
• Teetering in the delicate balance is a project whose success depends on you. It's an established, light manufacturing company looking to relocate and expand. It will employ 20 people initially and have short term growth to 50 employees. It does not pollute the air or contaminate the water in any way. It would pay a good wage that would support a family. The owner is a man of character and strong values. I strongly believe in this as a way to diversify our community's economy. For this to succeed I need your help. I need you to open your mind, your heart, your assets and your wallet to this possibility. You can invest so that there is a future for Garden County. When good people like Josh and Shauna Rhea want a better life for their family, they can find it here. They don't have to sell their house, leave their family and move to Colorado. If this business had been in place when my job was eliminated at the hospital, this would have been an employment option for me. This wage would have supported my family and let my son finish his high school career here at home.

We all know stories about how communities missed opportunities for businesses. Don't let this chance become one of those stories for Oshkosh. There will be a meeting for everyone who is interested in taking an active role when all the detailed information is compiled. Watch the Garden County News for more information. We can do this. I know it.

In closing, I will remind you of two quotes. The first is from the Supreme Court ruling known as the Times Rule, where the judges commented, "Democracy is best served by robust debate about public issues.." and last, one by one of my favorite men of all time, Abraham Lincoln, in the Gettysburg Address, "...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Lives have been lost so that we, as Americans, can enjoy the priviledge of freedom. Guaranteed freedoms like speech, press, religion, right to bear arms and the right to assemble. It is our right and duty to make sure that our government serve us; not only serve us, but reflect what we as the people value and believe. We need to vote. We need to passionately debate issues. We need to take an active role in our community. It is our effort or lack of it that will shape the future.

We must remember-
This is our town.
It will be what we make it.

For this moment,
I remain your mayor who considers it a privilege to have served you to the best of my ability.

Cindee Talley