My father was a small-time preacher who, starting out, pastored tiny congregations who could not afford to provide him a living, so he also had a full-time job, usually as a carpenter, sometimes as a door-to-door salesman, to provide for our seven-member family. Our family moved a lot in the process.
Growing up in small churches where it was mandatory to attend at least five different gatherings, along with any other services that might come up, I had the chance to observe a lot of human behavior.
One of the things that struck me as a teenager, was how little interaction members of the particular church at the time had outside of the church. The social interaction was pretty well self-contained to the four walls of the church building with work connections being the main outside influence.
This seemed rather strange to me considering what the Bible talks about in helping others. I couldn’t understand why the people were only involved with themselves.
Shortly after my late first wife and I were married, while I was still going to college, we had a fire where we lost everything except the clothes we were wearing and our car. Shortly after that we found out we had a baby on the way.
I was fortunate enough to get a job as a bank teller at the end of the school year, which lead to a career in banking.
One of the things I liked about banking was that management used to encourage their employees to be involved with the community outside of the bank. I started off being a volunteer fireman which seemed a natural fit considering my personal experience.
Since then, I’ve been involved in everything from emergency medical services, community event planning, fundraising, service clubs, our beloved local hospital, and many other things. The community work has given me some of the richest, most rewarding experiences, outside of my family, that I have had in life. Being a volunteer gets me out of my own head and into what I can do for others as well as making me learn about a lot of things I would have had no idea about otherwise.
I say all of this to encourage those of you who may not be involved in the community to do so. No matter what stage in life you are in there are areas where you can use your talents and skills, or even develop new skills, for the sake of others. It is well worth the effort.
I also say this to let you know what a privilege it is to serve as your mayor. Weiser is a wonderful town with a strong sense of community and caring for each other. It is truly an honor to serve you in this capacity!
In City news this week, the Water Department is about three weeks out from completing their project of digitally mapping the water system in town. The digital map will allow workers to know exactly where each hydrant, valve, meter, etc., and all underground lines are from a phone or other device as well as specific information on each of those items. This information will assist the employees with locating units for their field work.
Also, the Garbage Department would again like to remind you NOT to place yard waste, including grass clippings in the trash bins. Currently about a third of what is being collected is yard waste. With the current labor shortage, picking up the added waste is causing our one collector to put in an inordinate amount of overtime. When you consider that his day starts at no later than 5 a.m., the extra hours make for a pretty long day. So, please, put yard waste in the alley to be picked up in the fall by our street crew.
Well, that’s it for this week. And please consider volunteering in one capacity or another if you are not already doing so. For those of you who are involved in the community, my hat is off to you!
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