I recently had the opportunity to present the 2014 State of the City address to business and community leaders, sharing an optimistic message that this year citizens can expect to see significant investments back into our community after guiding our financial resources responsibly through a challenging economic period.
Several years ago a phrase was coined that it takes a village to raise a child. That short group of words is more important today than ever before. I have, and continue to believe that every child deserves the best education that we can offer. However, many of our children come to school tired and hungry or sick and in need of basic health care. Many students within our own community are homeless or do not have a safe environment in which to live.
Last year, the city of Marysville made significant headway in re-building funding for some core government services put on hold while we waited for the economy to improve.
Attendance at early showings of the second Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire, suggests that it will be a blockbuster. People at Marysville’s Regal Cinema correctly anticipated that it was likely to play to a full house on the first night of its run and the enthusiasm continues. Its content seems to have touched a nerve.
Last month, I attended the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) in Los Angeles to share Marysville’s downtown-waterfront revitalization plans and receive feedback from fellow mayors and a panel of nationally renowned urban design experts.
I once heard someone say that problems always seem simplest to solve by those furthest away from the issue. I am guilty of that myself when I watch the nightly news from my couch and inform policy makers how to fix our major world problems by talking to my television. For some reason, they just aren’t listening to my advice.
Pictures in my high school yearbook show the 1951 student body of West Valley High as 100 percent lilly-white Caucasian and with few exceptions, average to slim in build. What a contrast with last year’s M-PHS yearbook that pictured a healthy mix of races from around the globe and an unhealthy trend toward obesity. Call the obesity issue, Issue No. 1.
One of the lessons I’ve learned in my work as a teacher is that learning is not a passive phenomenon, something that can be done to students — it requires the active participation of the learner. We often refer to this personal investment of time and energy as engagement. It’s like the gears of a car — when they are engaged we have movement, when they are disengaged we have idling. When students are engaged as learners we see growth, when they are disengaged we see stagnation, or even worse, regression.
Last week, I presented my proposed 2014 Budget to Marysville citizens and the City Council, a cautious but optimistic spending plan that takes investing back into Marysville’s future to the next level.
Leaves are falling, the grounds are frosty, the air is cool, we see children bundled up, football season well underway, and the beginning signs of fall and winter plays and holiday band and choir concerts preparing…all the signs of the Fall season. It’s a time of year when everyone comes together, a time when we reflect and remember all that we are thankful for. We think of what we are blessed with and show thanks to one another.
