Notes from my Knapsack 5-9-18

Notes from my Knapsack 5-9-18

Jeff Gill

 

An endorsement after the fact

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While the publishers and editors here have offered me wide latitude as a columnist, I've probably self-censored much more than I've ever been nudged, let alone told what to write on or not to opine about.

 

As some of you know, I have a weekly column in the Newark Advocate, but it's more faith and spirituality oriented. My biweekly opportunity here in the Sentinel is intended and expected to be much more general interest, and I indulge that expectation probably to a fault.

 

I've been writing these last few months, as winter has been pulled kicking and screaming off stage, and during the arrival of spring and all our local daffodil laden glories, about some of the simplest aspects of being a community. The rising of the sun, making progress even against the dictates of the federal government; the growth of weeds whither they will despite our chemical best efforts otherwise; the essential nature of what a house is for.

 

In the back of my mind, through all of this, is the deeper and in some ways less visible aspect of "being a community." Our community spirit has taken some shocks in the last year, between the political confusion from national and state government policies, a local dispute over the name and meaningfulness of our Christmas Candlelight Walking Tour, proposed developments in the village and township no less controversial than the placement of our fire department, and reassessment of properties by the auditor's office . . . bumping up Granville by 15% but leaving us fourth out of the ten school districts in the county in increase, so this is something being discussed and debated all around us.

 

And the request by the Granville Schools for an earned income tax to start displacing the emphasis on property taxes, which we all voted on yesterday. I voted "yes," but political endorsements in advance are not encouraged by columnists, a restriction I am content to work within. But I've been asked my opinion often in recent weeks.

 

So there has been discontent, with deeper roots to be sure, around what it costs to live in our fayre village even when your house is paid for and your children grown and gone. Both online and in the real world, I've been buttonholed by folks worried about our future. What does a sustainable community look like in the next few decades, and are we on that track? Will our older population all have to leave unless they're in a retirement community? Can our civic fabric survive the strains being put on it by politics and personalities?

 

In short, my answer to that last is "Yes." Absolutely. The handicap of having a wide view of United States history from 1607 to the present is that while you may despair of human nature, it's hard in that full context to despair of the American experiment. We (the nation and the village) will survive.

 

The previous questions I'm not as certain about. Not in any one circumstance, and I am uncertain in general. But I'm pretty sure of two things. We have to work together on development; village and township and county together. If we're all residential, that's where the tax base will rest, property or income-wise regardless. We need some business and even industry within our boundaries.

 

And we need to look long and hard about the fact that it is a fairly frequent occurrence for families to move in with children at or around kindergarten or first grade, and to move out of Granville almost immediately upon their youngest's graduation. That isn't something we can ban, but as a community, we need to talk openly and honestly about why that happens, what it means, and how we can reduce that. Parents of former students are a vital part of the community dialogue around education, and I am struck by how those ranks are reduced in our little patch of heaven.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; his son graduated in 2016 but he's still interested in education. Tell him what makes community vital in your opinion at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.