By Middleburg Eccentric - November 29, 2017
One of Town Council’s goals for this year was to start a quarterly “Message from the Mayor”.
There are so many topics I could write about, but since we are beginning the holiday season and then into a new year, I thought a message of “thoughts and reflections” and thankfulness would be appropriate. As always, this time of year brings so many happy memories to me…… and having lived in Middleburg my whole life, our beautiful town and the people are all part of that.
As the lush green leaves on the trees begin to turn such amazingly beautiful colors and the smells of Fall fill the air, I am flooded with thoughts of such wonderful times…… trick-or-treating with our friends (and no adults); wandering up and down Washington Street singing “We Gather Together” on Thanksgiving to whomever would listen and going to Foxcroft for the beautiful Hunt Breakfast and then watching as the hunt took off; groups of us, young and old, would go all through town singing Christmas Carols and then come back for mugs of hot chocolate and cider. The beautiful memories of living in this special town with so many wonderful people fill my senses all of the time and I am so thankful.
I am also so very thankful that I have been allowed to serve this beautiful town and that the residents have entrusted me to do so.
We have been on a bit of a “roller coaster” over these last 20 years, but we are in such a good place and our town is healthy with a strong budget and a sustainable future. Our utility system is in excellent shape and well run and contrary to what some say or believe, our rates are quite reasonable. Our council (and past councils) have worked so very hard to make sure this was all possible….. there are many hard decisions to be made and it takes courage and conviction to make it happen.
My sincere thanks to our members of Town Council, both present, and past, for being such good “stewards of the town”. It has been an honor to work with all of you.
We are also so very blessed to have such an amazing town staff, they are all smart, talented, dedicated and caring individuals and make our jobs as council members so much easier…. I thank each of them for all that they do….. and I know we could not do what we do without their knowledge and expertise.
Our police department is the best and we are so very proud of all of them……. they care about our town and our people and they treat our visitors with kindness, as well. We are blessed to have a full 24/7 coverage now and are thankful that we can afford to budget for this.
Our street department is small, but they do the work of many….. they keep us looking our best both on the streets and “behind the scenes”. They seem to always be a step ahead and get things done before we even have to ask.
I am also extremely thankful for all of the volunteers we have that serve on so many committees and do so much work for our town…… I am amazed at how many we have for our small little town, but that is what makes us so special!
So as we all move forward into this beautiful holiday season and new year, I wish all of you joy, peace hope, and love. May we all hold tight to our memories and try to hold onto that little kid inside of us (it’s ok to be a bit silly) and may we be a little kinder to each other all year and, perhaps, not so quick to judge.
We are a wonderful and beautiful town and our people make us shine!
With love,
Betsy
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