The past two Mondays, May 10 and May 17, I stopped by a couple of great places in Northern Bay County — Gibson Township (Bentley) and the city of Pinconning.
In Gibson Township, the board is working hard to add land to its park, as well as make some renovations to it. I hope that the board and the township residents can find a way to make the park bigger and better. It’s important that kids have a place to play, a place where they can go to hang out that’s safe and close to home. I support the board and am willing to do whatever I can to help.
When I was asked to make my short address to the board, we discussed the two most important things to the state of Michigan — jobs and education.
If the state works to bring more jobs to the area, more people will be able to afford to move to Gibson Township, and even more opportunities, like a new park, can be offered to the young people in the township.
And of course, we need to make sure children from Gibson Township and all over the state of Michigan, are guaranteed a quality education.
Then, this past Monday, I stopped at the Pinconning City Hall during a city council meeting. It was good to see Paul Jacques again, as I saw him a couple of days prior at the Northern Bay Ambulance Dinner at Third Street Deli in Pinconning. NBA serves five townships in Northern Bay, and Grim Township in Gladwin County.
Back to Pinny, though.
At the city council meeting, a candidate for the 31st district Senate Seat had actually requested an opportunity to speak, but he didn’t show, so council gave the time to me. Thanks Mayor Hall!
Anyways, as has been the theme of my campaign, we went in depth about the economy. I told the members of council and others in attendance how I am committed to working with groups that really make our small communities tick — county Economic Development Corporations, Downtown Development Authorities. I feel that many representatives in Lansing are not in tune with what these groups are doing, and therefore exclude themselves from assisting when they can. That is not that way I would represent the 97th District. I am ready and willing to serve as a mediator and negotiator to bring jobs to the area.
We also talked about some of the education issues that have hit home in Pinconning. Last year, a Pinconning Area Schools Board of Education member actually resigned after being threatened. I can’t help but feel like the state is partially to blame for an incident like this. Lansing has left schools out to dry, and needs to do more for our schools. We need to give them solid funding, and make sure our educational system moves forward, not backwards. The only way we can do that is offer a more diverse education.
On that last point, Rep. Joel Sheltrown (D - West Branch) recently had a bill pass that he fought very hard for. It allows students looking to go into a vocational or trade career to have different math standards for graduation. I believe this bill is good for the district, and good for Michigan. It offers more opportunities, which will progress our public education system.
It was good to be in Pinconning again. I seem to like the city more and more each time I go there. And if elected, I have actually made it a goal to bring businesses to Pinny’s downtown business district. It has several empty storefronts, and is just waiting to be a center of commerce, culture and entertainment. I can’t wait to watch it boom in the next few years.
I also have to say hello to Tom from the Pinny Journal. He’s such a great guy, and I was glad to see him Monday!
"I have lived in rural areas and small towns my entire life. They have great people and great values. I look forward to taking those small town values to Lansing."
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