December 25, 2008

editorial

For our town, good tidings

This week’s News includes many stories that illustrate why Yellow Springs is a wonderful place to live.

Visionary thinking has long been a part of Yellow Springs history, and that quality is evident in the front-page article about recent recommendations to Council from the Electric System Task Force. That group urged Council to be a leader in energy conservation and the use of alternative energy for electrical needs, developing 100 jobs in the process. Especially inspiring is that this group of citizen activists gave generously of their time and considerable expertise to make their community a better place.

Yellow Springers’ faith in dialogue on difficult issues is evident in the story on last week’s forum regarding drug dogs and tension between local youth and adults. The presence of YSHS Principal John Gudgel and Police Chief John Grote illustrates the open communication these two men of authority maintain with our young people. These are complex problems and the solutions are not clear, but it’s encouraging that village young people feel empowered to speak their truths.

This town’s love of the arts is shown in the story on the upcoming benefit concert for the Friends Music Camp, an event that features professional musicians like Wendy Champney and Martha Hyde, who found their vocation while growing up in the village. Having been nurtured by local musicians when they were young, the women are now nurturing today’s young musicians.

Perhaps even more important than other qualities, Yellow Springs is rich in kindness. This week’s paper offers several examples of villagers caring for each other, including the group of young adult friends who delivered a baby in the back of a van, and, on page 3, the staff of Current Cuisine who are rallying to raise money for an employee whose son has cancer.

Yellow Springs is a wonderful place to live all through the year. But in this holiday season, it seems especially so. We wish you many opportunities for kindness — both giving and receiving — in this sweet town that we call home.

—Diane Chiddister