You're not from around here, are you?

This isn't my first time living in the Midwest. Not even my first time living in Illinois. Not even my first time living in a small town. OK. Scratch that. I lived in rural Appalachia on a dirt road. We didn't really have a "town". So I suppose this is my first time living in a small, close-knit society. Growing up as a "Beltway Brat" in and around Washington DC, doesn't lend itself to that kind of experience. So when my husband and I decided to move back to his hometown of Clinton I started eagerly packing. I will post the letter I wrote explaining my decision to my mom later. Suffice it to say that I was, and am, very happy with our decision.

However, I knew I was in for some culture shock. Not the kind where I think I am on another planet, but socially, living in a small town has its pros and cons. The pro I was most looking forward to was the one where everyone knew everyone and everything that goes on in the town. The sense of community and involvement. Oh everyone knows everyone else, but no one seems to know what the elected officials in town are up to, at least until its too late. Here is where I come in.

During the moving process, my husband spent two months here while we finished up in Virginia. This gave him a lot of down time which led him to start attending the City Council meetings. These were an eye opener. There is some eyebrow raising stuff going down in this small town. When he started telling me about this, we were both stunned by how many people didn't know about the toxic material that was going to be moved through our town. And I started to stew.

This week I attended my first School Board meeting. This is a subject near and dear to my heart after the last three years I spent in various capacities in my youngest's schools. We were the only parents there. Everyone else was a teacher, principal, board member or press. I can understand. Truly I can. I get why the average person doesn't think sitting listening to bureaucrats talk about budgets isn't thrilling entertainment after a long day at work. I did mention this was my first meeting. Ever. Bur what I heard lit a fire in me and now after stewing about the City Council and talking to other well educated and socially active people, it has occurred to me that no one goes to these meetings and therefore no one knows what is going on in this town. So the elected officials are doing whatever they like with little to no accountability to their constituents. And we aren't just talking budgets here. I am talking about things that affect each and every person in this town at some level.

So my mission is to attend as many of these meetings of the City Council, School Board and PTO and report back to the community what is going on, in the hopes that if you know what is happening you will take matters into your hands and change what you don't like. I don't claim to be impartial. I am not going to record the minutes of the meetings. I am going to tell you what I think everyone needs to know about. I welcome the feedback of the community and hope that each of you will take an interest in our community and make these bodies work for you.

 Which brings me to my first real post...