Home 
Opinion Editorials Small towns capable of big projects
Small towns capable of big projects
|
Not all of us are sent to Iraq or Afghanistan to bring terrorists to
justice and bring stability to a troubled part of the world. But all of us can join in a volunteer army in our own hometowns. We can step up and serve our communities one small act of service at a time. Such a volunteer army of movers and shakers, donors and builders has been instrumental in getting Cove its first football lights. The lights will make their debut when the first hint of chill enters the air some September Friday night. The Cove Booster Club arranged a work party to get the installation done Saturday. Some cynics may have thought the project too big for a small town. But Cove rallied together. In the spirit of “Friday Night Lights,” the book and the movie, Cove residents helped make the little city in east county an even more all-American town. The lights will give people who must work Friday afternoons a chance to attend games. And that’s a big plus. That parents, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors can all attend is important to show the student-athletes that their extended family wants to be part of and support their activities. Families should place a high value on school and extracurricular activities, and communities need to encourage the values that sports build, like strength of character, endurance and tenacity. The lights are emblematic of a sense of pride in the community and the small-town values that can make even a big project seem within reach. In a time when some small communities are pulled apart by counterproductive fighting and polarizing arguments, confrontations and wild rhetoric, Cove is pulling together to get things done. It’s daily small acts of personal sacrifice and service that in the end make a community all it can be. It’s finding a cause of community service that is bigger than a person’s own self-interest. The light project may not have solved the recession, or hunger in Africa, but it did serve to bring a small town together. Those involved deserve a big cheer. In these times of economic anxiety, it is particularly impressive that Cove was able to put together such a stellar fundraising effort. Despite people giving all that they could spare, and perhaps a little more, that effort, however, still remains undone. Several thousand dollars more in donations are needed to get the $45,000 project fully paid for. Those who want to donate can contact project leader Mari Brainerd at 910-2222. Signing the final check, seeing the project completed, will be apt reward for Cove’s volunteer army. |
