After counting my blessings for the last couple of weeks and as we get near the end of the 2014, the new year looms around the corner.

Instead of making resolutions here is my wish list for the new year.

Whether they come true is not the object. We must continue to have hope, faith, exercise our  passion and set goals for not only our own personal lives but for the good of our community. So here goes.

I wish we had a supermarket or grocery store so that we could shop close to home. Driving miles to get a head of lettuce and a bunch of bananas certainly could be expedited with a  small store (preferably locally owned.

I wish we had sidewalks so that we could walk without fear of being run over by cars. Even a bike and walking trail would be nice. If we can have a snowmobile trail, why can’t we have a walking and bike trail? Maybe something could be worked out at the Sports Complex. Maybe a dog park would be useful also.

We are blessed with all of the small businesses that we currently have but it would be nice to have the empty storefronts and buildings filled with viable businesses.  And by the way, in order to keep the businesses, we need to patronize the ones we have so shop and eat locally if you can.

I wish the park at the end of Lake Street on Pleasant Lake had a board walk with benches where people could enjoy the wildlife. It would be a pleasant place to stop and take in the beauty of our area, just as the travelers who stopped to rest here many, many years ago and they  stayed and established our community.

I wish that zoning was enforced. Many areas need to be cleaned up and repaired. Empty lots need to be filled. We need to look like more than a wide place in the road where you “eat here and get gas.” We have so much more to offer.

Last but not least, I wish our community members could work cooperatively, work for the good of all residents, make and set goals that move us ahead into the future.

Now that you know what some of my wishes are, make your own list of wishes and move on into the new year.

 

Jo-Ann Boepple works at the Edwardsburg Area History Museum.