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Because That Is What A Community Does. It Takes Care Of It's Own.

   March 24, 2009

   There is a lot of concern that dissolving the village government would cause a loss of identity, of closeness and the feeling of kinship that some might feel comes with being a small town. I can really see how this would be of concern to the people of Amelia. I can understand that they would not want this to happen. To put it plainly, it doesn't have to happen. Not at all.

   The sense of community in Amelia is not and should not be dependent on whether there is a village administration. I lived in the village for years and the people that were there for me and with me were my neighbors, my friends, my family. The members of council were different then, but they were really no less strangers to me than the people there now. Does it matter if you have to call the county or the township to ask a question instead of someone that you probably don't know any better at the village?

   I don't think that the village will lose any of its closeness, which I am happy to say, I still get to enjoy. I still talk with my former neighbors and friends and visit with them at least once a week. If they needed help, I would still come and I have every confidence that they would be there for me. Do you know why? Because that is what a community does. It takes care of its own. It doesn't matter who the mayor is, or even if there is one. The community would still be there. In fact, it would still be called Amelia. I live in Withamsville now. We aren't incorporated, we don't have a council, and we don't have an administrator. We do have a community. I see my neighbors all the time. I talk to them; I share food from my garden with them. When the power went out last year, we all checked on each other. I don't think that if we had a village here that it would have changed anything. I doubt that a mayor would have come to check on my wife and I, or offer us the use of their home. The community did. The people that wave as I drive down my street did. Maybe that would be our fault. I don't know that we would think to make sure that the mayor had a hot meal, like we did the woman next door. We have a name. We have a community. I think we would still have it without the name. If you think about it, names get in the way of just being friendly sometimes. Some of my neighbors don't know my name. They say things like "Hey buddy, how’s it going'" or "Hey pal, how about cutting your grass.". Buddy and pal. Nice friendly names. But that's what it means to have a community. Not a village council.

   I think if you feel like you are losing your feeling of community, there is only one way to fix it. Get out there and start saying "Hey buddy, how's it going?” Check on the neighbors when the power goes out. Ask them to cut their grass or if you can borrow their mower when yours won't start. Invite them over to play cards or to a birthday party. You see, at the end of the day, the only thing that will cause the loss of closeness is if you give up being close. The only thing that will end the community is not communing anymore. The history of the area will not change; the accomplishments of the people that live there won't go away. Even the name will stay the same.

   Amelia is a special place to me. I have lived there, I had a business there some years ago and my son still lives there. I have many friends there as well. I can’t help but read about the issue of dissolving Amelia because it is all over the on-line newspapers. Because of my ties to the Amelia community, I felt that I just had to put my two cents in for what it is worth.

   Douglas P. Mayhugh is a former resident and business owner in Amelia that has lived in the Amelia area and sometimes in Amelia proper his whole life. He worked at the hardware store when he was younger and got to know many of you. He is still very interested in Amelia and sent this letter to me for your consideration.

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