By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
Mayor Ronnie and I started off our time talking about the recent announcement of the Eli Lilly plant that will break ground in 2026 and be completed by 2032. With an ongoing concern with regard to growing well, which means quality of life and all that goes with it, we discussed the fact that growth might be challenging. “We are going to need to build two fire stations, and will need to buy more garbage trucks,” said the mayor.
We quickly moved to the topic of the great importance of shopping local. “We need to do that as much as possible, especially since we have gotten so used to shopping online,” said the mayor. There was no getting around the negative things that had just shocked us to the core-the loss of a young woman from the Birmingham area through the incident at Brown University, along with a fellow student whose family came here legally from Uzbekistan when he was a kid to experience the American Dream. In addition, the attacks on the Jews celebrating Hanukkah in Sydney were understandably top-of-mind. “Public safety has always been, and always will be, our number one priority. Without that, nothing else matters,” said Mayor Ronnie. He showed me the “book of thanks” that the city had just put out with regard to those who serve and protect us. Safety would certainly be on our prayer list when we closed out later.
Blessedly, in Athens the weekend had been busy and beautiful. Sippin’ Cider was the biggest ever, and the town was hoppin’. The mayor said, “I saw a family near Village Pizza that was parting ways after they had finished. The kids crossed the street and called out, ‘I love you!’ Boy, it don’t get much more Hallmark than that!” Speaking of “Hallmark, as of this printing there had not been an update with regard to the movie, A Kangaroo Christmas as to when it will be broadcast. As you know, Mr. Mayor plays the mayor in this family-friendly film which was made here in Athens-Limestone County last fall.
First Baptist Church did their annual Christmas Concert, a treat we all look forward to every year, and Mable Hill Baptist Church did their 26th annual Bethlehem Walk, a live Nativity scene that has become a part of our holidays.
Athens State University and the Storytelling Festival hosted a one-man performance of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Tim Lowry played the part of Scrooge, (well, he actually played all the parts) and it was superb. Tim mentioned that one of the things that weighed heavily on Charles Dickens’s heart when he wrote the novella was that the infant mortality rate in London was a whopping 50%. Dickens also came to America in 1867-1868 to do a similar type of performance, and with respect to Mr. Lowry, he has now played the part of Ebenezer more than 200 times. Tim is also an adoptive dad, and the proceeds of the performance went to help families adopt kids. By the way, Tim received a well-deserved standing ovation.
We took some time to talk about the hard part of the holidays. “Recognize that people are having tough times, too. Look out for each other,” said the mayor. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to pray about all of it. So we did, and once again it was time for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
