I am one of the new contributors to the Neighbors of Easton blog. Here is a little bit of info about me:
- I have been a Westward resident for 6 years
- I have been an Easton resident for 9 years
- I am a single mother of a twelve year old honor student and in the process of starting a non profit org - Single Parent Transformation Center.
- I am the Canton representative for Canton 7. Our Canton started the "Improve the Getty Mart" initiative and the newly created quarterly publication "The West Word".
When I first moved to Easton, it was not by choice, and for years I couldn't wait to leave...but as I've become more involved in this town, I've come to find the beauty in it. So many of us just "live" in Easton but never really get to know where we live. We come home from work, taxi the kids to all of their extracurricular activities, make (or order) dinner, sleep in our beds...get up the next morning, drive to our jobs and the cycle repeats.
You may or may not LOVE where you live, but you can surely make the best of it by learning the history, getting involved in community outreach...become an active participant instead of just a spectator. We all have the ability to make a positive impact and not get caught up in the negative stereotypes and propaganda. So take sometime to think about how you may want to make a difference today.
Cheers!
Lefemme
Posts
7 comments:
Hey Nikkita,
Do you know if there's a start date yet for the landscaping for the new gas station that will take the place of the Getty Mart?
Nikkita,
Thanks for reaching out to single parents and carving out a home in the West Ward. It's folks like you who strengthen community and families. I'll take your exhortation and continue to participate in community and make a difference.
Hi Nikkita:
Thanks for your post. I too didn't "plan" on living in Easton or the West Ward, but so glad I do.
You're so right that learning all we can about where we live is so important to making it a better place.
Now that I'm retired back to Easton fulltime, I plan to get more involved in learning more, then walking the walk, not just talking the talk!
Nikkita,
I wanted to let you know that as a member of the Easton Planning Commission, I asked the owner of the Getty Mart when they came to us for approval if they had spoken to the Urban Ecology Program's Canton reps about the redevelopment of the project.
Both he and the city planner said they had. Hope that is accurate and that you are getting what you hoped for. I had wanted to write an in-depth analysis of the decision making on the project because it was more complex than people realize due to multiple ownership and state guidelines for oil spill clean-ups.
Unfortunately, my computer deleted it before I finished and I didn't have the energy to start over. If you or anyone else wants the details let me know.
DRL
Hi Noel,
From what Mr.Patel told me, he expected to at least get the tanks into the ground...a week or so ago, but by the looks of it nothing has happened. I figured it will be a while before anything happens..especially if the weather continues on it's cold streak.
Hi Dennis,
I think Mr.Patel was fibbing when he said he met with the canton reps..unless he was confusing the canton reps with Gary and Maurice.
I met him at the last planning meeting but I must say he doesn't seem like he has a "Love" of Easton. All he kept doing was complaining to me about how bad the city is getting. All I kept thinking to myself is if it's really so bad, why did you buy the gas station to begin with... oh well.
I'm glad to see everyone has their niche and knows what they want to contribute to the blog....I'm really not all that certain exactly where I fit in but hopefully I will find it as I go along :)
Nikkita,
You will--and besides, comments are as important to a blog as its posts. Thanks for giving us the straight scoop. Hopefully Mr. Patel will feel a little more positively once the store is in and the landscaping is done--hopefully he will not just be another complainer but actually get involved in improving the community over time...
Nikk,
Your comments about Mr. Patel do not surprise me. The perception I get from a lot of the supposed "business community" of Easton leaves me with the impression that we do not have an integrated network of citizens and business owners - a community - but instead a bunch of interest groups.
Too many business owners will talk out of both sides of their mouth; promoting the city in public venues one day and badmouthing how miserable it is the next. I get the impression a lot of them came here for the cheap real estate a few years ago and thought they'd make a killing but never paid more than lip service to actually being part of the community.
I'm sure there are limited exceptions to this blanket statement and that some feathers will be ruffled by my comments but until I see more of these folks walking the walk I'll hold to that opinion.
Lastly, the owner and city planner may have been semantically correct in answering my question about whether direct canton involvement occurred in the Getty Mart design. Maurice and Gary do indeed represent the management arm of the Urban Ecology Program but the canton members - all volunteers - are the ones who initiated the idea to intervene in the project. They should have also been the ones at the table discussing it. This is not the way the program was explained to us or the way it is supposed to work.
DRL
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