Smile

Weekly update #338 7/12/2026 to 7/18/2026

So many things in life shape us into who we are. Before something personal though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.

Congratulations to the Department of Public Works on cutting the ribbon on the new transfer station here in Seymour. As we researched this project, it was found that the first mention was in 1974. Almost every mayor to follow mentioned it during their time in office and that it would create savings for the residents of Seymour. Finally, after 52 years, thanks to the help of American Rescue Plan Act dollars, approval votes by City Council, and a ton of hard work, it is constructed and soon will be open. DPW Director Alan Axsom shared that on opening day, we will allow Seymour residents a chance to drop a load off by providing a school supply that will be donated to Jackson County United Way to help with their Rock and Ready program. The transfer station will allow us to reduce the number of trips to the Medora Landfill as we will be able to place two to three loads from automated trucks into one semi load headed to Medora. Thank you to everyone involved along the way. It took many people, and I am sure I would miss some if I tried to name them all by name. 

This week, we had our exit conference with the State Board of Accounts. While I can’t get into great detail about what was found during this audit, which I believe was the seventh we have had since Clerk Treasurer Boas and I started in 2020, I will share that it went well. We receive annual audits based on our funds received from Federal Grants, grants like the one mentioned in the last paragraph. The findings from this audit will be made available in the next few months; if anyone would like to read them when they are released, you can find them on the SBOA website. Having seen the preliminary findings, I will go ahead and say great job to Clerk Treasurer Boas and his team and thank you to the team at SBOA for all you do.

This week, I was out with Seymour Police Department as they responded to a welfare check. As I listened to the conversation, I remembered a moment 32 years earlier when I was 16 and received a middle of the night phone call from my middle brother, Kevin, that was, ultimately, the first welfare check I went on. Many members of my family have dealt with alcoholism over the years, and this particular night was compounded by alcohol as were many others in the decades to come. Several years ago now, because of some those nights, I invited a dozen people living or working in long-term recovery to come tell me their stories at City Hall. I didn’t know what I would learn, but I did know that recovery was possible because I had seen my brother accomplish it for roughly a decade before his demons returned. I have written many times about the accomplishments in the world of recovery here in Seymour and would be glad to have a conversation with anyone interested and overjoyed to point anyone in the direction of possible help so they can find a day, a decade, or even the remainder of a lifetime living in recovery. After those years, my brother did occasionally find recovery but not for very long at a time. This past week, his years of abusing his body finally caught up to him, and at the age of 55 he died. Writing this last paragraph has not been an easy task because as much as we have fought over the years, I still loved him. I learned many things, good and bad, from him that all helped shape who I am now. I cherish the good memories, and hope that as time goes by, I forget the bad. Tomorrow, we lay him to rest, and I am sure will share many stories as we do. Thank you to everyone who has reached out this week with condolences; they are appreciated. Today, I will leave you with a Dr. Seuss quote, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."