Happiness
Weekly update #297 9/28/2025 to 10/4/2025
As tens of thousands visit Seymour, it is always fun to hear different perspectives about our community. Before that though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This past Sunday, 180 RCO celebrated the opening of their office here in Seymour. 180 RCO is a Recovery Community Organization that works to help those living with a Substance Use Disorder overcome various barriers and work towards a life of recovery. Many years ago, I can remember a recovery dinner where, as they celebrated anniversaries, one person was only at 30 days and the person next to him was over 30 years. If that doesn’t help him see a possibility then nothing will. Much the same way, 180 RCO is here to help area residents find recovery and succeed as they work to get back to what many of us would call a normal life. Congratulations to everyone involved somewhere along the way on helping get 180 RCO to this point and into the future.
While we are on the topic of recovery, this past Tuesday saw the opening of Jackson County’s first recovery house here in Seymour. This project, and two more to come in the future, are a part of a partnership with several area agencies. My apologies as I am sure I will forget someone as I tell you that both Seymour City and Jackson County used Opioid Settlement dollars as matching funds for a grant from the Lilly Endowment with the help of Community Foundation of Jackson County and several area partners to get to this point with Centerstone being the service partner. A level 3 recovery house provides short-term locations as people transition from inpatient services to getting back to work and the world. They have meetings almost daily along with regular drug tests and are required to hold down a job and be in by 10 p.m. daily. I believe in the approach that they use on this to the point that I have encouraged them to build one next door to my own home. In other communities they have also seen neighbors realize how good of neighbors they are and ask for more in the area. Thank you to everyone who worked to make this a reality for our community as I believe it will be instrumental in helping many as they move towards the future.
Just yesterday I had a chance to see a new event take place. The Seymour Fire Department Little Hotshots Challenge was a joy to watch, and I am sure you can find a few videos floating around if you haven’t already. Thank you to everyone at SFD and beyond who made this a reality for our youth.
For the 52nd time, Seymour hosted the Oktoberfest in the streets of downtown. This event has become a homecoming of sorts for many who no longer call Seymour home, but it is also a chance for many to experience our community for the first time. This year, I had several opportunities to sit and chat with visitors, former residents, longtime residents, and even a few new residents about our community. It is always interesting to me to hear what a fresh set of eyes thinks about where we are. I heard from all the groups above that they are always impressed with how well we come together to clear out on Saturday night into Sunday morning, leaving little trace behind. I heard from more than a few people how they thought it was fun that the mayor had 100 special hat pins made to give away because a college kid said, “Oktoberfest is Seymour’s Superbowl.” More than anything though, it was a reminder that, while we are like any other community and have our problems, they believe we are accelerating in so many areas like services provided, parks and how they are maintained, street maintenance, and so much more. I have often wondered how long you would have to live somewhere with beautiful mountains or ocean views before you stopped noticing them and many conversations the last few days reminded me that I, and many others, might have that here at home in Seymour and am overlooking what we have going for us. I will leave you with a quote from Walt Whitman penned about the same time Seymour was first established in the mid 1800s, "Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour."