Kindness
Weekly update #350 10/4/2026 to 10/10/2026
We said goodbye to several members of the Seymour Community this past week as well as working on planning for the future. Let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This week, we said goodbye to Del Kloeker, who served our area as a traffic engineer in many different ways during his life; Bob Prather, who shared his skills on different boards; Billie Wintin, who taught many of us at Jackson Elementary for 23 years of her 28-year career; and JJ Reinhart, who served the community via the Seymour Police Department for 30 years as well as other ways after retirement. Each of the four helped shape Seymour over their lifetimes in their own areas of expertise and via different organizations. Thank you to them and also thank you to their families for sharing them with our community over the years.
One of the areas where we looked to the future was with Manufacturing Day where all six of Jackson County’s high schools brought students to learn about manufacturing jobs across the board. While it is easy to only think of the productions jobs, I always try to remind students during my opening statements to remember that they will see just the tip of the iceberg and not to forget about jobs in accounting, purchasing, marketing, sales, and so much more are also provided by those companies they will be introduced to during the day. Thank you to sponsors Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation, Cummins, Pet Supplies Plus, Aisin, Guardian Bikes, and Lannett for making the day possible.
Another area where we looked to the future this week was with Seymour Parks and Recreation who is reviewing the first draft of their Five Year Master Plan. About six months ago, they held public input sessions to get feedback from the community and took pages of notes. During that same time frame, they also had a survey where community members could submit their thoughts on what the next five years look like for our parks. The next steps after this round of proofreading will be coming in the very near future for this 82-page document that could potentially help us land grant funding to work on items like new pickleball courts, American with Disabilities Act compliant playgrounds, and other new amenities suggested during input sessions. Thank you to everyone involved with getting us to this point, and much like the last round back in 2021, I look forward to seeing how this work shapes the future of Parks and Recreation.
Mark Twain said, "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” During my four years serving on the Seymour City Council JJ Reinhart was a good resource when I had a question or just needed to talk through an item that was coming before us. His knowledge from 30 years at the Seymour Police Department mixed with ten years at the Freeman Municipal Airport and serving on the Redevelopment Commission made him a well-rounded council member with knowledge in many of the different areas we were dealing with. JJ, thank you for your kindness not just during my time on council, but over the last couple of years; as our roles changed, it meant more to me than you may have realized.