Reasons to Stay
Weekly update #314 1/25/2026 to 1/31/2026
Almost forty years ago, a member of my family had a moment that shaped my beliefs, and it is something I don’t talk about much, but today, I saw something that has it at the front of this weekly update. Before that, though, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
Just a few days ago, we celebrated Nancy Pulsford’s 34 years of service with the City of Seymour in the Clerk's office. We had a small luncheon on her last day before retirement and enjoyed as stories were shared along with many laughs and smiles. Nancy, thank you for your service to our community, and I hope you enjoy retirement.
For a couple of years now, I have served on the advisory board for the Local Technical Advisory Program. While the team at LTAP works full-time to bring knowledge to local agencies on topics from road maintenance to safety, the advisory board meets quarterly to help set the direction in the future. My goal is to attend half of those meetings in person and log in online for the other two each year. This week, I was scheduled to attend in person, but the weather had other plans, so I attended online. During the meeting this week, we discussed a new training program to help streamline and evaluate government programs. The long-term development of this program will take several phases, but I am excited to watch as it progresses. Thank you to everyone connected to LTAP. I appreciate all I have learned and all you have taught our team members over the years.
If you are reading this week to hear about snow, this paragraph is for you. According to Jackson County Emergency Management, we had fourteen inches of snow as the week started. One report I saw said this was the largest snowfall since we got 29” over two days in December of 2004. While we have had several calls and messages this week with complaints, we have also had many more that thanked the crews for all the hours of work put in. To everyone who shared their appreciation of the work that had been done, don’t worry; I forwarded those messages to the crew leaders so they could share them with team members. If you have never looked it up, you can find the approach the city takes at seymourin.org/index.php/residents/snow-ice-control. We focus on higher traffic areas first and then work out from there. This week, we also received complaints about the travel advisory and why the city moved it. The city does not set the travel level, and while I have had a few commissioners over my time in the mayor's office who at least share when it changes, I don’t recall any asking for input. If you felt Jackson County went to a red advisory too late or back to an orange too early, that is a conversation to have with your county commissioner.
To get back to that moment that established a belief in me about suicide, I want to start with a website for anyone who may need it. reasonstostay.co.uk Many of you know I have shared a crisis helpline you can text “home” to 741741 to connect with a counselor. I would often share this on the 22nd of the month, and if someone would mention it, I would share about 22 deaths a day related to our military veterans. My beliefs on suicide, though, started when I was in elementary school, and I lost a great uncle to suicide some forty years ago. Back then, it wasn’t spoken of much, and when it was, it was only in hushed tones. I guess today, I am really not going to say much about it other than help is out there. If you visit the Reasons to Stay website, it will lead to one of over 7000 letters written by real people who have taken the time to share and help others. If you are so inclined, you can even write one of your own. Today, I will leave you with a quote from the letter that I found when I explored the site after I learned of it, written by Lu, “Your presence in this world, as hard as it is, is so much needed.”