Come join the planning process

Pull a chair up to the table.

You have something to offer, and it would be a shame if it were overlooked.

A couple of weeks ago a process known as Vision 20/20 kicked off. Sponsored by Jay County Development Corporation, United Way of Jay County, and The Portland Foundation, its goal is to draft a road map for this countywide community for the next 20 years.

That goal is predicated on a simple notion: We're better off having a destination in mind than simply drifting.

More than 100 people showed up for the initial meeting, and the initiators have done a good job moving beyond "the usual suspects" to involve points of view that may not have been heard sufficiently in the past.

A second meeting is set for 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at West Jay Middle School in Dunkirk. Your participation is not only invited, it's encouraged.

A special effort has been made to make sure the meetings are not all concentrated in Portland. While Tuesday's will be in Dunkirk, some of the sessions will be at Trinity.

That's important if this planning process and the road map coming out of it are to make sense. That hasn't always been the case in the past. Jack Mink, arguably Dunkirk's best mayor in the 20th century, used to joke that when it came to countywide meetings, it always seemed to be a shorter drive for Dunkirk folks to go to Portland than for Portland folks to go to Dunkirk. We hope we're past that now. So, mark your calendar.

The opening session focused on problems facing the community and hurdles in addressing those problems. Tuesday's session will focus on the civic infrastructure already in place. Sounds like a good spot to join the discussion. - J.R.

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