My View – November 2022

If you haven’t yet returned your mail-in ballot, I’d like to remind you that I have endorsed three candidates for Jacksonville City Council: Ken Gregg, Andy Hellenthal and Ryan Hess. As I stated in my October column, all have previous Jacksonville-based civic experience and have served on council, committees, and commissions. The remaining three candidates have not: in fact, as far as I know, one candidate has never attended a city meeting…never! After the publication of my last column, I was gratified by the outpouring of support on my stance that the best city councilors are those with prior experience. I take my role as publisher very seriously and understand the power of the published word—maintaining public support and trust is paramount. Thank you in advance for joining me in support of Ken, Andy, and Ryan.

On a different note, I am honored that my friend, Larry Smith, is on the cover of this issue—he’s holding a copy of his book, “Jacksonville’s Emerald Necklace.” The 400-pager is a history of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association. Larry was kind enough to let me flip through an advance copy in mid-October and I was instantly enthralled with the contents…the book is available now—see article on page 4 for details. For those of us who take our hiking and walking seriously, we owe Larry a huge debt for his unwavering tenacity in the creation of the Jacksonville Woodlands Association and the subsequent development of what is now one of the best hiking trail systems in the nation. As a key member of the JWA told me the other day, without Larry’s leadership, vision, and energy, it would not have happened…period. This is well-deserved praise for Larry Smith, one of the true human gems in our Small Town with Big Atmosphere!