Commission meeting, 3-26
We had mainly administrative items on the agenda this meeting. We approved the Power Cost Adjustment. This month’s average electric bill should be around $118. I’m happy to report that Newberry electricity beat out CFEC electricity by $3 a kilowatt hour last 
month. It looks like we are finally being competitive in electricity. Now, it’s time to do something about our water costs! We approved some land parcels that are working through the process of joining Newberry. We heard from Gourmet Rodent, Newberry’s largest employer, about a new addition Mr. Brant would like to make to his business. I’m looking forward to taking a tour next week before we vote on allowing the expansion of the business. I don’t see any obvious problems with his request. He is asking for the ability to build a facility, or at least add on the necessary equipment, to breed his rodents on site. I’ll post more information after I take the tour and have a chance to speak to Mr. Brant more.
We also had a discussion of forming a committee to begin the process of looking for a new City Clerk. Commissioner Fillyaw volunteered to be the Commissioner Liason to that committee, and I think that he is an excellent choice. Newberry is growing, and as we get bigger, we will be more and more in need of people with technical skills. I think Commissioner Fillyaw is well versed in a range of the skills that we need to be looking for. That committee will vett the candidates down to a short list for the Commission to be able to make a final decision. I would encourage that committee to look both outside the City and inside the City, to bring forward candidates from diverse backgrounds, and most of all to take their time in this process. Nothing is worse for morale than rushing a hire and regretting hat decision! Micke retires in July. I know we don’t have a tremendous amount of time. But, I truly hope cooler heads will prevail, and everyone takes as much time as is necessary to make the right choice for Newberry!
We also got an update on Nations Park from Lou Presutti himself. The park is coming along fine, but those gophers did cause a significant delay. The gophers ended up costing over $20,000 and put the park back a month. Nations has scheduled four full weeks of tournaments, though, which will begin June 30 at our inaugural ceremony.
Those were the highlights of our meeting. Before I end this summary, however, I would like to relate a comment I made at the end of the meeting. As most of you know, I teach at Newberry HS, so I hear a lot about Newberry and see a lot about Newberry through the eyes of my students. In my last post on this site, I wrote about my wish that we make it through this election cycle with honor and dignity. Unfortunately, we have some residents, candidates, or incumbents, I don’t know who, who are having trouble with that basic level of decency. Recently, we had someone go out in the early hours of the morning and post flyers that contained discriminatory messages of hate on them. That kind of behavior should not be tolerated! It is seen by our young people, and it has an affect on them. We are the adults. Our young people will grow up to be the kind of people we give them the example to be. If we give them an example of hate, that is what they will become. I refuse to let a minority affect my judgment of Newberrians. I am asking everyone to stand with me against this kind of behavior. If you know who did it, call them out, and hold them to account. Let’s show our young people that we will not tolerate messages of hate and discrimation, even in politics! Newberry is better than Washington! Let’s prove it by behaving better.
As always, leave me your comments!
How I’ve been spending my time:
My goodness! These weeks just keep flying by. There has been so much going on in Newberry, I’m not even going to try to relate it all. I hope that most of you are following me on Facebook. My Facebook page is simply Jordan Marlowe, and I post things in real time through that medium. If you have been following me, then you know that Relay for Life was a huge success this year! We raised $45,000 and counting! It was a great night. We had a lot of fun, and we raised a lot of money for a great cause! It is one of the things that I have come to love in Newberry. The students rally behinds the cause. The residents come out and walk all night, and everyone is always more generous than I can possibly believe!
We also honored our volunteers this past Monday, which was particularly enjoyable for me 
since we’re honoring, this year, two of my students! It was a great opportunity for me to see just how many volunteers Newberry boasts, and I was truly humbled! The cake was delicious too!
Finally, we had our community talent show at the high school that the American Legion Auxillary helped host for us. It was a rainy night, but we still had plenty of people come out. And, I’m very pleased to report that we raised over $300 dollars for the math department!
I would also like to let everyone know that Mt. Zura is hosting a concert at NHS on April 7th and will be having their Easter service at the high school. Everyone is welcome to come! They would love to have you!
Spring Break is next week for NHS students, and I hope that everyone takes a moment to talk with their children about having fun but keeping it safe! We want all of our students to come back from their break safe and sound! I talk to 150 kids a day, and I know that most days I feel like none of them heard a word I said. But, we all know that deep down they are listening to us, and one word from you may make all the difference!
Have a great break everyone, and be safe!
