What Is Going on at the Hospital?

The purpose of the community blog is to stimulate conversation about things of interest to the Scurry County community.

Comments to the blog give a chance for those on both sides of an issue to express their opinion.

Point and counterpoint.

There have been many articulate and thoughtful opinions expressed concerning Cogdell Hospital.

The hospital is one of the most important institutions in our community and its well being is of absolute importance.

The blog has been up since the end of October and I think that what has been said has been heard.

It is possible that the blog may become counterproductive.

Before that point is reached, I am going to remove it.

Some people may see this as unfair, but I think a strong argument can be made that its purpose has been served.

We now need to see if these issues can be resolved by the board, administration and employees working together to sort things out.

It is crucial for our community that they do so.

Random Thoughts

Was out and about Friday.

Lots of traffic in Snyder.

Is it just my imagination or was it just a few years ago that I never had to wait to get on College Avenue.

Now I have to make a mad dash across the lane in the face of oncoming vehicles to turn left.

Of course, after I have taken my life in my own hands, I look back and there is the little opening I that I didn’t have patience enough to wait for.

Down goes a landmark in Snyder: Snyder Drug on the northwest corner of College and 37th.

1950’s style architecture.

Gone in the blink of an eye. Bulldozed to make way for a new CVS.

The haunted house at the old Manhattan Hotel put on by the prison employees for Halloween looks to be really scary.

The big dark upstairs floors would be frightening enough anyway without any props.

Rumors are that a coffin, operating table and dirt have been hauled up there.

Someone needs to tell me about it after Halloween is over. I don’t have enough nerve to go through it.

Two big decisions for the community coming up: Chamber Director and WTC President.

Keep a good thought that great people are selected.

Lots of excellent feedback about the motorcycle rally.

The community took to the bikers and vice versa.

A letter to the editor in the Snyder Daily News by Richard Waters put it very well: The bikers felt welcome and they will return.

What a Great Weekend II

The October 7th weekend was everything promised and more.

See our video montage on snydertexas.net.

Reports pouring in from numerous sources have been uniformly positive.

It took a great effort from many people and institutions working together to make it happen.

These were chamber sponsored events and Sandra and Brenda worked overtime to pull things together.

Special kudos go to David Boyd and the motorcycle committee which met every Monday for a year to plan the event.

Putting on a happening of this magnitude for the first time is a tremendous undertaking.

They pulled it off with style, grace and organization.

It is poised to be even bigger next year.

Marianne Randals and Bill and their volunteers revitalized the White Buffalo Days. Everything was bigger and better with activities and vendors galore.

The Manhatten Hotel was a great headquarters.

People were on the square morning, noon and night and even Sunday afternoon.

What a great event.

And they have even bigger plans for next year.

Tim Collier and Jerry Baird put on a superb cook-off and the food was delicious.

A note of thanks to Larry Thompson and the coliseum staff who were extremely helpful and courteous.

And to the law enforcement personnel who had a visible presence but handled the events very diplomatically.

These are all the people I’m going to name because the list would be endless and I would leave out someone deserving.

What are the lessons for Snyder?

The community working together can make us a household word throughout the area.

We need to strike while the iron is hot, while the oil is flowing and strive to bring people from the outside into the town.

In the Internet Age many businesses can operate wherever there is electricity and a broadband connection.

A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed the phenomena of people wanting to return to places where there is a sense of community.

It highlighted a number of small towns that are luring people from the city for this very reason.

A sense of community is one of our strongest assets.

Ask people who grew up here and moved to Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin or Fort Worth.

Yes, they like what there is to do in the big city but as life moves on, many of them yearn for a place with less traffic and that before mentioned sense of community.

They don’t want to return to a desert but if there were job opportunities and the quality of life were sufficient, they would love to work and even retire here.

Therefore, let’s keep activities going, the creative juices flowing, the community cooperating, the people coming and the quality of life improving.

If we do, there is no limit to what can happen right here in little ole Snyder, Texas.

What a Weekend

There is a lot of positive energy in town right now and we will see an explosion this weekend.

Don’t leave for Lubbock. You won’t find a better place to be than little ole Snyder, Texas.

Bikers, art exhibits, live music, chili cook-off, distance running, parades, plays, food booths, vendors, etc.

A lot of fun to be had by area citizens and dollars pouring into Snyder.

The incredible thing about all this is the number of people working together to make it happen.

I can’t remember a happening where more different groups cooperated.

This includes not only private citizens but government entities, the newspaper, the coliseum staff, etc.

This shows what Snyder is capable of.

One element in attracting businesses is to make our town a “neat” place to live.

The White Buffalo events are what it’s all about.