Another good example
Marion's nearly completed project of renovating the former Santa Fe depot into a modern new library is another example of what a community can accomplish when folks work together.
Too often we see examples of what can happen when people are divisive. When folks don't work for a common goal they often accomplish more harm than good.
The library project is one which has been heavily funded by a government grant, but it also required a healthy dose of local effort. Contributors were generous.
Restoration of the historic spring in Central Park was accomplished by a generous private grant from the late Paul Brooker, and a great deal of cooperation from the city of Marion.
St. Luke Hospital is another example of what can happen when people pull together. Even though a government grant was used to pay for part of the initial cost, the hospital has operated for nearly 50 years through the careful use of private contributions and voluntary taxation.
Also, those government grants were, and are, the result of private contributions: taxes which were approved.
There is no such thing as government money. It all comes from the public. And the public has been generous, both through voluntary contributions and payment of taxes which must be approved by the public or those who represent the public.
Don't bash "the government." We are the government. The government is us.
Good things can be accomplished when folks work together for mutual benefit
— BILL MEYER
