Harrisburg, can we talk?
Seriously.
But the problem is, where can we talk?
Unlike both larger and smaller communities I’ve lived or spent time in, Harrisburg does not have many “public spaces” where people can just sit down, talk and interact in an informal way.
Sure, you can go the City Council meetings, where you will be heard on your issue.
Sure, you can go to the School Board and maybe get to say what you want.
What I’m talking about is very different.
It’s often the local coffee shop or sale barn where people meet and chew the fat about what’s going on.
Even a big city has places like that – Bob’s Café in Sioux Falls comes to mind.
In tiny Corona, South Dakota up in the far northeast, there’s a coffee shop by the grain elevator where the farmers drink coffee, play Yahtzee and talk about what’s going on.
Frankly, I don’t think we don’t have places like that in Harrisburg.
The closest we might come are The Phoenix Lounge or Fresh Horses Saloon. But not everyone wants to go into a bar.
Except for the American Legion, which is often booked for city meetings, there really isn’t a meeting room in the community freely accessible to groups.
In Brookings, where I used to live, the public library had such a facility.
Just down the road in Canton, Home Federal Bank has a basement community room.
About the only time I am able to talk with people face to face is at school activities.
At a concert, it is rude and difficult to talk while the groups are performing. Athletic events have more gaps in the action for talking.
But a bleacher isn’t conducive to good conversation.
It’s not like Harrisburg doesn’t have a lot to talk about: growth, the school, water, public safety, substance abuse and so forth.
While some of you have objected about what I write in this space, I view this as another community space.
I have been asked by The Champion to write about local issues from my perspective – that of a 13-year resident, Democrat and progressive activist, parent of school-aged kids, native South Dakotan, former planning board member, local soccer coach, etc. – to help spur community conversations.
Though you are certainly welcome to call my editors and tell them what an idiot I am, I’d prefer it if you’d write a letter to the editor or a guest column about your point of view.
Or, start a blog. Or comment on mine at www.southdakotawatch.net. Or both.
Some communities are not lucky enough to have problems with growth. Some use community blogs as a way to foster community discussion about pressing issues.
The South Dakota State University Extension Office’s Horizon Community Project has nearly 20 small South Dakota communities that use blogs in such a way.
It is a vibrant discussion, with towns like Whitewood, Armour and Tyndall taking on tricky issues like economic development and poverty.
It is done with intelligence and civility, and it is interesting reading.
Communities dealing with decline rather than growth aren’t afraid to talk to themselves and others as they look for community consensus on issues.
We shouldn’t be afraid here in Harrisburg.
Only by talking through our issues together can we solve them and involve as many people as possible.
It shouldn’t only be during times of crisis that the community communicates.