From the Mayor’s Desk
Winter and spring seemed exceptionally long, considering we were quarantined for most of it, and now summer has finally arrived! The coronavirus pandemic will undoubtedly make the summer challenging as we continue to social distance and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to keep everyone safe from this virus. Doing your part will help to keep us in the green phase. We certainly don’t want numbers to rise again and have to return to the red phase. I am confident that the residents of Canonsburg will do what it takes to keep things progressing in the right direction.
The problem facing us now causing sadness and unrest in our society is racism. This has been weighing heavily on me for some time now, and as a community, I feel that we need to work on combating racism in our small town. For months I have felt the need to come together and pray for peace, love, kindness and the safety of our town. Two weeks ago, on a Sunday, my wife and I and several of the pastors from the Canonsburg-Houston Ministerial Association got together at the top of North Central Avenue and Pitt Street. We prayed for God to look down on us and provide the healing, love, kindness and faith we need to carry us through these difficult times.
Since then, along with the Ministerial Association, we have taken another step to educate ourselves about racism and how to make a positive change in society. As your mayor, I try to see everyone as a human and not judge people by color, race, gender or sexual orientation. I feel that there are good and bad in all races and that each person should be treated fairly across the board. Although I’m sure some racism exists here, it is hard to come up with hard evidence of it. I will continue to have a series of meetings to find the answers we need to be able to move forward positively. I need your ideas, thoughts and stories to understand what we need to do as a community to rectify this situation. As your mayor, I take pride in trying to do the right thing for everyone in Canonsburg, regardless of who you are. My office is always open to suggestions. Please stop by or call with questions or concerns.
As always, I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy summer. With all that’s happened, take time to get together with friends and make special memories.
Don’t let diversity skew your view of the bigger picture.
God Bless you all and have a safe and happy summer.