Small Town News

Shooting the Breeze

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Now that the primary election is over, I have to ask why so few of my fellow Walton County citizens bothered to vote? According to SandestinVoters, a mere 27 percent of those eligible to vote bothered to go to the polls. Perhaps people thought the primary election wasn't important, but since the election seated the nonpartisan school board and could have selected a judge (there is a run off) who will serve for four years, it was important.

As citizens, not much is asked of us. We are supposed to obey the laws and we are asked to participate in democracy by voting and serving on juries. That's it, and it seems to be more than some of us can bother to do. To those who can vote and who did not, shame on you and you have not forfeited the right to complain about anything any elected officials might do.

While I was trolling around gathering statistics on local voters, I wandered across a site that provided a number of statistics I didn't know. I'd wondered for a while how many people lived in this county, and according to U.S. Census stats through July 2009, we had 55,105 people in our borders. Of those, 20 percent are under 18, and 76 percent of us graduated from high school. Walton County is the 41st largest in the state with 20 percent of the region considered urban and 80 percent rural. That surprised me a bit. Further statistics said 14.9 percent of our population lives below the poverty level. Almost 15 percent of the total county population is a shockingly high number, making it even more important to support local charities to whatever extent each of us is able.

A few months back I did my first story on the Rural Relief Fund (RRF). I was impressed by the can-do attitude of members of the Muscogee Tribe and the willingness of this group to help not only other tribe members, but also any needy people in the vicinity. It appears the rural poor are often overlooked and under-served and last year's hard winter brought a lot of local suffering into the daylight. Since then, I have followed the progress of RRF as a reporter and also as someone who contributes at least one bag of non-perishable food every month.

I haven't a lot of spare cash for charity, but I cannot stand the thought of people in my zip code going without food. As a fat person, I find it even more sad that I can afford to overfeed myself if I choose, while others are going without. I take a simple route to my charitable donation. I study the grocery ads in this newspaper and when I go to the store, I pick up 'one or two items for the food pantry. Sometimes bagged rice or macaroni and cheese is two for one, so I get those items. Typically I don't spend more than three extra dollars per trip and I can afford this small amount. After a month, I usually have at least one bag and sometimes two, depending on what was on sale. It is painless and I know somebody is going to appreciate making a meal of what I was able to contribute.

As the economy continues to be sluggish, I am grateful every day to have a job. Part of that gratitude has to be given back and I love knowing my small gifts are going to people in my community who need it. Here's hoping everyone pledges to be a good citizen for the rest of the year by voting in November and finding some way to help others in need. After all, one day any one of us could need a little help as well.

Leah Stratmann may be reached via leahwrites@gmail.com



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© 2011 The DeFuniak Springs Herald DeFuniak Springs, Florida. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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