When visitors drive through a town, one of the first things they use to judge that community is the condition of its downtown.
Right now, Derry's downtown is a mess, speckled with vacant storefronts that scream "community on the decline."
We mean to help change that.
As a downtown business ourselves, and with recognition of our unique position of leadership within the community, the Derry News is launching a multi-faceted initiative to support the businesses of Derry as a whole and downtown, in particular. The first phase of this initiative will be a Holiday Walk, which will coincide with A Very Derry Holiday festival and the annual Chamber of Commerce Holiday Parade on Nov. 28.
The walk, put on in cooperation with the Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, will feature numerous businesses, located along the parade route, opening their doors to the public throughout the day. These businesses will offer various giveaways and raffles with something for every member of the family. The Derry News will be publishing a special supplement in our Nov. 25 edition, featuring complete festival information, feature stories and a map of the parade route, highlighting the businesses participating in the Holiday Walk and what each will be offering that day. In addition, the supplement will include a song book with the words to the songs being sung at the Recreation Department Tree lighting later in the evening.
The Holiday Walk, A Very Derry Holiday and the Holiday Parade will combine to provide a spectacular day-long kickoff to the 2009 holiday season.
Further event details will be published in the Derry News in the coming weeks.
Under-utilized resources
There are two valuable resources in most communities that are woefully under utilized — the local public libraries and the community access television stations.
Not that these resources are neglected. Both have passionate advocates who lobby for funding, loyally tout services and plead for greater public participation.
Doubt that?
Recommend to the town council that funding for the library or the the public access station be slashed to balance the budget or lower taxes and the next meeting will be attended by dozens of rabid defenders, explaining why full funding is essential.
Despite this, few in the community take full advantage of the resources there institutions offer. For instance, some were surpised to learn, during the most recent municpal election cycle, that anyone can walk in off the street and, after some brief training, present their own show on public access. Residents are free to espouse political views, talk about hobbies or experiences, or offer instruction in a field of expertise. The time is yours and the cost is zero.
LATV celebrated its silver anniversary recently. And while the event was well-atended, it remains to be seen if many of the 'visitors' who stopped by, wind up becoming active participants. And how many people can honestly say they have sat through an entire school board or town council meting on public access, despite it being a convenient way to stay up on ton government.
Derry, Londondery and Chester are also blessed with several outstanding libaries, offering not just a selection of reading material, but a wide array of programming for children and adults. Yet, many of these programs are sparsely attended and good parking spots are ofen available at any of these facilities.
Are libraries on their way out, replaced by the limitless information available on the Internet? Advocates argue that communities will always need libraries. But if usage continues to slip, funding may eventually become harder to justify.
In the meantime, libraries, much like public access television, will continue striving to keep up with modern technology, providing young adults and teens a chance to enjoy cyberspace, while still engaging in face-to-face human contact.
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