Meeting benefits city

A big round of applause needs to go out to the Douglas School Board of Education and the Douglas City Council who sat down Sept. 13 in a joint meeting all with the betterment of Douglas in mind.

This is the first time anyone can remember these two sides coming together for a joint meeting.

The two sides met for 90 minutes and discussed a much needed joint recreation program as well as a community strategic plan.

A lot can be accomplished but it takes everyone working together and not independently and these two sides have shown a willingness to work together.

One thing is for sure and was mutually agreed upon at the meeting, the children of Douglas need a safe environment to participate in after school programs. With all the cutbacks taking place at the different levels it makes sense to join forces and attempt to provide something that is safe and secure at a reasonable cost.

There was a question about money and possible locations for these programs which each side can contribute to.

Plus not all the kids in Douglas are athletes and the fact the school board and the city council are attempting to come up with programs other than sports to keep the kids involved and off the streets indicate they have given this matter some serious thought. And it’s all agreed we need to find something for the older age kids to do.

Improving Douglas’ image is vital and this was the first step.