Do you care what happens in Franklin County?

In Russellville? In Red Bay?

Phil Campbell? Hodges? Vina? Belgreen? Spruce Pine?

We could go on, listing ever-more defined communities and areas of the county, but let’s cut to the chase. We want to encourage all members of this community – however widely or narrowly “community” might be defined in each circumstance – that you get to have a say in what happens here.

You, dear reader, are a community stakeholder, and that means you get to use your voice to impact the present and future, to help shape what’s coming for Franklin County.

The opportunities to make your voice heard abound.

Recently a number of community stakeholders made their feelings known about the potential of the county landfill expanding. They used their voices to say here is what we the people want – and don’t want – in our community.

Stakeholders got a chance to share what they want for the future of downtown Russellville in a recent Main Street meeting at the Historic Roxy Theatre. Movers and shakers are rising up to say they have a vision for their community, and with a little action behind their words, they will see it become reality.

Others make their voices heard at regular governmental meetings – city council meetings, county commission meetings, board meetings. All of these groups provide opportunities for concerned citizens to share their views and ask questions. And although these avenues seem sometimes to only be pursued by those with an axe to grind, sharing your voice doesn’t have to be antagonistic or confrontational. We feel certain any of our local elected or appointed officials would welcome the input of their stakeholders with ideas for the best ways they can serve this community.

Other opportunities often include things like online surveys. One such that is available right now is the broadband survey, located at https://arcg.is/0mTnvS0. Always be keeping an eye out for these types of online surveys, frequently offered by everyone from the chamber of commerce to the school board and more to get information “straight from the horse’s mouth,” so to speak, about how the community feels about any number of topics.

As ever, the Franklin County Times also stands ready to give you a platform to share your views on community matters. Have an opinion to share, good or bad? You can send a letter to the editor or even a guest column. We know there can be many viewpoints on any given situation, and this page of the paper exists for the very purpose of helping share those viewpoints.

Whatever avenue you choose, we hope you will remember you have options when it comes to making your opinion known, particularly when it comes to the wellbeing and future outlook of your community.