For the past several years, I have always used the last week of the year to look back at my columns and see what my readers thought of my articles. I want to thank all those who have spoken to me personally or written comments to let me know your opinions about those articles. Feedback is tremendously helpful as it helps guide me in future editions. Another gauge is the number of reader hits that show up on the Webb Weekly website (www.webbweekly.com). In 2022, I had published 46 County Hall Corner articles and six LION (Leaders in Our Neighborhood) articles totaling roughly 19,000 reads. I want to acknowledge two of these as favorites of mine which also apparently resonated with our readership.
My favorite LION was featured on June 1st with the heading, “Abby McCoy — Champion in Life.” I have been following this young lady’s equestrian exploits for several years now and have marveled at her success but also her maturity. What made Abby stand out for me was the balance she was able to maintain between her studies and sports accomplishments. She was first featured on the cover of Webb Weekly for winning an equestrian championship at the age of eleven. After high school, she went to Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia, and became part of a national equestrian championship in her freshman year. She received another national championship in her senior year.
Truth be told, success in sports can become like a narcotic. Winning becomes an obsession — and losing becomes a pit of despair. Yet, here is what made Abby stand out. We met for her interview at the Backhouse Cafe on West 4th Street (which, by the way, is probably the best place in the city for a comfortable place to have a conversation over a delicious cup of coffee). Abby had just graduated, and I was very surprised that as much as she was proud of her national championship, she was actually more juiced up over just receiving her undergraduate degree in physics with a minor in mathematics, not only graduating with honors but also the only female in her class with this degree and only one of three graduates who received their diploma from the president of the college.
When I asked her about future equestrian completion, Abby just smiled. As much as she loved horses and the competition, she stated that this phase of her life was now over. No sports narcotic in her blood — she had a real life to live. I have no idea what that young lady will eventually become, but I am absolutely certain it will be impressive.
A County Hall Corner article I thoroughly enjoyed writing was in the March 16th issue entitled “Troubled Bridges Through Troubled Waters.” In that article, I tracked back to the commissioners’ meeting on June 15, 2017, in which Commissioners Jack McKernan, Tony Mussare, and Rick Mirabito proposed an ordinance for a $5 fee on every non-exempt vehicle registered in the county. The purpose was to leverage these fees into a bond to be used to repair structurally deficient bridges in nineteen different municipalities in Lycoming County.
It was an inspired idea that practically addressed a vital need that local communities would have been unable to do on their own. Over the years, I have tracked this program, and it has worked extremely well. Yet, the heat that these three commissioners took for this action from the taxpayers, and then later Scott Metzger when he succeeded Jack McKernan, was something to behold. I could not believe that five dollars meant so much to so many! As I sat through those meetings over the years, that fee kept coming up again and again by county residents, and the commissioners would, again and again, have to defend the action they took.
In that March 16th article, I reviewed the bridge project and made up an award to recognize their achievement. Commissioners Jack McKernan, Tony Mussare, and Rick Mirabito were recognized with the first Webb Weekly County Hall Corner Distinguished Service Award for “exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility” for the inauguration of this historically significant project. In addition, I awarded Commissioner Scott Metzger an Outstanding Service Award for his leadership in shepherding this critically important agenda forward. I even printed up award certificates and presented them in person at the following commissioners’ meeting. It was all in good fun, but in truth, I felt their perseverance deserved a prize.
My prize is the joy of writing for the best newspaper in the country about the most interesting county in the Commonwealth. OK, that may be an exaggeration, but honestly, it often feels that way. I cannot wait to see what will be in 2023!
