National Police Week Gratitude And A Real Talk On Vandalism

We share a candid weekly update for Waynesville that starts with gratitude for our police officers and turns into a direct call for residents to take responsibility for safety and respect for property. We also highlight mental health awareness, thank the people who make community events possible, and share key dates for Memorial Day and graduation season. 
• National Police Week recognition and appreciation for officers’ workload 
• Recent vandalism and hit and runs across the city 
• Speeding and stop sign violations as neighborhood safety risks 
• Personal responsibility steps like slowing down and reporting damage 
• Mental Health Awareness Month and reducing stigma around getting help 
• Thanks to Freedom Fest organizers and the value of community events 
• Memorial Day ceremony details at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery 
• Congratulations and safety reminders for graduates and students transitioning 
For more information, visit wainsvillemo.org. 

Transcript

Mayor’s Weekly Message

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, this is Sean Wilson, the mayor of Waynesville, and I have a lot to share with you this week. I've been thinking about a quite a few things. First, this week is National Police Week, May 11th through the 17th. With our Peace Officers Memorial Day on Friday, May 15th, our Waynesville Police Department has fielded more than 700 calls in the last 30 days alone. That's roughly 1.2 calls an hour per officer around the clock. They run toward what most of us run from. And they deserve our gratitude, of course, and our thanks. So if you see an officer in uniform this week, stop by and say hello. And obviously, you can go down to the police station and tell them thank you, that you appreciate what they do here for our community and you recognize their hard work. So just join us in saying thank you to our police officers for all of the hard work that they do day in and day out. And while we're honoring our officers, I want to talk about something we as a community have to own. And that's vandalism. We've had a rash of it in the last few days. Cars are being hitting fences and driving off without ever reporting the damage. Someone set the park bathrooms on fire. People are vandalizing property, defacing city property, even hit and runs on vehicles in the parking lots at City Hall and people leaving without reporting it. Trash being dumped throughout the city. And some of it is being done by our teenagers. My own vehicle was hit in the parking lot at the City Hall, hit and run. And the driver never reported it. I had to look up on the cameras myself to find out who it was. We have people who are driving and driving right through stop signs, not even slowing down, speeding in residential neighborhoods where kids are at play, knowing that we don't have sidewalks within our residential neighborhoods, and most of our kids are on the streets with the vehicles. What does this tell us about where we are? Officers can't be at every corner. So at some point, this becomes our individual responsibility. Every citizen has a responsibility to buckle up their seat belts and put down their phones, slow down, stop at stop signs, pick up after yourselves, protect our property. If you see someone defacing and damaging city property, report it. We have to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. Because it takes a whole community to take care of the community. The community means all of us. It's not just the city staff, it's not just the police officers. By no means am I saying go out and stop crimes. I'm saying be the voice that reports it so we can get to where we need to be. There's certainly a lot of things that need to go on in this community. We're trying to keep it clean. We're trying to expand and improve the quality of life and bring businesses within the community. But it's going to take all of us to get to where we need to be. I want to go ahead and share with everyone that May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. So take this time to not only address your physical needs, but also your mental health needs is very important for all of us in our community. And let's get rid of the stigma. Mental health is a part of life. We all deal with uh with pains and weights and challenges in life, and sometimes we need the external um assistance. This last week there was a great opportunity for um the Pelasi County Health Department put on a mental or a wellness conference that was there for that purpose, to provide that assistance. So if you didn't weren't able to make that, I encourage you next year to go and attend and uh equip yourself to respond to life's challenges as they present themselves. I'd also like to take a moment and say thank you to um Joanne, Tim, and Andra for the work that they did to put on the Freedom Fest this last week. Um, they did incredible work. Um, I don't know, those people that may not understand this, but to put on community events, it is very trying and challenging. The administrative responsibility, the coordination, the time that you put in, um, organizing community events are are hard. And behind the behind-the-scenes work is where the real work is. The day of the event, um, sure there's work at a certain level, but the work in preparing for these events is what needs to be commended in this time. So I just want to say thank you to everyone that had put on this event and in other community events as well. We don't take that lightly. Um, every event that is placed and takes place within our community is another outlet for our community to come together to um fellowship, unite, learn of one another, and to get our kids out to do something different and for us as a community to actually learn something different from each one. So we got a lot of great events that are coming up here. Please stay um tuned and stay connected. Look at your calendars and go out and experience what the community has to offer. Looking ahead, on of course, on Memorial Day, City Hall will be closed. Um, but we also have the Missouri Veterans Cemetery that will be holding a ceremony of remembrance and honor of the fallen, and that takes place at 1 p.m. Um, and I want to make note that the cemetery closes to through traffic at 10 a.m. that morning. This disabled parking is available on the cemetery grounds and shuttles provided for all others if you want to attend the ceremony at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Fort Linwood, located in Waynesville. I certainly encourage you to come out. It's always a day to remember and reflect on those who are no longer with us. And finally, to all of our graduates this season, congratulations to our Waynesville Tigers heading from high school to college or into a trade school, or maybe they maybe they're choosing to go to the military or straight into the workforce. We're so proud of you, and this is a great time and transition of your life. I'll say enjoy your summer. Um, to all the students moving from middle school to high school, um, get ready. Um, congratulations. And from those that are going from elementary school to the sixth grade center, it's gonna be a big step for them as well. Um, this is a season of transition and completion. Um, let's celebrate it, let's reward it, and most of all, let's be safe. Enjoy your summer, be safe, and get ready for what is coming next. For more information, visit wainsvillemo.org. And until we meet again, I look forward to seeing you on the mile.