Letters to the Editor 4/24/08

Living conditions in Davison
First things first. What a great new paper setup you have at the Index. Thanks for the changes. Staff and otherwise. Not trying to be a negative Nellie, but the old version was getting stale, and full of hooey.

In recent weeks I have been reading a lot of various stories on the living conditions in Mid-Michigan and wanted to comment on all that we in the Davison area have had to endure this last year.

I recently read a story where it said that Davison was the only municipality in all of Genesee County that actually did not have a decrease in property values in all of 2007, which really stinks, because I was so hoping that the value and market price of my home would go down. Why would I want my taxes to go up? It’s not like anyone would want to come here and look for homes, is it? And my tax dollars probably will just be wasted on some unimportant issue anyway, right?

What does Davison have to offer that other communities cannot? I always thought that if you lived in a undesirable area, that the values of those homes would be decreasing. Could it be that Davison still is a desirable place to make home? Bucking the trend? Hmm. Lets explore this theory further.

A few months ago, a story I read stated that the new test given by the State of Michigan, the Michigan Merit Exam, a very difficult college entrance style exam; showed that the Davison High School juniors who took the test had the highest percentage of students meeting or exceeding the state requirements in all total strands, topping all of the 21 districts in Genesee County. Kind of like an average, overall score. And with the great disparity in career earnings of high school grads as opposed to those students who go on to be college grads, I am very encouraged by that fact.
Now comes the story in the last Index issue that said the student body as a whole, third through ninth grades, scored tops in the county again on average overall percentage of students passing the MEAP test: 86.2%, beating out the likes of Goodrich, Grand Blanc, Flushing and Fenton.
I have to tell you, it is with great pride, that I’m sure all of you who send children to the Davison School District, can join me in a collective CHEER for all of the school administrators, teachers, para-pros, and volunteers who have worked so hard over the years to make sure all of our kids are being taken care of. I think a lot of people may take it for granted what “living conditions” we are so fortunate to have here in the Davison area.

It’s no mystery that it is a simple formula to say that the people of a community is what makes it tick. And as many times as I’ve frequented and watched our schools in action over the years, I have seen nothing but great things from all of you. It makes us all proud to call Davison our home. Some might say I’m being a bit too proud. Well sue me. These things never seem to get noticed as much in our papers. It’s mainly always bickering and arguing about silly stuff that holds less importance than it deserves. And it carries over to our state and national media. The negativity and non-issues we’re bombarded with daily. Where are the positive stories? Where? Apparently right here in Davison. And the Index, the old one, and our fine NEW one, does a great job of keeping us abreast.

Thank you all for the best 12 years that I and my family have had yet. And for the many, many more to come, we’re sure. — Craig Smith, Davison