A time to plan Celebrate National Planning Month
Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008
Do you know all the organizations and causes that have chosen October as their month for recognition ? This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which you probably already knew. For the record, it's also National Medical Librarian Month, National Dental Hygiene Month, Photographer Appreciation Month (yes, photographers, we appreciate you ), National Popcorn Poppin' Month, Squirrel Awareness Month and even National Sarcastic Awareness Month. We could go on. The one that we choose to highlight today is National Planning Month. In a growing area such as ours, planning - smart planning - is crucial, so we're glad to know that Bentonville is recognizing it this year.
The city has scheduled several events to mark National Planning Month. At 3 p.m. Wednesday, renewable local energy will be the topic of an online conference at the Community Development Building, 305 S. W. A St. If you go, you can find out what role neighborhood-scale utilities can play in improving community sustainability. While you're there, check out the planning materials on display in the lobby.
In addition, a Clean the Streets Day will be held Saturday. Volunteers are being sought to pick up litter along city streets and recreational trails. Check-in is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Community Development Building lobby.
We encourage Bentonville residents to get involved in these activities. The American Planning Association has chosen "Green Communities"as its theme this year. We like the sound of that. They're doing some cool things in construction these days by making buildings environmentally friendly; developers should strive for these kinds of things. But we can all do our part to help make our communities green, even if it's as simple as picking up an empty soda bottle on the ground.
Planning goes into the streets we drive, the stores where we shop, the places we work and the homes we inhabit. It's easy to underestimate the importance of good planning in our lives. That's why we're happy to have a month dedicated to it.
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