No longer passing through

No longer passing through
For three years Sealy was the halfway point on my commute from my home in Rosenberg to my office in Hempstead where I worked at the Waller County News Citizen.
Most of the time I would commute the back roads through Fulshear and Brookshire. Quite often I would take the longer route along Highway 36. The way through Sealy afforded me not only a change of scenery but allowed me to avoid that den of corruption east of town. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m no fan of Brookshire, but that’s a story for another day.
The point is that I’ve always passed through Sealy (and Wallis, Bellville and other small towns). Other than the occasional stop at McDonalds or Wal-Mart, I never had a reason to get off the main drag. All that changed on Jan. 2 when Sealy became my destination. At the time of this writing, I’m just two days into my new job at The Sealy News. So far, I really like it.
It has been too cold to go out and wonder around much, but I did get a driving tour of town. I also got to attend the Republican candidates forum at the American Legion and had my hand shaken enough to burst a bottle of pop (or soda or Coke or whatever you like to call a carbonated soft drink). Ah politicians, you gotta love them!
So far, everyone I’ve met has been really friendly. I suspect that will change over time. It always does. It’s an occupational hazard.
One of the recurring themes from the candidates forum was the importance of economic development. For Sealy and Austin County to survive, there needs to be controlled growth.
For me, Sealy used to mean food and fuel. It’s probably the same for the millions of people who pass through along Interstate 10 each year.  Sealy and Austin County are not destination points. They could be, but I get a feeling that’s not what the locals want. Building a theme park or creating a national monument like the St. Louis Arch or Mount Rushmore is probably not in the county’s future.
The question remains, what is the future for Austin County? Growth is coming hard and fast from Houston. How that growth is handled can be decided by local government acting with forethought or in hindsight by developers and their high-dollar lawyers. I have learned through Sealy Mayor Nick Tirey that such a plan was formulated a few years ago and then promptly shelved. I found the report online and agree that it is a viable guideline for growth in the county. Its vision statement beautifully summarizes the 44-page report:
“To preserve and protect our County’s rich natural, historic, and cultural assets and maintain its predominantly agriculture-based economy while providing targeted opportunities for the expansion of population, employment, and recreation.”
Among its primary features, the report calls for an economic development plan. It outlines a determination to keep most of the county rural while developing eco-tourism and heritage tourism opportunities. It looks like a good plan and I will delve into it a little further to better understand the community and its vision for the future.
Perhaps this report holds the key that will bring people to town rather than have them pass through.  Only time and hard work will tell.