Editorial: New year, new chance to change

The new year of 2020 is just around the corner and we hope that thoughts of a new slate upon which to write will encourage fresh, new thoughts.
With this issue, the Independent is completing its 25th year and we are looking at new things to do to continue our service. We’ll tell you next week about our upcoming celebration on Jan. 9.
The City of Belleville will be getting a new city manager and so things will be different in city hall. After working a total of 40 years in municipal governments, Diana Kollmeyer is ready for a rest.
In Van Buren Township there is a new planning director and lots of upcoming developments. The former director, Ron Akers, was very particular about following the law precisely. We hope new director Dan Power is as particular.
There are other new things in VBT — so many it makes your head spin. Their PR department is running at high speed and, along with their slick magazine, are making VBT seem to be heaven. Don’t worry, we’ll continue to tell you what’s happening in the day-to-day spending of taxpayer money.
In Sumpter, they will be opening their new library branch soon, so people in the township will be able to use computers and scanners and printers in their own neighborhood instead of having to drive the six miles or so to the main library in Belleville. If you want to browse for a book to read, you’ll still need to go to the main branch. We’re told there are no books at the branch library in Sumpter.