VOICE OF THE TOWNSHIP: SPRING

What a beautiful Spring we are having in Waynedale. The trees and flowers are blooming, and the weather has been unusually warm and sunny. Easter is here already and with it comes the second annual Easter Egg Hunt in Waynedale Park at 10 a.m. this Saturday, April 7.

I hope many of you can attend this new event sponsored by the Waynedale Community Improvement Team. Before the actual Hunt starts, the Easter Bunny will be at the park to greet everyone. When I spoke to the Easter Bunny the other day, she told me she was planning to hide over 2,000 eggs for the children to find.

The Hunt is open to ages 12 and under, with a separate Hunt for the two to five year olds. While there will be prizes for all participants, the children who find the one gold and one silver egg will be in for an extra special prize. Those participating in the Hunt should bring their own bags or Easter baskets to collect their eggs. The Easter Bunny also told me to thank the students from Wayne High School who assisted her.

From my experience, children really love Easter Egg Hunts, and we adults enjoy watching the children having so much fun. I applaud the Waynedale Community Improvement Team, including Beulah Matczak and the other volunteers, for the work they have been doing to make the Easter Egg Hunt a success and to make Waynedale an even better place to live.

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With Spring comes renewed energy in my office both among our staff and clients to work toward our goal of jobs for clients. One of the ways we help our clients secure employment and keep that employment is through the training we provide for them. Our Employment Director LeRoy Page recently facilitated excellent training on anger management techniques, which really engaged our clients in a vigorous discussion.

Anger is a strong feeling of displeasure or hostility. It’s a natural human emotion. However, problems with anger occur not because we feel anger; but when we mismanage that anger. The training class members discussed the many reasons they might feel angry such as money problems, having to do other persons’ work and little things their co-workers do or don’t do.

Guided by Mr. Page, the clients spoke about various ways they can manage their anger. They discussed that persons should think before they act or take a deep breath and try to relax before saying something. If you are angry, you could talk over the situation with a trusted person and not hold the anger inside. You should walk away and not try to get in the last word. One client even suggested you could start singing to calm down.

They spoke about correcting your body language and trying to reduce stress before it turns into anger. Mr. Page suggested that a good way to manage anger is to “respond instead of react.” We have the capacity to choose how we respond to anger. Remember that we don’t always get our way. Sometimes we must adjust our expectations in favor of others.

Often there are consequences to anger and that could include losing your job or not getting a job. Yet demonstrating an ability to control your anger distinguishes you above other job applicants and could be a factor in hiring you. Mr. Page ended the class with several quotes including these, “For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.” “Do not teach your children never to be angry; teach them how to be angry.”

Richard A. Stevenson, Sr.
Wayne Township Trustee
www.waynetownship.org