If Letters to Santa the Hartselle Enquirer has received for publication in next week’s Christmas edition are a good indication, Santa Claus and his reindeer are going to have a very busy Christmas Eve.  Not wanting to be left out, I added a top 10 Christmas wish list for our community as follows:

1. Bring Hartselle new businesses to fill market gaps and breathe life into the empty store buildings in the central business district. A bonus gift we’d like is a new destination type business in the I-65 and Hwy. 36 corridor.

2. Bring Hartselle and Morgan County a long-awaited business or light industry for the Morgan County Business Park at the Thompson Road and I-65 interchange

3. Bring the long-awaited and much anticipated traffic changes to facilitate faster and more efficient traffic flow through the central business district. What a joy it will be to get through downtown Hartselle without having to stop two or three times for a traffic signal change.

4. Bring us an attitude change on the importance of Hartselle residents patronizing Hartselle businesses. Remember: When we spend money outside of Hartselle, we are denying our city money it needs to maintain public services.

5. Help the city is more proactive by opening up its recreational facilities to travel team tournaments when they are not being used by youth league teams. This is a proven way to generate additional revenue for local businesses and the city’s general fund.

6. Bring us the desire to enhance the eye appeal of our gateways and corridors. way-finding signage and stronger enforcement of zoning and landscape ordinances.

7. Help the city do a better job of preparing a workforce for today and tomorrow through vocational and technical training in our schools.

8. Bring us a stronger awareness of how fortunate we are to live in a community with excellent schools, churches, police and fire protection, recreational facilities, low crime rate and other dependable city services.

9. Bring us a mild winter, an early spring and a long summer and fall.

10. Last, but not least, bring good health, happiness and prosperity to everyone, and to all a merry Christmas.

Clif Knight is a staff writer for the Hartselle Enquirer.