Decision to Rezone Warwick Benefits Alma

As a 26-year Alma resident, I care deeply about not only all that Alma offers its community members, but also the ways our community engages with the wider world. As I taught my Alma College students for 25 years, it is our obligation to treat others with compassion and respect, to actively value difference, and to contribute to the greater good. As my tradition teaches, we must all engage in Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. Allowing Bethany Christian Services to provide transitional housing for unaccompanied immigrant youth meets a critical need for a vulnerable population, helps the city of Alma to engage in Tikkun Olam, and brings both new jobs and federal grant funding to our city.

Because the City Commission voted to approve the rezoning request, we have the opportunity to send a powerful message, to let everyone within and beyond the Alma city limits know that our community walks the talk—that we welcome strangers and offer assistance, and that it is love, not fear that guides our actions. Attempting to recall city commissioners for doing the right thing contradicts the values we claim to uphold; I urge Alma residents not to sign the recall petition.

Joanne Gilbert Alma