Last year’s state-of-the-village speech presented by Morton Mayor Norm Durflinger took place in a packed room of Rotarians — leaders in the community.
It was an ideal place for such a speech but offered little visibility to the majority of Morton residents.
This year, the speech will be given in the same room and in front of the same congregation — however, it will be recorded for other residents to watch on television.
Durflinger’s speech raised several eyebrows last year as he discussed a desire for liquor sales in grocery stores and a loan for the new firehouse.
Morton — a conservative community — previously objected to selling liquor in grocery stores.
He said he was a bit worried about what others thought of the speech because he did not hear a lot of clapping afterward.
There were not any groans either.
At the time, it seemed residents of the village were just beginning to understand the necessity to grow, but not to the point they were ready for change.
It became apparent over the next few months that village officials were serious about growth and economic development as evidenced by the Morton in Motion campaign, which eventually led to the formation of the Morton Economic Development Council.
Durflinger has not been afraid to promote his visions for the future of Morton. But, he prefers to do so with the help of residents.
His vision is nothing without disciples.
Well, he did it. He successfully involved others in the community. While they may not all have the same ideas, Durflinger was able to gage what the residents wanted.
His state-of-the-village speech provided foresight for what Mortonites are experiencing today — possible liquor sales at grocery stores, and the village is currently waiting on a bid from banks on a loan for its new firehouse.
If that does not tell us that his ideas have carried on — we are just being naive.
We asked Durflinger if he could provide a glimpse of this week’s state-of-the-village speech — what should residents expect?
He gave us something we probably should have expected: “I am going to announce that I am going to run again,” Durflinger said.
Wow — with an announcement like that, some might think he just spoiled the surprise of the speech.
However, something tells us that is just a small piece of what is going to be said during Thursday’s speech. He has got to be holding back. If he was willing to tell us that, it makes us wonder what he was not willing to preview.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this year’s state-of-the-village speech.
We might have to place a “gimme” on his possibility for being elected to another term.
Durflinger created a storm last year during his speech. That storm poured water on Morton for a year. Now, the village is focusing on growth — flowering a dry area in the village.
Who wants to pick up where Durflinger left off?
We have a hard time believing anyone has the guts. There is a lot of work to be done.
