Elissa Yount: A clock that tells more than time


In the latest edition of National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors magazine there was an article my husband read about a most fascinating clock.

The device was able to tell the correct number of days in each year and each month. It gave the lunar cycles and predicted both lunar and solar eclipses. In addition, the mechanical clock showed the Olympiad cycle of games that were played on a four year cycle.

You will be as surprised as I was to find out that this clock is over 2,000 years old and was found recently in a shipwreck off a Greek island. The knowledge of both science and technology that would have been needed to manufacture such a clock would be impressive now, not to mention over 2,000 years ago.

Just what does it take in the way of long-term sustainability for a community to rise to the level that such science, technology, and civilization could flourish over 2,000 years ago? As I thought about this article, I wondered why some communities today are sustained and why others languish. To have long-term sustainability, a community must have people in leadership positions contributing back to the community.

Do you think this is a problem in our community, or is this a misconception? How many of the leaders and those in CEO positions sustain our community by owning property and living here?

Does the hospital administrator at the Maria Parham Medical Center live in this community?

Does the Superintendent of Schools own property in our community?

Does the Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Personnel Director of Schools, and all of the principals live in our community?

Does the minister at your church live in our community?

Does the City Manager own property in our community?

Does the Assistant City Manager live in our community?

Look around and see how many people make their living here but do not contribute to the tax base. If this is just a notion, what can we do to dispel it? The Economic Development Commission should do a survey to see how much money is carried out of our community. They should also do a survey to find out why people in leadership positions do not want to live among us. I think the results of that survey would go a long way towards shining a light on why economic development is such an uphill battle around here. Can you just imagine wanting to locate a business here and finding out that many of the top paid positions are held by people who do not put down roots to help sustain this community? What message does that send?

Maybe this could become another component of the “broken windows theory.” The premise could be that public officials and leaders have a significant impact on their communities, and when they live in a community there is a positive impact. When they do not, it tends to cause a negative impact. If the big money makers determine that it is messy to live here and choose not to, then what does that say about the rest of us?

Somehow, owning property and living with your family in our community shows that you are not just passing through, but rather that you are committed to making this community a better place to live — even if you are only here for five years. This kind of commitment will give us a better shot at sustainable growth. If this community is good enough to employ you, but not good enough for you to commit to by living here and owning property here, then it does not take a 2,000 year old clock to tell us the seconds of our our future are ticking away and alarms should be going off.