With the arrival of a new year and a new decade, it’s time to turn thoughts to eliminating bad habits and replacing them with good habits.

New Year resolutions are easier made than kept. Just ask anyone who has resolved to quit smoking year after year but continues to be a victim of tobacco use, or someone who resolves to eat less and exercise more but continues to choose a sit-down in their recliner to a brisk walk around the block.

I must admit that I have come up short meeting the demands of New Year resolutions more often than not; however, successes along the way give me the courage to try again.

Smoking, drinking and the use of unbecoming language were practices I was able to eliminate many years ago. My focus in 2020 is to eat healthier and shed 10 pounds before the start to the next gardening season.

In the interest of seeing Hartselle grow and prosper in 2019, I offer the following resolutions for Hartselle’s consideration in 2010:

• Resolve to attract a new industry to the South Morgan Industrial Park at I-65 and Thompson Road. The possibility of this happening is enhanced by the projected completion of a new automotive manufacturing plant in the Greenbriar area in the New Year. It’s opening not only will mean thousands of new jobs but provide opportunities

for subsidiary industries.

Resolved to obtain federal/state funding for completion of the proposed Thompson Road upgrade project. Engineering work has been done and the next phase will involve utility relocation and right-of-way acquisition. This project is a vital link to the future development of the industrial park.

• Resolve to continue the enhancement of infrastructure in the central business district. The recent replacement of curb and gutter, sidewalks and lighting on Hickory Street addressed a need in a neglected part of downtown. A major street resurfacing project is another pressing need, especially the East Main Street sector of State Highway 36.