Oh, yeah, there you go.

There it is.

Yeah, there you go.

You can't do that, Russ.

I was you're hiding back there.

I didn't see you.

I was like, looking.

There's no light.

I was looking everywhere for you.

Good evening.

At this time, I'd like to call to order our regular meeting of the Clarks County Clarksville Town Council, March 17th.

And at this time, um I'd like to do our invocation and uh and then our pledge.

Mr.

Stotz, could you help us?

Yes, sir.

Uh today we have uh Pastor Russ Livers with us today.

He's with uh uh the first Southern Baptist Church in Clarksville.

If you would, sir.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thanks for uh the invitation to come and open up this meeting in prayer and also for uh beginning your meetings that way.

I think that's a uh a great way to acknowledge and uh call upon a higher power for our for our needs, and I'm uh uh grateful to have this opportunity, and I would like to uh I will lead us in prayer, but I'd like to just share a few words of inspiration with you, if I may.

Uh and just reading from the Bible, I get most of my inform uh inspiration from the scriptures, and I think it has a lot of inspiring thoughts for us and encouraging words and points us to the way of life.

And uh so I'd like to just read a brief passage here, and then I'll lead us in a word of prayer.

And I hope this will be a help and encouragement to all of us.

There are a lot of teachings in the Bible that uh uh by uh enacting them in our lives and incorporating them into our lives, we can have uh great success and eternal life also.

But uh and some of these principles and teachings uh relate to our relationship with people, our human relationships are so important.

And uh here's a section that's always been a help to me in uh and and it would be to any organization, I think, if if we would all put these things into practice.

But he's uh the Apostle Paul is writing to the church at Philippi, and he says, uh, complete my joy by being of the same mind, unity of mind and heart, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility.

Count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

Uh those are our uh remarkable uh characteristics and uh qualities that uh will help any of us to have success in our lives and uh in the endeavors that we're involved in.

It's part of the teachings of Christ, of course.

So let's let's have a word of prayer together, shall we?

Father, we uh thank you, Lord, for this uh opportunity to be here and meet, and I thank you for the privilege of uh standing here to uh uh lift up a prayer uh from our hearts to you, acknowledging that so oftentimes uh the challenges that we face are in need of supernatural help and in need of your help.

And we thank you that that help is available, and that you uh pour out your blessings upon us, and you are always so kind and gracious and loving toward us, and we are grateful for you and for all that you do for us.

Uh we thank you, Lord, for each uh member of this council, and we pray that you would guide uh each one with your leadership and would you uh uh direct, please, in every decision that is made, and may we uh discuss any uh business that needs to be discussed, decisions that need to be discussed with grace and kindness and respect uh toward each other, and I know that happens here all the time, but we are dependent upon you for that, so we thank you for it.

Bless our town and uh our uh all the the uh entities here, bless them with your blessing.

We pray and keep your hand upon us, and uh we pray these things with gratitude and humility in our hearts in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Amen.

This time rise for our Pledge of Allegiance, allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Okay, at this time we have two recognitions we'd like to do this evening before we get to our agenda.

So uh Manager Beatty, I'll kick it over to you, please.

Tonight we want to uh issue a proclamation for National Safe Place Week, um, and that week will be March 15th through the 21st, and I'll read the proclamation here.

Whereas the youth of Clarksville, Indiana will determine the future strength of our country and be the bearers of our democracy.

And whereas youth need a safe haven from various negative influences such as child abuse, substance abuse, depression, crime, and crime, and youth need readily available resources to assist them when faced with circumstances that comprise compromise their safety.

Whereas the Safe Place Program is committed to protecting the youth of Clarksville by offering short-term housing and neighborhood locations where trained volunteers are available to counsel and advise young people seeking assistance and guidance, whereas designated locations where youth can get information and immediate help, safe place is found at businesses such as restaurants, convenience stores, movie theaters, and community buildings such as fire stations, libraries, and public transportation vehicles.

Whereas the success of Safe Place is based upon public-private collaborations between businesses, school systems, fire departments, law enforcement, and a network of volunteers.

And whereas Clarksville needs increased numbers of community volunteers serving as mentors and positive influences on young people, and whereas the Safe Place Program must meet performance standards relative to outreach and community relations to receive direct federal assistance as set forth in the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and whereas more than 1,700 communities in 39 states administer the Safe Place Program at more than 20,000 locations, and whereas more than 406,200 youth have been helped at a safe place location or receive counseling by phone as a result of safe place information received at school.

And whereas since the program's inception in 1983, more than 18 million youth have been educated through National Safe Place Networks Safe Place Outreach efforts, familiarizing them with the safe place sign and providing them with information about how to seek help in order to stay safe.

And whereas increased awareness will encourage more communities to benefit to establish safe place locations where youth can readily access and benefit with the help they need.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Bob McEwan, Council President of the Town of Clarksville, along with my fellow council members, do hereby recognize the week of March 15th through March 21st, 2026 as National Safe Place Week, and call upon the residents of Clarksville and interested groups to promote awareness of and volunteer involvement in the Safe Place Program.

Thank you very much.

I'd be remiss if I didn't say Meredith and I worked together for many years at the YMCA.

And I'd also like to say that Larry Wolverine, who is the gentleman that we work with out of the Legal YMCA, and then developed and started this program.

So we got to see what one man in one community can do and spread so much good all over the country.

With that, Meredith, it's nice to see you again, and I thank you so much.