The following is a column by Rising Sun Mayor Brent Bascom which also appears in the August/September edition of the Rising Sun Newsletter.

What is great about our community is how passionate we all are about Rising Sun and how much we care about our fellow citizens.  I greatly appreciate the vast number of you who share the same level of love and enthusiasm for the place we are all proud to call home.

While myself and City Council work hard to do what’s best for our community, it’s very easy to get absorbed in the day-to-day “to do list” and overlook opportunities to preserve, enhance or add something which would benefit us all.

With that said, we are conducting a “Problem/Solution Contest” where the citizens of Rising Sun have an opportunity to identify a problem and, to the best of your ability, provide a solution.  To entice participation and make it fun, the City of Rising Sun will pay the contest winner $200!

What constitutes a problem?  A few include: a physical deficiency, neglect or maintenance concern, adding/improving a city service, a needed business addition or attraction, adding/improving a public space or adding/improving an ordinance.  You may come up with something totally different.

But identifying a problem is the easy part.  The challenge is coming up with a solution which is reasonable, rational and affordable.  We don’t have unlimited financial resources and have to be fiscally responsible with any challenge we take on.  You may not be able to fully provide a solution or financial detail to the problem you identify but must attempt to provide as much thought and detail as you can.

So are you ready to take on this challenge?  Send your Problem/Solution by email to bbascom@cityofrisingsun.com, mail it to Mayor Brent Bascom, City of Rising Sun, PO Box 172, Rising Sun, IN 47040 or drop it off in an envelope to City Hall at 200 North Walnut Street.  MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE your full name, address and phone number.  All entries must be received by 5 pm on September 29, 2017.  The winner will be announced on October 27, 2017.

Here are additional rules not already stated above:

• You must be a resident within the City of Rising Sun; however, Rising Sun Mayor and City Council members, members of the contest selection committee and their immediate family members (father, mother, brother, sister and dependent children) are excluded from participating.
• Multiple entries by one person are permissible; HOWEVER, each entry must be submitted in a separate correspondence for reviewing purposes.
• The winning entry will be one which identifies a problem AND also has a reasonable, rational AND affordable solution.  Some entries may identify the same or similar problem.  The entry deemed to have the better solution will be given greater consideration.
• The contest decision is final and the winner of the $200 will receive no additional compensation or consideration if the winner’s Problem/Solution entry is implemented in full or in part.  Furthermore, no compensation or consideration will be provided to any non-winning entrant should their entry also be implemented in full or in part.
• The contest winner agrees to permit the City of Rising Sun to use winner’s name and likeness for promotional purposes.