Olney Enterprise Year in Review Looking Back

Looking Back

The year 2022 was one of momentum, of gathering our forces and setting goals. After two long years of hardship and loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, drought and rising costs, the City of Olney bounced back strong with new initiatives to solve lingering problems. The City intensified its efforts to clean up abandoned and dilapidated buildings and rewrite the building codes to improve our fire safety rating and bring down insurance costs for homes and buildings. The Council took significant steps to replace the aging water treatment plant, clean up the lot lines and usage rules at Lake Olney, and rid Main Street of a giant tire pile that’s been an eyesore for years.

The Olney Police Department ramped up its caseload by fivefold – to almost 1,000 in 2022. Olney officers closed major cases that shut down two drug houses and put at least one suspected dealer in state prison, sent three suspected child sex offenders to jail, and partnered with community stakeholders to dramatically cut petty crime. Police Chief Dan Birbeck helped map out active shooter plans for Olney Independent School District, Olney Hamilton Hospital, and local businesses in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting. The chief also took the lead in bringing to light major problems with the city’s access to mental health services and participated in meetings with city, county, and state leaders to look for solutions.

OISD received top honors in academic UIL competitions and even a mention in U.S. News & World Report’s list of best public schools. The district put a security plan in place, began (and nearly completed) construction on a new baseball complex, made numerous improvements to school buildings, and saw its sports teams rise again.

Olney Hamilton Hospital drew up plans for a new hospital building, thanks to tax revenue from wind farms, and showed an operating profit for 2022 that bucked the statewide trend for rural hospitals. Local organizations, like Keep Olney Beautiful, plunged into the challenge of replacing the city’s 70-year-old municipal swimming pool, planted trees, and cleaned up vacant lots. Our churches and nonprofits fed, clothed, and sheltered hundreds of families and people in need – and say they’re ready to do the same again in 2023, on an even larger scale.

So take a look at the year that was, with gratitude for our amazing town and its citizens. Let’s resolve to make Olney an even better place for us all in the coming year.

February