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Eighteen months later, the first tax check cleared.

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And you know what a county does with real money? Nothing romantic.

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A roof. New roof on Cooper’s Mill Elementary.

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Two plow trucks. And the fire hall got its ladder truck.

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Manny’s crew trained on it, paid by the company. Like the paper said.

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The building turned out prettier than I expected.

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They kept the promenade open. Folks walk it Sunday evenings.

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The hum? 41 decibels last month. It’s on the website. I check.

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And somewhere in all that steel, they tell me a machine is helping chase down cancer drugs.

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I hope that’s true. I check on that too.

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We didn’t get lucky. We got it in writing.

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Your town can too.

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Every number in this story is real. Go check.

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Go on. Now.