We are into the hazy, lush days of summer, when the rising rhythm of the cicadas soars even higher than the temperature.

The invitation to be lazy is implicit, and the challenges of elections and a new school year are comfortably far into the future.

So this might be a good time to step out of the heat and retreat to the shade for a while, to cool off and think clearly.

A few weeks ago the county held a strategic planning session about our economic future, and there were a lot of issues raised.

Those issues are still up for discussion.

And The Goochland Gazette would like to encourage you to keep talking.

This fall we will host our first forum, meant to engage citizens in the process of defining how their community will look, sound and feel in the coming years.

How Goochland chooses to zone its land, recruit developers, grow crops, educate children—these are all decisions that can be influenced by those who live and work here.

But only if you speak up.

So we would like to know what you are thinking about: What are the topics that most concern you? What impacts your life the most, and what do you think should be done about it?

We invite you to contact The Gazette at editor@goochlandgazette.com or 804.381.8649 and let us know what matters most.

We’ll be finalizing our forum topics based on the input we receive from our readers.

And don’t forget, we are also available at www.facebook.com/goochlandgazette and www.twitter.com/gazetteeditor.