Elections are on the horizon, football is here and the cotton bolls will soon burst as Clarksdale and Coahoma County enjoy yet another harvest season.
And while the editor of your Clarksdale Press Register has yet to determine the quality of the cotton crop in this community, we are pleased with a number of projects that have come to fruition.
Yes, it’s time to be proud of what is happening across Coahoma County and in Clarksdale.
It’s time to realize our community is rapidly becoming the Delta’s shining star.
It’s time to realize we can show the rest of Mississippi how we picked ourselves up, planned and moved forward.
The numbers
Coahoma County and Clarksdale are fortunate to have welcomed two new companies -- People Shores and Image Manufacturing -- to our community. We have also seen an expansion at MAP Easton and Saf-T-Cart. Combined these project have brought over 300 jobs to the county over the past 18 months.
We hear city officials say one-quarter of the jobs created in the Mississippi Delta have been created in Clarksdale over that same time period.
There is a story on Page One saying those figures have caught the eye of state economic development leaders.
Our supervisors have stopped our hospital from closing. Headlines at this time last year could not say that. There is still work to be done on this project, but it appears Northwest Mississippi Medical Center is out of the woods and looking for a buyer to manage the facility.
We have seen a number of new retail businesses open their doors and two new eateries are also serving lunch every day.
This newspaper is not naive enough to say things are booming, but they are looking up. We do have people earning a paycheck and that is the grease in any economy anywhere in this country.
Sadly, the last people to realize what is happening will be local residents. Now is the time we need to point with pride to what is going on around here. Clarksdale and Coahoma County need to thump our chests and tell others about the Delta’s new shining star.
Hard work to be done
Clarksdale still has work to be done -- hard work that will demand tough decisions and choices that will not make everyone happy.
Our school employees and the movers and shakers in this town need to realize the future of our children and our community will not get better until our schools get better.
Superintendent Joe Nelson preached a tough message this past week. We think our county schools, who don’t have an official superintendent, should also take note.
Crime continues to be a problem in our town. We understand there has been an exodus of police officers from the force after city leaders led the charge to weaken the arm of police officers this summer. Reacting to national events, while politically correct, is not always the best solution for Clarksdale.
And the county is still owed more than $3 million unpaid fines and there seems to be no effort to collect that money.
Positive note
Readers of this space know I try to find a higher road and see a Clarksdale that can be so much more.
I hope everyone who reads these lines realizes they have a role to play in all of Clarksdale’s problems.
Let’s use local doctors, shop in local businesses and champion small restaurants and stores that make Clarksdale unique.
Let’s support our schools and give their leaders and teachers the chance to do their job and do things differently.
Let’s support law and order and the police men and women who have one of society’s toughest jobs.
Last but not least let’s show the world we are Clarksdale proud and chide those who slam our town with a negative Facebook post.
Clarksdale really does have a lot of things to be proud of. Clarksdale and Coahoma County truly are the Delta’s Rising Star.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register and an eternal optimist. Stop by his office at 128 E. Second and share a bit of good news about the place we all call home.
