We hear people talk about quality of life all the time. It’s one of those feel-good phrases that are loved by local, state and federal politicians when they want to say something good without really saying anything at all.
Think about it. What is quality of life?
A person’s health is one factor when we are talking about an individual’s quality of life, as is how big their pocketbook might be or how successful their children are.
Industry and institutions grasp this concept such as when schools talk about excellent test scores, the winning baseball team or the enthusiasm of their teachers. Businesses seek it in attracting people to offices that are neat and clean, with managers who work hard to develop young talent and a corporate culture that recognizes and rewards hard work.
Towns and communities have it, too. And that quality of life is very similar to the quality of life of the individual, industry and institutions.
Questions
Questions that lead to truth are the best way to arrive at answers and solve problems.
How healthy is our community? How safe is our community? How clean is our community? Is there a winning attitude in this town? Do residents have enthusiasm for their community? Do we actually work to attract people to town? Do we welcome them when they get here?
Can people find what they need in Clarksdale? Is there a list somewhere that charts what Clarksdale lacks? Are there influential people in our town who then go out and recruit people, businesses and services to fill those gaps? They just had a 200-job industrial announcement in Tate County, have we ever had that kind of announcement in Clarksdale?
Do we have leaders trained, schooled and gifted with the talents and intellect to solve problems and find solutions? Do we recognize and reward hard work and success?
I’ve not been here long but asking questions is a job I’ve had for a long time. The questions I posed above are issues Clarksdale – as a community – has to answer.
Concerns
Parts of Clarksdale are safe and relatively crime-free, but other parts of town are dangerous.
Efforts are being made to clean up, but blight is still very evident in many neighborhoods.
Our Mayor and city leaders hosted a “Citywide Cleanup” last week and got out and got the opportunity to get their photo on Facebook and be visible doing something about litter.
I regret to inform them, that it was too little, too late. The visual appeal of this town has spiraled downward over the past five years.
Those wanting change (and a big city paycheck!) are the reason we have nine people running for mayor and 18 running for commissioner.
I’ve said this before and I learned it being part of a Keep Vicksburg Beautiful committee years ago: You can pick up trash until the cows come home, but until you teach people not to throw it down you will never catch up.
Sadly, we still have politicians who say all is grand and rosie, when the numbers in Clarksdale say otherwise.
Services
I think it is time for the city and county to start talking about consolidating services. Fire and law enforcement are a good place to start. How about a consolidated E911 that serves us all.
There is talk of a City Manager that can handle the details of keeping the books, knowing the law and running the day-do-day operations of Clarksdale. We once had a City Clerk who handled much of this.
Let’s consolidate city and county road and street maintenance. We already have county workers and equipment paving city streets. Let’s consolidate equipment maintenance. Let’s consolidate purchases of equipment and the trained people needed to run them and not break them.
We need more people moving to town and we always need to sincerely smile when we welcome anyone – foreigner and local alike – into our neighborhood, schools, business or church.
Clarksdale has people who want things to change – who want things to get better – and they are willing to roll up their sleeves to make it happen. This town is blessed with people who love Clarksdale and sell it every chance they get. We need to find more ways to recognize and reward their hard work.
Clarksdale is a neat place to live. Too often that uniqueness and charm as well as the poverty and bleakness are lost on people who have lived here all their lives. To them it’s just the way it has always been.
Solutions
This town has some deep problems, but it also has some deep thinkers and folks with deep pockets. We can find solutions.
If you are looking to this Spring’s election to solve all this town’s problems, it won’t. I will challenge those who are elected to surround themselves with people who are willing to work – I mean truly work – to make this town better.
And our new city leaders better have access to deep pockets. The days of state and federal grants are over. We need people who can pick up the phone and get people to invest – and invest heavily – in Clarksdale.
Government is not going to solve our problems, the people of Clarksdale are the ones who are going to stop crime, clean up this town, recruit new businesses and attract industry and jobs to our community.
My suggestion is, after the election, we find some way to rally the troops and chart a course and roll over those obstacles and people that stand in our way. Because nothing short of the quality of life we call Clarksdale is at stake.
Floyd Ingram is a horn-tooting, drum-beating cheerleader for Clarksdale and urges you to join him on his quest. He can be reached at your Clarksdale Press Register at 662-627-2201.
